When Murphy’s Law Messes You Up
This past week has been a trying week for me. Murphy’s law has struck at me, not once, not twice but an astounding three times! For a refresher, Murphy’s Law states that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, and at the worst time possible.
The highlight of this past week for me was to be a voice-over project that I was planning to do for a non-profit organization that is spearheading some initiatives in South Africa. I had prepared very well for this project. We had planned and conversed a couple of times on exactly how this would be done and everything was in place for me to just walk into the studio and do the voice-over for the DVD. Well, on Thursday morning, the day of the scheduled recording, Murphy slammed my door and forced his way into my life without giving me any notice. A whole lot of things went wrong and I just couldn’t make it to the studio.
Well, my experience with Murphy this week has prompted me to develop a strategy for keeping him from messing me up ever again. Here’s my three-pronged strategy for dealing with Murphy next time he shows up. I call it the ABC’s of dealing with Murphy:
1. Anticipate what might go wrong
When Murphy struck at me this week I did not see it coming at all. All week I had prepared for all my engagements with complete confidence that everything was going to go as planned. This was a little naive from a leadership standpoint. My game plan now is to anticipate what might go wrong so that when it does go wrong, I can deal effectively with it.
2. Bring yourself to a state of calmness
Murphy left me in a panic this week because of the element of surprise. I failed to consciously make the choice of staying calm - actually when I talked to my contact at the non-profit organization, I used the word “flustered”. I was upset that I hadn’t made it for the highlight of my week.
3. Create systems that allow for success
Success in any endeavor is all about having the right systems. I took a good look at all the systems in my disposal and with the help of a life coach, I was able to align them so that I’m assured of victory over Murphy. Here’s a link to my Life Coach.
