We arrived in Phoenix, AZ late at night for the start of our family vacation.

The kids were tired and we were ready to get our rental car. But of course, we found ourselves stuck in an unexpected long line of other travelers waiting for vehicles too. The car we had reserved was not available like promised. Attitudes quickly changed from excitement to irritation as we just needed to get to our hotel for the night. 

My wonderful, persevering husband worked some of his negotiation magic and was finally able to get us a vehicle after waiting for 45 minutes… but not just any vehicle — a 14 passenger van! This was not what we wanted to be driving around Arizona with nor had paid for, but we had to be flexible, be thankful and get out of that rental car line!

Our family trip had started out with some rocky bumps and it continued when we got to the hotel. This hotel was run down, smelled like smoke and the lights didn't work. We found ourselves again having to negotiation for another room as one our children had already fallen asleep. The next room wasn't much better, but at least there wasn't what appeared to be bullet holes on the front door like the previous room. This was all an unusual start to our trip and I found myself being confronted with negative thinking that I knew needed to change asap.

One of the biggest things, I’ve learned as a therapist is how easy our thoughts can affect our feelings and behaviors. The situation in Arizona was making me feel annoyed and irritated which led me to snapping at my husband and children. I’m thankful I was able to recognize how I was feeling and acting because it allowed me to identity my thoughts. Looking at that big, large 14 passenger van had me thinking many unhelpful thoughts…

• What will people think of us driving this? Will they be judging me?

• How will we park at places or drive on winding mountain roads?

• This is going to wreck our trip because it’s not part of the plan.

  
  

But guess, what? Taking one of those thoughts and changing it to become more helpful completely changed my attitude. I was able to create flexibility in my plan (which is hard for me to do!) and humor. Our family began coming up with funny names for the vehicle — ultimately it was known as “The Nature Bus”. We ended up laughing about it all week. And yes, it was difficult to park and drive at times, but we figured it out. It did not wreck our vacation.

I wasn’t going to let this inconvenient situation ruin the family trip we had anticipated for so long. The kids didn’t care what we were driving. It was me. I needed to change my unhelpful thoughts so I could have a better attitude.

Have you had an experience like this? Have you found yourself so upset about a situation or relationship? Thoughts are so powerful. Taking our thoughts captive can provide us with freedom and joy. What thought do you need to capture and change?