JOINT BASE CHARLSTON, S.C. –
Life throws a lot of unexpected occurrences at us, especially in our line of work. How you approach them can and will have an impact on not just your career, but more importantly your happiness in life.
My wife and I were married in the summer of 2001. Three months later, terrorists hijacked four aircraft and changed the world. About an hour after that, I was told I was deploying.
You can probably imagine, if you haven't actually experienced it, the turmoil that goes through one's head with a short-notice deployment. Throw in being newlyweds and you can see where this is going. We had been married three months, my wife was brand-new to the Air Force and we were living overseas.
So, how can you approach something like that - or really, any "adverse" event? The relatively simple answer is to reframe it.
What does "reframe" mean? Think of taking a picture. If you're looking through the viewfinder and the picture isn't quite right, what do you do? You shift the camera or where you're standing a bit to reframe the subject. You can do the same thing with your life as well.
Instead of seeing on the bad or the negative, look at it from a different angle and seek out the positive - there's almost always at least one positive thing!
In my case, my wife and I could have each dwelled on the downside; for her, being a new military spouse, in a foreign country, with very few friends. Instead, when people offered their assistance and friendship, she embraced the opportunity, met new people and by the time I got back, we had a close-knit community of friends that has lasted through today.
In my case, deploying to an unknown location, with an uncertain future, leaving my new wife at home was a bit of a downer. However, instead of looking at it that way, I focused on the mission and the Airmen I had the fortune of working with. The result was a successful deployment and just as importantly, lifelong friends from that deployment.
You can look at the challenges life throws at you as just that - challenges. Or, you can reframe that picture and seek out the positives, which in the end will help you personally and professionally.