A Break in the Weather

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Tracy Baranauskas, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

The weather has been warmer than usual in Ohio this January, but it has also been wet.  As a matter-of-fact, as I write this, it has been raining for the past three days.

It was coming down in buckets yesterday morning when I first woke up. Since I was working from home, I had the luxury of putting off my walk a bit in hopes that there would be a break in the weather. 

I typically don’t do this because I don’t like to mess with my habits, but who walks in a downpour, right?

Well, about an hour later, the rain started to let up and the sun partially lit up the sky.  “Awesome,” I thought, “I’m so glad I waited!” And, I headed out the door.

The sun fully lit up the sky as I drove to the park which is only about four miles from my house.  However, as I got closer, the sky began to get dark again and it started to drizzle.  “No big deal,” I thought.  “It’s just a light rain.”

As I parked my car and began my walk, the drizzle turned into a steady shower.  I’m sure you may know where this is going next, but if not, I’ll take away the suspense… 

About a mile into my walk, the sky opened up and I got soaked. 

The air wasn’t too cold and so it wasn’t awful. I decided to make the best of it.  There wasn’t anything I could actually do about it anyhow.

I enjoyed the sound of the rain coming down through the trees as I marched on. It was really very peaceful.  Of course, I was the only one walking in the park at that time, because umm, well you know.

The view of the lake from the top of the bluff was amazing that morning.  The waves were fierce and sounded like a freight train.  I love looking out over the lake when it is stormy because I typically see bald eagles fishing in the turbulent waters. This morning was no exception, and I actually saw three eagles soaring over the lake hunting for their breakfast.

I was drenched when I reached my car in the empty parking lot and I was giggling.   I could hear my mother’s voice saying, “Tracy, even chickens know to get out of the rain,” and this cracked me up. I felt invigorated as I drove home, and I was glad that I hadn’t forfeited my routine that morning.

Later, when I thought about my mid-morning walk in the rain, I realized that had I initially left the house when I first woke up, I would have had a drier, partially sunny walk.

It also occurred to me that whenever I try to time my walks according to the weather, it works out for me about 50 percent of the time.  I then decided that those odds aren’t really great, and so I’m just going to go when it works best for my schedule and not worry about the weather next time.

I could also hear my mom’s voice in my head again.  She would often say, referring to just about everything, “If you wait for the right time, you’re never going to do it.” 

As I reflect on this today, I think it’s such sage advice.

Is there something you’ve been thinking about doing, but keep waiting for the “right time”?

How long have you been thinking about it?  Has it been days, weeks, or years?

What is it costing you to continue to wait?

What if there is no “right” or “wrong” time?  What if it’s the perfect time NOW?

You see, my mom had a point here.  Our minds want to keep us in our comfort zone, and so we will always come up with reasons why the timing is not "right". 

Since you only have this one precious life, this is important to think about!

What is worse, moving ahead before things are “perfect” or not moving ahead at all?

When I think about my walk in the rain this morning, I know that there was no “right” time to go.  I would certainly have enjoyed myself if it was sunny, but I also had a lot of fun in the rain. 

It would have been a shame though if I would have missed my walk altogether. What if I would have waited for a break in the weather and it didn’t come?

Don’t make that mistake.

Don’t wait for the “perfect” time to take action.

The perfect time is NOW.