Contractors and water damage specialists came to asses the damage, and after all was said and done, we are now living in a hotel for at least 2 weeks while the condo is cleaned and rebuilt. Needless to say this has been a very tramatic time for our family. Being displaced, coming close to losing valuables and household items, and the sudden loss of all that we are used to has been difficult. We packed a couple small bags, headed to the hotel, and now we wait. If you want to keep peace in your life, there’s much to learn from a situation like this:

Live simple: When life displaces you, you have to be prepared to move on an instant. That means that if you rely on everything from specialized toothpicks to your special shower message system….you may have a problem. Frankly, this will cause you a lot of stress and steal the peace that you could have.

Focus on the good. When you face a situation like this, it’s really easy to focus on the negative things. I don’t have this, I don’t have that. But with a little work, you can keep a positive outlook and attitude, and that will change everything. You can suddenly change the whole mood of your entire family just by keeping a positive attitude.

Think about the concrete and the future. It’s really easy to get mad at the past, to get mad at the fact that your house is in 3″ of water, that you no longer have a place to hang your hat, etc. But it doesn’t help. And, as a matter of fact, it makes things worse. You cause yourself grief, and most likely cause friction with your family.

Notice what you now have time for. It’s amazing since this happened how I have cut out little things that are meaningless. Checking up on pointless emails, over use of social sites like facebook and twitter. It’s amazing when you are forced to trim down the fat, and really focus on just what’s important, what time saving mechanisms you come up with. Can I keep these when I’m not living crunch time?

Look for lessons not problems. The more you look for what you can learn from the situation the better. When you focus on problems and set backs, it’s like going in reverse on a freeway. You’re not likely to get anywhere you want to go, and you are very likely to damage and hit other people who are going the right direction.