By Debbie PetersonProfessional Speaker and Corporate Trainer – Clarity and Confidence in Career for today’s professional woman

Have you been here? It’s a BIG week. You’ve got a HUGE project going on at work. It is literally “all hands on deck”. You know what you need to get done and you’ve got a plan or a strategy for making that happen. It’s going to be a lot… but you know you can get it done.

As if that weren’t enough you’re juggling competing priorities at home as well. A family event coming up, major renovations on your home or perhaps a much needed vacation (which at the moment is stressing you out because of what you need to get done before you go).

Then it happens!

Your kid gets sick, the dog runs away, the refrigerator dies or perhaps a relative has a “seismic” event.

Your first thought is likely “I don’t have time for this!” and then the guilt rolls in, followed quickly by a new round of grade A stress!

What do you do now? All your carefully crafted plans just went up in smoke!

Well, you give yourself a permission slip – that’s what you do.

Do you remember when you were a kid and you had to have a permission slip to participate in field trips or other group activities? That little slip of paper gave you permission to do what you wanted to do.

In this case, you are giving yourself permission to take care of what you need to without adding undue stress or otherwise negatively impacting yourself. You give yourself permission to shift your priorities and here’s how that happens.

You didn’t see this coming and it’s beyond your control. Know that this is not your “fault” nor is it anyone else’s. Things happen all of the time to all kinds of people. Don’t get caught up trying to punish yourself or someone else for something that clearly wasn’t part of the plan. The sooner you get to the space of “It is what it is”, the better you’ll be.

Acknowledge that some things will need to shift. Take a peek at your list of projects to make sure that everything needs to be taken care of by YOU. Odds are they don’t. Give a coworker the opportunity to participate. It could be a new learning experience for them or the chance to have more visibility. You can also tap someone in your Tribe who can pitch in for the moment. After all, that’s why they’re there, to have your back.

Is everything the priority you think it is? Take an honest assessment and if you’re feeling emotional about it ask someone you trust to give it a second pair of eyes. It’s amazing what can wait when situation requires it!

Get it done. Now that you’ve got a clearer perspective on how you’re going to handle the new plan, give yourself permission to do what needs to be done without beating yourself up for abandoning the old one.

Also, know that you may not have control over the situation that threw a wrench into your plans, but you do have control over how you react to it.

Choose for yourself. Choose for less stress. Choose to give yourself the permission to handle it in a way that benefits you.

Put away the red cape, you’re doing the best that you can. Superwoman can come out and play another day.

Until next time, here’s wishing you the clarity you deserve!

Deb

P.S. Does this sound like someone else you know? Share the message so she can give herself permission too!