Read time: 4 minutes • A quiet moment for you

Hi Reader,

Welcome to my weekly newsletter, designed to help you Rise on Purpose.

Last week, I wrote about resetting for ten seconds. If you missed it, you can read that, and all previous articles, here.

And because a few good words can change the direction of your whole day, I wrote a FREE PDF guide: 7 Things to Tell Yourself Every Day. If you'd like to receive it, hit reply and I'll send it straight to your inbox.

Travel, Interrupted

I took a few days away last week to recharge before our busiest time of the year starts at By Sarah.

Upon arriving at Heathrow at 6.30am, I received a notification on my phone: my flight had been cancelled. Adverse weather had swept into Barcelona.

The 11am flight was full. The next available flight was 2.20pm.

Which left me with eight hours to kill.

I allowed myself fifteen minutes to be annoyed. I huffed and puffed, rolled my eyes, sent a few WhatsApp messages. I wasn't going to pretend I was delighted about spending an entire working day in Terminal 5.

But after that, I made a decision: I couldn't change the delay, but I could change how I spent it.

First up: movement. Every hour, I did a lap of Terminal 5. Wheeling my suitcase up and down the concourse. Getting my steps in.

Next: curiosity. I found the Rest and Relaxation area I'd somehow never spotted before and reclined in one of the free chairs.

Then: conversation. I said good morning to the people I passed (multiple times) in Duty Free and the luxury stores as they started their shifts.

By the time I eventually boarded, we were grounded for another 90 minutes before we took off.

And yet, I felt surprisingly calm.

Had I spent those eight hours manically checking the departure board, complaining and replaying how annoying the situation was, I suspect I'd have boarded feeling very different.

Instead, the interruption became an opportunity to learn something new, about the airport (!) but also about myself.

I was reminded that when you can't control what's happening, you can still choose what happens next.

This week’s tool: Control The Controllables

When something disrupts your plans, try this:

→ Give the frustration somewhere to go
You don't need to immediately find the silver lining. Be annoyed. Give yourself a few minutes to feel what you're feeling, then move on.

→ Separate what you can control from what you can't
I couldn't control the weather, the cancelled flight or the next available seat. I could control what I did with the hours in front of me.

→ Choose your next move
Ask yourself: "What would make the next hour feel 10% better?" For me, it was walking, exploring and talking to people.

→ Look for what the interruption makes possible
A change of plan closes one route, but it can open another. You might notice something, meet someone or learn something you would have missed if everything had gone exactly to plan.

Why this works

When plans change unexpectedly, it's easy to keep mentally fighting the thing that's already happened. We replay how things should have gone, even when there's nothing we can do to change them.

Bringing your attention back to what you can influence gives you somewhere useful to put your energy. And choosing one small action, like going for a walk or starting a conversation, can help interrupt the rumination.

The goal isn't to pretend the disruption isn't frustrating.

It's to stop giving something you can't control any more of your day than it has already taken.

Whatever interrupts your plans this week, give yourself permission to be frustrated.

Then ask: what's still mine to choose?

Keep rising,
Lauren

P.S. Have you ever had a long flight delay? How did you get through it? Let me know. I read every reply. ​​