I’m in Hawaii again—on the Big Island where the Volcanoes National Park is. Last time we were here three years ago, Ivan and I flew over the volcanoes in a helicopter tour. That was so incredible, inspiring and breathtaking . . . I was really looking forward to doing that again on this visit. What happened, however, taught me a lesson about expectations and flexibility.

As our time unfolded here at our conference, it became apparent that due to some scheduling changes there really was not going to be a large chunk of time we could take off and spend the several hours it would take for the tour. I started to feel really, really disappointed. The experience from three years ago had been so moving that I had been really looking forward to repeating the excursion.

As I felt the deepening resistance in my body and my heart to not getting to take the tour, I realized that I was holding on to a prior experience and focusing intently on repeating it. What I have learned is that often a repeat of something which brought great pleasure once before never really measures up. In our memories, we can build up the experience in such a way that can never be able to be repeated. I had to talk myself out of this resistance and into being open to embrace that for which this trip would be most memorable.

I was able to sit on our lanai for a little while yesterday afternoon and enjoy the antics of several pods of humpback whales in the bay. I don’t think I have ever seen them jumping out of the water or waving their fins so much. It was delightful and just as breathtaking as the volcanoes had been for me three years ago.

And now I have a new memory to tuck away and think back on.

How have you found there to be an advantage in being flexible and releasing expectations?