What's Next...? Where Will the Next Wave Come From?

Life is unpredictable. And often the question pops up; "What's next?"

The difference is in how that question is asked.

Is it (with your hands on top of your head) "Oh no, what's next? Can things never go right for me?"

Or is it "oh my goodness, another challenge! Okay, what's next? Let's see how I'll get through this one..."

That might not always be the exact words, but more or less how your thinking goes.

I must admit, I am the last one to claim I'm always positive and just looking forward to the next challenge. But we need to focus on trying to learn how to respond to life's challenges instead of just reacting.

I've been challenged with that reality over this past weekend, starting on Friday afternoon.

I have completed the time scheduled for my project, testing the Start Earning Today program and I was looking forward to capturing my results.

What's Next?

As I was getting ready to start working, I just heard a loud noise, accompanied by some crackling noises and it seemed like an electrical surge going through the house. And then...silence.

I got up and went outside. When getting to our front gate, I found a truck carrying a front-end loader. Those types of vehicles are not supposed to travel through our neighborhood.

Being loaded it was too high and it has hit a tree which was now leaning onto power cables.

The rest of my afternoon was taken up by redirecting traffic and trying to assist in getting the tree taken down and cleaning up the mess.

Once we got everything cleared (just before 18h00), we discovered that our whole neighborhood was without electricity, due to the damaged power cables.

So, trying to catch up on lost time during the evening was out of the question. The city council was working until 23h00 to restore electricity to our neighborhood.

We were filled with joy when we saw the lights coming on...just to discover that not one single electricity plug in the house was working. By now I wasn't able to just think of this as a challenge anymore. What's next?

What's Next?...

We are renting the house we are living in currently. So, on Saturday morning I phoned the estate agents to arrange for an electrician to come out and assist us. Our fridge and freezer started defrosting and I couldn't do any work, to name just a few of our frustrations.

All I got was a tape recording telling me that their working hours have been cut to weekdays only between 08h00 and 15h45 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the recording, they did leave an emergency mobile number though in case of an emergency.

Guess what? When I phoned the "emergency" number, I got another recording telling me "the subscriber you have dialed is not available right now. Please try again later". What???

Respond. Don't React.

By Saturday evening my stress levels kept increasing and the frustration was sky-high.

Sunday morning, my wife and I decided to just get out of the house and clear our minds by going to the beach, just soaking in the ocean.

That was the best thing we could have done. We enjoyed the day and felt much better with renewed energy when we came back.

This morning (Monday morning) I got hold of the estate agents and we could organize for an electrician to come out.

By this afternoon our problem was sorted out.

Now it was time to take back control and see what has happened since the last time I was active.

In my Hive portfolio, not much has changed.

Outside of my Hive portfolio, I also opened a new bitcoin position on 21 July. I was a bit anxious to see what has happened in the time during which I had no access to my accounts. I am still on a 71% profit in that position.

Before the whole commotion on Friday, I also bought some Etherium where I also have about 18% profit currently.

Okay, What's Next?

Was it frustrating? Yes, it was utterly frustrating! Was it challenging to cope with the circumstances? You bet it was!

But did the wheels come off? While going through it, it felt so... But no, it didn't.

And not saying that it was easy, but this was the thought that kept me going... we are going through it. We are not stuck with these circumstances.

Could I have had some setbacks? Yes, for sure. But the worst that could happen was that I would have lost some time, making up for any setbacks or losses. I did not have anything invested or tied up that would have had a negative impact on our day-to-day living.

What I have learned from this, is to plan as well as you can ahead of time and be responsible when planning and making decisions. Then do what you can when you can.

Accept the fact that we can not always be in control of everything at all times. Sometimes we just have to let it go and just "go with the flow" until we can regain control again. Do not destroy yourself with anxiety and/or frustration when things happen over which you have no control.