Crashed! 7 Things I Learned from MAC : Liz Jansen

It’s a sickening feeling. A sudden blackout and then the only perceptible movement is a spinning wheel. My computer crashed. All the work I’d poured heart and soul into for 9 months (as long as I’ve had the MAC) was gone. At least that’s how it felt.

In reality, it wasn’t quite so bad – but then things rarely are as bad as we make them out to be. Most of my work was backed up, except for a few documents and the podcast I was editing. And the software.

Still, it’s disconcerting to see how assets can vaporize in an instant. Drastic actions demand attention – and this one had caught mine. There was no doubt in my mind there were lessons for me, if only I could see them.

Crashed: 7 things I learned from my MAC

Be careful what you ask for. Taking time to step back, assess my progress relative to my goals and making sure I’m staying focused is essential for planning how I spend my skills, time and energy to be of greatest service. I’ve been consciously doing that recently and had asked the Universe to give me clarity so I could the obstacles that I was facing. I even wrote about them last month: 7 warning signs of Obstacles Ahead. Little did I realize that meant removing clutter by wiping my hard drive clean! Now I truly have a clean slate and a new beginning.

Let go of attachments. I thought I had simplified my life. Although I’m not a minimalist, I live fairly simply. I don’t have a lot of stuff, don’t want stuff and don’t attach meaning to things. People and experiences are a totally different matter. Those are important. Evidently, decluttering extends beyond the tangible to the virtual. I know I’m a pack rat when it comes to saving documents that I’ll never need again. You think because they don’t take up space or resources they’re not occupying mental real estate but this experience has taught me how attached I was to things I don’t need.

Put things in perspective. Although it felt catastrophic, it was a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. Most documents were backed up, software was retrievable and what I don’t have I can do without. Often the immediate response to a life lesson is through dark lenses. When you boil it down and compare the perceived loss to the actual loss, they’re two very different answers.

Gifts appear in the most unexpected forms. Support comes when you least expect it. I didn’t even realize those cobwebs and clutter were in my way, let alone think to clear them in that manner.

The resources you need are right in front of you. I have Time Machine on my Mac where I could create a disc image whenever I chose and have restored everything within minutes. There are also many other effective programs that do the same thing, just waiting to be downloaded. We do the same thing in life —try and soldier on bravely, often to the point of fatigue and ineffectiveness, when there are people standing by to help, if only we’d ask.

Look at things differently. A clean slate has a way of making you do that. We get stuck doing things in the same way. There was tons of excellent material stored on my hard drive, but there are always ways to improve and sometimes what it takes is forcing you to look at things from a new angle. Even a little tweak can make a huge difference.

I haven’t lost anything. I still have the knowledge, skills and expertise, which created those documents. Everything that was there is from the past. While it’s important to use life lessons from the past, it’s more important to listen to your inner guidance at the present moment. The past has good data. It also has negative thoughts and false beliefs about yourself that interfere with getting your work done.

Life continuously throws us curve balls. It’s how we learn, and as long as we’re here, school’s in session. Within the upset and disruption of the vivid lessons that make us sit up and take note, are gems of wisdom and strength. All we have to do is see them.

photo credit: Drew Coffman via photopin cc