I got the shaft

You know how you always hear about those people getting struck by lightning twice.  Well, I've been stuck on an elevator twice and it happened to me yesterday. Hey now don't get me wrong, there's something to be said about getting stuck in the elevator.  It tests your patience to the max and you find out very quickly whether you happen to be a bit claustrophobic. I was in my office building so I had wi-fi in the elevator and took the time to check all those emails that had been piling up all day. It was quiet. No distractions. I actually got a little bit of work done before I started to get impatient and more than a little bit ticked off.  But it got me thinking.

Our lives run at such a frantic pace all day, and here I was, stuck in time.  No multitasking thanks to the fact my computer was on the other side of that elevator door that wouldn't open no matter how many times I pushed the "open door" button on the panel.

Alone with my thoughts in that elevator that indicated I was stuck on the 4th floor but I wasn't really sure.  So I thought, take some time right now to think.  Take this time to really think about family, friends, and that webinar that I was still planning to deliver the following day.  I've known this for a while, but getting marooned on that elevator reminded me that it's necessary to take time out of every day to think. To really think.  Not to react to the latest crisis at the office, or the new car I've been thinking about buying.  You need to take time out of every day to think.

I'll always remember being at Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of NC State University when Jim Valvano, who was dying from cancer, addressed the overflow crowd about what was important in life.  And then of course his famous ESPY speech where he said if you think, you laugh, and you cry, you've had a full day. He was so right.

I'm going to try and make a point to take at least a couple minutes out of every day, no matter how hectic, to sit and think without all the world's distractions.  And all this, thanks to Mr. Otis Elevator.