“We don’t just do what’s easy. We do what’s right.”
I think we can all agree that the last year has been difficult for many of us. Of course, there are obvious reasons like financial hardships and wearing a mask and not doing some of the things we enjoy. The hardest part for most of us, though, has been the lack of social interaction with our family, friends, coworkers, and schoolmates.
This exact empty feeling led Mr. Jack Fallon and TLC Ambassador Mr. Varlam Grigorian to decide that the FSU team needed to figure out somehow a way to spend time with TLC and be around the TLC energy. As these two visionaries spoke, they decided that Dubai was a destination where everyone could travel to during these times. It would be cost-effective and a bit easier for that team to travel to one central location.
As I sit down to write this communication, I find myself sitting in the United Arab Emirates for the first time. In Jack and I’s case, it definitely was not easy to get here, but we knew it was the right thing to do.
Three days before departure, a mandatory test needed to be taken to board the international flight. The flight itself was seven hours to Amsterdam with a six-hour layover and then seven more additional hours to Dubai international airport. In total, the trip took a little more than 20 hours, and there is an eight-hour time difference which is very difficult to adjust to. This was not going to be fun.
We landed in the middle of the night, and by the time we arrived at our hotel, it was 3 AM. The next day there were some activities that we would be taking part in with the team, so we needed to figure out a way to get some rest and adjust to the new time zone very quickly. This sounds easy, but since it was 7 PM back at home it was a little bit challenging to fall asleep quickly.
The next day we were greeted by the team, which included members from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Moldova, to name a few. It was amazing! The energy and the enthusiasm of the people were very high. We took pictures, and we embraced, and we shared stories of the future’s past and goals. At this moment, I realized this was the right thing to do for me to be here with them. Of course, I knew when we decided to go that it was the right decision, but when you are in that moment, and you FEEL that it was the right decision is what makes it all worth it.
For me, this is the most important part of doing the right thing. When we think about doing the right thing, sometimes we decide to do it, and sometimes we don’t because we are humans. When we choose to do the right thing, the feeling we experience while we are doing it or after we have done it is the most extraordinary feeling.
Maybe you have changed your vacation plans because someone was getting married. Or perhaps you attended a funeral even though you had other things to do like work or some fun activity. Maybe you have decided to visit someone like an old friend or a family member even though it was going to be expensive and take a long time to get there.
If you think back at those moments after you went through the hardship or the inconvenience, the feeling you had was a great feeling. You knew you were doing the right thing, and at that moment, you forgot about everything you went through to make it happen.
That’s how I felt when I met with the team here, and the feeling only got more and more as we continued into day two and day three of our retreat.
In addition, this great feeling has also been a reminder that the next time that I am faced with a difficult decision that I should look deep within my soul for the strength and the energy to make the right decision and do the right thing because there is no better feeling than that!
I’m heading back to the U.S.A. Thursday, but before I do, I have to take another test, get on two long flights with another long layover and adjust to a new time zone again. It will not be easy, but it is the right thing to do for my family, friends, and TLC community. I am sure once I am home, I will feel it and also reflect on what is the next thing I can do that is right because once you get in the routine of doing the right thing, you are always hungry for more. Maybe that’s why that core value follows this one!
We will discuss that core value next week; until then, have a fantastic week and try to do the right thing between now and then so you can experience the feeling that feeds the spirit the most, the feeling of doing the right thing!
Thanks for reading!
