This isn’t the first version of this post. I actually wrote a very nice, compact, wise account of the trouble I had getting to Vegas yesterday, and then using that to illustrate the idea that if you don’t choose your response, if you instead just let your emotions determine your reaction, then you’re going to end up living a default kind of life.

It was profound and poetic, if I must say so myself.

And then, for some reasons, when I tried to save it as a draft it disappeared.

So you now get this much shorter, less details version. But the lesson remains the same. And if anything, the lesson is sharpened to a fine point with what happened.

Because my first reaction could have been to throw my hands up in disgust, get angry, and storm out of my room to go find the coffee I so badly want.

Instead, I’m choosing to sit and do a bit more work. Because I want the results of my response, rather than the consequences of my reaction.

An undisciplined reaction will lead to an unpredictable consequence.

A disciplined response will, at the very least, allow you do decide on your direction, so that you can move toward the life you actually want to have.

That’s the gist, anyway. I swear it was much more profound before. But disciplined or not, there’s only so much a fella can do with no coffee.

If you like this post, there’s a blog full of this kind of stuff. And Side Notes is basically an extension of my Note at the End, which you’ll find in all of my novels. And you can find those by clicking here. Share this post with your friends, if you found it helpful. And buy my books if you’d like to support me and my work!