Yes, my laptop has a name (!) and unfortunately at the beginning of this month, it was not ‘Derek’ that I was calling him. Having put up with less than optimal performance for quite a few months, Derek decided to finally break. For good. There followed some very, very stressful few days of uncertainty (definitely not good for the brain). Despite having a portable hard drive (its efficacy I had previously doubted), was Derek’s hard drive lost forever? I could not do much work as most of what I needed was inaccessible. I felt vulnerable.
However, fortunately there is a happy ending as super IT whizz, Paul Cannell took charge and managed to save Derek’s hard drive and install shiny new Windows 7 too. The result? It is as if I have acquired a new machine: the fast performance and new features are incomparable to what I was experiencing before. I feel re-energised! I can continue writing my first book with technological safety.
I share this tale of woe and jubilant celebration (yes, I cheered when I got him home!) not to receive empathy (although it seems everyone also has a computer nightmare to tell!) however, to explain the reminder that this produced. I had been putting up with my laptop not working as best as it could and this had gone on a while, so I had forgotten what ‘best’ was actually like. You probably know where I am going with this… This was another example of how when we put up things consistently not being the best for us, be at home or at work etc, in the end, we cause ourselves much bigger challenges. Plus, we give ourselves (and others) a clear message that we are not worth having the best or optimal performance in life.
So I encourage you to take action on one thing that is not working as it should in your life (be it a machine… or even your career or relationship) and go and fix it, or start working to have the best performance in that area. Enjoy the energy that you will rediscover! My TV (which works then switches itself off only to be brought to life again with a ‘bash’ at the right time) is already booked for recycling!*