Breaking through the Noise

The screeching of the fire alarms bolted me out of bed. I searched for the culprit to hush it before the rest of the house woke up – without success. The fire alarms in our home are hardwired to the house. For added fun and adventure they also have battery backups. To keep it extremely exciting, they talk to each other. If one goes off – because of a fire, smoke, or just a faulty battery – then they all sound off.

Incessantly!
Loudly!
With eardrum splitting determination!

Good luck determining who started the whole mess.

Now that I think about it – much of today’s news works like this. One starts and the others come screeching along – sometimes knowing why but most of the time just screeching because the other started screeching first. Once the batteries are all removed and the noise quieted for a moment, only then do I look around to see what is going on. Many times it is far too late at that point.

Lessons Learned from the Noise

[tweetthis]I need to take the time to learn how it works BEFORE the noise starts.[/tweetthis]

I made the HUGE mistake of having the electrician install the alarms without standing there watching and asking questions. I compounded that mistake by choosing not to read the directions that came with the alarms. My husband added to my mistakes by ignoring the periodic beeping of one of the alarms the night before they worked together to wreck our morning slumber.

Half asleep, trying to shield our ears and mind from the noise, we were desperately trying to get those alarms shut down. It was not pretty and the thought did go through my mind that it would be easier to knock them off the ceiling then try to keep figuring them out.

I need to learn where to look, when to look, and HOW to look so that I am prepared to deal with the noise that the world will throw at me.

We managed to get it done – but it was not pretty.

[tweetthis]Knowing where the noise started can be almost as valuable as knowing what caused the noise.[/tweetthis]

If ONLY we had known that the one alarm was causing the issued – the one that my husband noticed the night before – then we could have gone straight to that one and turned it off. Instead, we skittered around the house – up and down the ladders – trying to shut them all down without much direction.

I need to develop a natural slant to dig down to the root cause or the root source before I skitter off anywhere.

[tweetthis]Sometimes the noise can be used for my benefit in a way that wasn’t expected or planned.[/tweetthis]

There is no way I can go back to sleep after that much noise and chaos. My family can – but not me. I used the extra morning hours to get more of my to-do list done so that I could get ahead of my week.

I have to learn that the situation the noise brings up may just be an opening for me to do something in a different direction. The key is to be willing and then to take advantage when the opportunity arises.

It can be painfully noisy out there. I have to be prepared so that I not only know what to do about the noise but I know what to do with the moment the noise creates.

Be blessed,