Something Oprah Winfrey said in an interview I stumbled
across recently really hit home with me: “What is the next right move?” She was
talking about how to handle disappointments, even failures, and the point she
was making is how useless it is for us to dwell on whatever-it-was, but rather
to point ourselves in the direction of the next “right move.”
I love that! A mantra that can be applied to the little
annoyances in life, as well as the oh-my-gosh flops/falls. My latest rescue
puppy, during the first couple of months with us, would get so excited about
FOOD!!! that the second he’d inhale the contents of his dish, he’d race over to
my older dog’s dish and with the excitement of possibly locating the merest
lick of MORE FOOD!!! would pee, right there on the kitchen floor. Needless to
say, “Mom,” aka me, was not happy. He had learned that his bathroom was out
there in nature, so it wasn’t an “I’m not sure where to go” issue, it was truly
food-excitement.
I had a choice. I could get myself in a snit over his
unwanted behavior, hash and re-hash it, etc., but fortunately, I had come
across Oprah’s “next right move,” and sat myself down for a good think. I came
up with first making sure that according to the vet, my new “boy” was getting
proper nutrition. That being done, I decided that the instant rescue-baby had
finished his meal, I would zip him out the puppy door and into the yard for a
pee. Phew!
Problem solved. Now, a couple of months later, he just zips
out that door by himself right away, and we haven’t had an indoor pee since.
This may seem minor to you, but then, most of the stuff that
gets us all annoyed is minor! However,
when we have to deal with the heavies of
life, we can use the “next right move” just as effectively. A dear friend of
mine is suffering from a health condition that her physicians and various specialists
cannot yet diagnose. So they keep giving her treatments in hopes something will
alleviate her pain. What an unfortunate predicament! Yet my friend inspires me
by her decision to continue with as much of her regular life as possible,
keeping herself firmly on the track of “next right move,” rather than on the
oh-so-seductive “woe is me” track.
We all somehow know what a “right move” is, even though that
“move” will be different for every situation. It is, always, the move that
keeps you on a positive, upward path. A move that leans in the direction of
solutions and away from lamenting your misfortune.
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been rejected for a job, by
a spouse, or lost your savings in some unfortunate occurrence, as best you can,
howl briefly over the injustice/pain, and then follow Oprah’s excellent advice,
“What’s my next right move?”
