How To Stay Positive (& Choose Calm) When Things Go Wrong

A recent scheduling hiccup reminded me of a very important lesson.

I walked two miles to-and-from a non-existent doctor’s appointment yesterday morning. OK, it existed. It did! At least, it did in my Oscar Health app. It was chilly outside around 10:30, but I wanted to listen to one of the new Apple Fitness+ “Time to Walk” episodes and this felt like a good opportunity to do so. I got to the garden level office about 5 minutes before my time slot, and I thought it was a tad odd when I buzzed and no one answered. When a man and his two sons let me in the front gate, I descended down a handicap ramp and arrived at a locked door.

Well. This isn’t ideal. I thought to myself.

A few swipes and taps later, I came to realize that my OBGYN now works a few blocks away at a different practice. According to the orthodontist next door, she ended her lease about a year ago. I frantically hustled over to the new spot, and must’ve looked a little disheveled by the time I greeted the woman sitting at the front desk. After explaining to her what happened (“but I got a confirmation!”), she told me that my doctor was booked up until 3 p.m. and asked if I could come back then.

In case you missed it: I walked two miles to get there. It was 11:04 a.m. So, no.

On a positive note, I was able to book another appointment for about a month from now, and the new practice takes my insurance. The woman at the front desk thanked me for my patience profusely, and with that, I was on my way out the door and headed back to the apartment. On my walk, I gave Oscar a buzz to let them know about the mishap, politely encouraging them to take the other office off of the platform to prevent others from going through the same confusion.

“I would’ve been pissed if I was you,” said the woman on the other end of the phone.

I explained to her that I knew that it was no one’s fault, per say. 

No one wanted me to go to the wrong place or inconvenience me. Being angry or frustrated about something that there’s absolutely nothing I can do about — that doesn’t serve me. I told her that I had a nice walk, and on the bright side, now I can look forward to doing the same thing again in February.

We both laughed.

By the time I got home, I had covered four miles roundtrip. My feet hurt a little. Almost two hours had gone by. I’d arranged my entire day around the existent-but-not-really appointment, which meant that I had scheduled calls later that preferred going into the evening hours. I was hangry. 

So, I ate. 
The day went on.
And so did I.

PROMPT: When was the last time you overreacted? What would you have done differently in that situation?