I have learned this lesson once again, that most of life’s bummers work themselves out in 24 hours or less. Therefore I have come to this conclusion: I will put worries on the back burner for 24 hours before I start to stress and worry about them. Let me explain:
Yesterday my wife was supposed to receive her first paycheck for substitute teaching. It was to be a substantial amount (by our standards) and we were depending on it to pay some bills that remained after the first as well as for food and misc. expenses the rest of the month. To make a long story short they told her the time card was never turned in and the person responsible was at a conference for three days. This did not make us happy. We left messages for a few people and then began to scowl in our reality that we wouldn’t be paid until the following month. It was definitely a “bummer” evening in our house yesterday.
But what a difference a day can make!
Today, my wife received a call apologizing for the glitch in the system and the District cut her a check right there on the spot. The end result? We got our money and everything was as it was before “the dark times.”
The reason I am sharing this is not to say we should never stress over things. If we hadn’t stressed a little, we wouldn’t have contacted anyone to get it resolved. What I am saying is that problems have a way of working themselves out on their own so you’d do well to put a time limit on these issues before you get bothered about them. 24 hours is a nice numbers, it gives the people involved a chance to sleep and theworkday to roll over once. The next time I have an issue like this, I will try it and report back to you the results!
What do you think of the 24 hour rule?
Hi. I'm Damien Riley, MA.
3 Comments
Damien, I think the 24-hour rule is a great suggestion. In recent weeks I have had a few things that were a source of stress where within a day or so I was feeling much better about the situation.
Very glad to hear that things worked out in your favor this time around!
Derek’s last blog post..Dad’s Night To Cook
I like the 24 hour rule! I also think it’s great that someone stepped up and took care of Sarah’s check. Nowadays, I swear, it’s hard enough to get people to do their own jobs, let alone go above and beyond!
Jessica The Rock Chick’s last blog post..We Can Work It Out
@Derek: Glad it applied to your day! It’s something I’ve mulled around for a while, now I am making it a rule!
@Jessica: Yes! It was great to see them do the right thing and get Sarah her paycheck the next day!