Dodging Curveballs and Garage Doors
How to Get Through the Day Without Losing Your Mind (or Your Wi-Fi)
Some days, you wake up feeling optimistic. You’ve got a plan. A mission. Maybe today’s the day you’ll finally finish that blog post or record that video you've been meaning to get to.
Then Mary from unit 3B calls because her garage door won’t open. Again.
And now you're outside in your slippers, holding a flashlight in one hand and your dignity in the other, wondering how you became the unwilling President of the Condo Association.
(Which, by the way, is a position I do not recommend unless you have a high tolerance for leaky roofs, HOA politics, and last-minute emergencies that love to land exactly when you sit down to focus.)
So how do you get through a day like that — unscathed, or at least with your sense of humor intact?
Here are a few day-savers that help me (on most days):
1. Take five (or more) to center yourself
Before the chaos starts — no phone, no TV — give yourself a sliver of stillness. Sit quietly. Breathe. Pray. Meditate. Read something sacred. Go outside and walk (again, no phone). Think of it as charging your spiritual battery before life starts draining it.
2. Fire up the coffee pot (or blend the smoothie of champions)
This isn’t just about caffeine. It’s about rhythm. Ritual. It’s about signaling to your brain that we’re starting fresh. Bonus points if your mug has a motivational quote or something passive-aggressive like “Not today, Satan.”
3. Sit and visualize your day
Picture your day going beautifully. The calls get returned, the creative work flows, the tech doesn’t glitch. Let your mind rehearse success — it helps wire your brain for it.
4. Now add a wrench in the gears
This is the twist most people skip — but it’s a game-changer. In your mind’s eye, picture something interrupting your day. A surprise leak. A long-winded neighbor. A power outage. Then rehearse your calm, grounded response.
Don’t wait to react. Practice how you’ll respond. This one trick has helped me keep my cool more times than I can count.
5. Stay present when the curveballs come
Even if the day veers off-road, stay connected to this moment. Not the to-do list, not the plan, not your fantasy of how today was supposed to go. Just this breath, this step, this conversation.
Because here’s the truth:
Most of what derails us isn’t the interruption — it’s our resistance to it.
When we expect the unexpected and stay rooted in presence, we stop trying to control everything and start navigating it with grace.
And if all else fails...
...blame the garage door.
I like the passive aggressive quote. Some much power in that.