Outsmart Chaos 128: The End of the Year
The Test at the End proves you out.
As mentioned last week, at the beginning of 2025, my word was becoming.
I thought it meant growth.
But really, it meant becoming resolute in who I am, and living in a way that illustrated that. On New Year’s Eve, my family and I were to take the first flight back home. This would be my “final exam” for the year.
The Flight
The flight took off at 6:25 AM Eastern time. I needed to get my family ready and to the airport by 4:25.
That was rough, as we had a party the night before that put us in bed about midnight, and it was a 30-minute drive to the airport.
3:00 Wake up.
3:30 Out the door.
4:05 Drop off rental car.
We’re on track.
We got to the check-in area, to the baggage drop. This is where it started to unfold.
1.5 Hours waiting in line to drop bags.
20 minutes at the TSA line.
We were RUNNING to the gate.
We missed it by one minute. We watched the plane sit at the gate for 10 minutes…yet us and another family (11 passengers between the two families) were stuck.
We were booked on the next flight, 2:30 departure.
8 more hours in the airport…or so we thought.
The Beginning of the Challenge
We had a family meeting and discussed how we want to show up to challenges like this. A tired group of travelers became confident they could make the day enjoyable.
We played cards.
We shopped at the shops.
We ate expensive, bad pizza.
What I thought was going to be miserable ended up being quite fun.
The family's attitudes were solid. Resolute together in our goal to make the last day of our trip enjoyable. We did well.
What was Next
For brevity, I’ll just say that this was not the end.
4 Gate changes
Flight delayed 6 times, final takeoff around 4:30 pm (> 12 hours after we arrived at the airport)
Arriving home, there was no gate. Waited on tarmac for 45 minutes.
Final arrival: 8:30 PM central. 17 hours after we left for the airport.
My Lesson
My wife and kids taught me some great lessons that day.
Having fun is dependent on who you’re with, not where you are.
Your attitude is your choice. Choose wisely.
Even though there’s frustration, there are often caring and helpful people along the way.
As we left 2025 together, a year of tremendous challenge, I was reminded what becoming actually means. It means being confident in who you are, having great stability, and modeling courage in living out that identity, no matter the circumstances.
As I look to 2026, my word and my plan are “Connected Discipline”.
We’ll talk more about that later.
RZLTE | Strength under pressure. Clarity through chaos.
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