Ganbaru: Perfect Plans of Mice and Men

Ganbaru

October 16

Why is it that when you plan something, you always expect it to go exactly the way you planned? Today was perfectly planned.

Get a trailer.
Empty the storage and fill the trailer.
Empty the trailer.
Return the trailer.
Then go and hang out with friends.

So… what took the air out of our plans? Well, let me tell you.

We woke up as planned, right around 7:00 a.m., because once again we had a lot to do. We grabbed breakfast and headed to the rental shop to pick up a trailer. Our storage unit was full of very usable large furniture that we couldn’t sell and didn’t want to throw away, so we donated it to Habitat for Humanity.

After that, we loaded our fairly new mattress and a few other items we wanted to keep into our truck and returned the trailer. Everything was going swimmingly, and we headed to our friends’ house. There, we planned to load the rest of the items into our truck and enjoy a nice lunch with our friends… or so we thought.

When we arrived, I was getting out of the truck and heard a hissing sound coming from underneath it. My mind immediately jumped to the thought that I had hit an animal, but when I looked closer, the sound was clearly coming from the front tire. Somehow, we had sliced it open on the way there. Thankfully, it didn’t start losing air until we came to a stop.

By the time I got Will’s attention, the tire was completely deflated. Our focus quickly shifted from lunch plans with friends, to getting the tire fixed immediately.

“Taking the risk doesn’t mean everything works out; it means you trust yourself to handle whatever comes next.”

The local tire shop told us it would be ready in two hours, so we went to lunch instead. Shout-out to Rincon Alteño Taqueria in Wheatland, CA. Rincon offers a modest but themed decorations, generous portions, reasonable prices and friendly service. It was just what we needed to keep our energy going and keep our spirits up. We were notified by text that our tire was fixed, so after lunch, we headed to (another shout-out) to Les Schwab in Linda, California, for fixing our tire exactly as promised — two hours on the dot, even though they were very busy when we came in with our flat tire.

Once we returned with our fixed tire to our truck which was still parked at our friend's house, we put the tire back on and were ready to go. Since our original lunch plans together didn’t work out, we all decided to go to a local casino. Fortunately, Will won enough money to cover lunch and more.

We were having a great time, but as all things, time continues and I headed to my martial arts class. Shout-out to Wheatland, Kuk Sool Won, which has been my dojang for over 10 years. One of the most difficult parts about moving is leaving my martial arts family. Everyone there has been incredibly supportive and understanding during our transition — more than I could have ever hoped for.

After class, I returned to the hotel to meet up with Will who left for the casino shortly after I left to class. Loaded with left overs from lunch, we snacked and talked about the day's events.

Reflecting and Moving Forward

• Plans provide direction, not control.
  When things change, flexibility matters more than perfection.
  

• Setbacks don’t invalidate the journey.
  A single problem doesn’t mean the decision — or the risk — was wrong.
  

• Adaptation and support carry you through.
  Progress is easier when you adjust and don’t carry the load alone.
  

• Risk is trusting yourself to continue.
  Moving forward doesn’t require certainty, only the willingness to keep going.

Unexpected events have a way of turning into opportunities for teamwork and appreciation. Sometimes, like the Japanese idea of ganbaru (頑張る), you just keep going, adapt, and find meaning in the effort.