My dad mentioned it in one of his articles, but he did not tell the whole story.

My dog Buck got sprayed by a skunk. Actually, he got sprayed twice, about a week apart. It was awful. But I did learn a lesson from it that I am still working on, and it can help me be better for my family, my job, and, really, life in general.

So early one morning, before the sun was up, I was sitting on the couch and started to smell a skunk. At first, I did not think much of it. Then it hit me. Oh crap, Buck is outside.

I look out the window, and there he is, rolling around in the snow, freaking out. That made me freak out. I ran outside to him, right through the smell cloud, so now I have it all over me too. With all the commotion, Buck bolts into the house, rolls all over the rug, and jumps on the couch.

Now I am really losing it.

I grab him and immediately start bathing him.

Looking back, pretty much everything I did in that situation was wrong. And it all came down to one thing. I let a stressful situation get the best of me. I reacted instead of staying calm and making a plan.

Fast forward about a week.

You guessed it. My man Buck gets nailed again by a skunk.

But this time was different.

The door was shut, so he stayed outside. I stayed calm. I did not rush. I knew not to get him wet right away. I let the spray dry, then made a mixture to clean him off.

My staying calm helped Buck stay calm. He was not running around or making things worse. I did not escalate the situation, and because of that, I was able to get most of the smell off him right away.

Same situation. Completely different outcome.

There is a lot more to these stories, but I am summarizing. So, if you ever want the whole tale, reach out if you are interested in a good laugh.

But in all seriousness, it is important that we all learn to take a step back and stay calm. Being overhyped and not thinking clearly does not help anything. It can actually just make things worse.

For me, a lot of it comes from the fact that I always want to have control. Any inconvenience, I want to begin the process of fixing it immediately. Time and slow burns do not bother me, but I want to get that process started as soon as possible.

That is not always the case. Sometimes it is not in our control, and that is a hard thing to grasp.

One thing I heard on a podcast — and sorry, I am big on podcasts and really recommend finding a good one — is to stop and think, what is God trying to teach me in this moment? Is He trying to show me something? Then after we learn it, think about why God may have wanted to show you that.

I got the answer to that question one night when Lauren and I were out to dinner with some friends. It was getting close to Beau’s bedtime. It was getting stressful, and we were in a loud, high-stim environment. But I was able to stay calm and develop a plan with Lauren. She took him out to the car, I boxed up the food, and we got him home, in bed, and calmed down.

I know that is not some super intense situation, but it showed me that in the future, when something is needed from me, I need to have the right mindset. Lock in on what is best and make a clear plan for my son and my family.

Slow down, stay calm, and make a plan. You will handle things a whole lot better that way.

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” – James 1:19