It is always a choice in how we react and respond to life events beyond our control. Each of us at some point, has had things very well planned, details done and then, everything goes to shit.? It happens more often than we actually want to acknowledge. Recently I was attending a mental health training/workshop at SE Alberta, with speakers from the Canadian Institute of Workplace Bullying and Violence,   Linda Crockett and Anneke Baker. I was part of the speaker’s group and arrived from Winnipeg to Calgary.  Connecting in Calgary where I had the awesome privilege to actually see someone I’ve been working with, Linda Crockett, in person. It was wonderful like meeting old friends.  I felt a sense of belonging. Like minds on ending workplace bullying and violence.

For Linda, her adventure had already started being super prepared for her work, yet life can have unplanned adventures beyond our control, and that was the beginning of a series of unfortunate events.

When we landed at the airport my bag was already on the baggage belt and Linda’s bag was nowhere to be seen. We were very thankful that Anneke Baker was picking us up at the airport and taking us back to the hotel/ conference center. The West Jet staff at the airport were less than helpful with regard to Linda‘s request for help locating her bag. Turns out 9 passengers had no bags. Remember inside her suitcase was all the conference material printed off and ready to go, all of her clothes for the conference, her makeup, curling iron, underwear, shoes( how many of us want to wear new shoes on the big day) earrings, toothbrush and personal hygiene items. Personally, I would freak out if I lost my toothbrush! It was 10:30 at night and we were all exhausted.

The only option was to head to Walmart and shop like three crazy ladies to obtain all the items Linda would need for the following day. Think about it, all your ‘stuff’ in your suitcase is what you like, need, and feel safe with on your journey. All this was gone. As a presenter, a nightmare. Every speaker wants to get to the hotel, relax, unwind, be prepared for the day, and give their very best to the audience. Linda is a true professional prepared yet life tossed a curve ball. The training was on mental health and workplace bullying.

The start of this interesting story began for Linda with the random security check at the airport, no big deal. The loss of the suitcase was a lot more stressful.  Thank you, Walmart for the extended hours. I can’t imagine how funny it must’ve seemed as an observer with Linda in the change room changing, trying on different items to see what would fit, feel comfortable, and look good for the day of training the following day, while Anneke and I were zooming in, out of isles looking for sizes. Deciding on colours and styles, desperately searched for the rest of the items she would need.

From my perspective, I found it quite humourous looking back from today and how we, the three of us, were racing around  Walmart, trying to get things purchased and organized for the following morning. We bonded together which was beautiful. I mean there we were yelling back and forth to Linda, ‘Did you want thong underwear or a full bum?’  No one will ever know.

Back at the hotel and after checking in we were all hungry, sadly the restaurant and bar were closed. We just missed the restaurant by a few minutes.  Grrr   In Linda and Anneke’s room, they had to prepare the slides, again. They are true professionals.  I mended a small hole in the new pants. By this time it is nearly midnight and my emotional tank is empty I headed to my room. However,  Linda had to go find the business center in the hotel to print the copies for the following day. Technology was not working and it added to the stress.  Needless to say, that kind of anxiety for the two presenters was on high alert.

The challenges continued for the next day and even though the wrong slides were up they managed to keep the audience engaged the entire day. Troubles with the audio/speakers, getting the slide show set up on the screen, and microphone issues did not affect the quality of the training. Truly impressive! Remember, this was about mental health and learning to deal with life’s crises is part of good mental health. Having supporting positive help is essential to avoid that overwhelming fear and getting stuck. Being creative during these unplanned adventures is key to good mental health.

This was an example of how we have control over our mental health, especially with good positive support/attitude.  Linda and Anneke are dedicated professional educators on the serious topic of workplace bullying. Their goal is to give the audience a positive educational experience to use back in their respective workplaces. They did a wonderful job with this training, answering questions, and providing excellent free resources and information for the audience to take back to their own places of work/life.

I met some amazing folks at the conference from a variety of workplaces and all with the same intent to become more aware to prevent workplace bullying, self-care tools to heal and support victims.   It was an honour to meet fellow trainers and presenters  Shelley Pompana Spear Chief and Shirley Crop Earl Wolf who are part of the Indigenous training.

It was indeed a privilege to be part of this mental health event. Seeing Linda and Anneke present with their knowledge, and experience for the room was truly informative and also inspiring. I know I learned a lot from them and the audience. There are so many times in our lives when life gives us a shit storm, and all our plans go down the drain. It is frustrating beyond words. I know it happened to me during one of my presentations the PowerPoint would not open up and all I had was an older version on the laptop which was out of order. Bloody hell I wanted to scream. Thankfully I explained to the students and managed to get through the afternoon.  We learn as we move forward in our experiences both negative and positive.  It really is a matter of choice in our reaction.

Since then I have learned to be prepared by emailing my presentation prior to arriving and ensuring they can open and most importantly that all equipment is functional. However, there is always the unexpected and we have to learn to pivot while at the same time maintaining a positive outlook. Yes, we can be upset but do not let that upset ruin our day. Some things we can control and some things we have no control over.

In case you were wondering if her suitcase ever arrived at the hotel, yes, at midnight on Monday when everything was long over. Looking forward to our next adventure as we work to end workplace bullying, harassment, and violence.