I’m sitting with my leg up and my foot wrapped in an ice pack. Who knew that a sprained/bruised foot could be so painful! But it’s not the pain that has me troubled. It’s not the inconvenience of having my foot up or rotating ice packs as necessary.

It’s my foiled plans.

I had planned to take several walks on the beach with the puppies (too painful). I had planned to replace the bathroom sink (can’t get into that position). I had planned weed pulling and spraying. I had planned to participate in the AIDS Walk on Saturday.

Until the “sprain,” I had no idea how much I had planned ahead for the next few days. I was unaware of my future-thinking and how much investment I had made in those plans.

At first I was pretty upset. How dare the universe thwart my plans! Can I just ignore the sprain and carry on? The pain seemed to indicate otherwise. I felt defeated and angry.

The victim-consciousness passed quickly. I’ve trained myself to look at life differently.

First I took care of business: I re-negotiated the commitments I had made. People appreciated the quick notification and were understanding about what had happened.

Then I looked at what I could and would do instead. I focused on what was true and productive and useful for me now.

I asked for help to keep the ice packs rotated. I limited standing and walking. I simply changed gears as I began to accept what’s true for me on this day.

I am accomplishing an amazing amount of work from the sofa. Blogs have been written, newsletter articles created, a workshop outlined, my Sunday talk is completed.

A ruined day (or two)? Not at all. When the unexpected strikes—I change the expectations!