While traveling across the country this year, I’m getting a sense of what’s essential:

Berkey water filter– So we can have clean, great tasting water anywhere.
Two comfy pairs of pants– To have one to wear while the others in the wash.
Meditation cushion– So people know I meditate. (Lol)
Good coffee– Because, good coffee.

The most essential of all (Besides food, shelter and good coffee) — Wifi. Strong Wifi.

My work depends on video meetings. Any lag or freezing takes away from the experience of a meditation or coaching session.

When people are investing their time and money, I feel it’s my responsibility to have a basic thing like Wifi Figured out.

Which is why, logging onto my first coaching session from my new place, my heart sank — “Your connection is unstable.” The video was choppy, and the meetings only got worse throughout the day.

I went into problem-solving mode. Low speed should be a simple fix — Pay for faster internet.

I recently read the futurist Kevin Kelly say, “Any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem.”

I get that there’s privilege to this statement. However, when I called the service provider, happily willing to dish out whatever it costs, I learned they only had one speed. The quote landed — Now I had a problem.

I was furious. It’s not like I’m in the badlands of South Dakota. I’m in SAN FRANCISCO. This place is like, where the internet was born! Why can’t they make it faster!? SOMEONE TAKE MY MONEY!

I trudged on, researching mesh wifi systems, going to Best Buy, talking to people about things I don’t understand — no luck.

I kept calling the provider, begging to find some loophole, but they rarely picked up the phone. Isn’t this a business that needs to answer?? Maybe my New Jersey number scared them away.

I kept looking for answers outside. I thought about getting a Hotspot from Verizon but the speed seemed subpar.

I sulked and pouted, feeling helpless to fix the problem. I expressed this to Kelly. She was sympathetic but confused. She told me that her video calls were fine — no issues at all.

It didn’t make sense. I have a new Macbook Pro. Her Mac is an old 2014 model. The problem couldn’t be my system, could it?

After another choppy meeting, I decided to test her computer.

It worked great.

Being a scholar in the scientific method, (lol²) I concluded the problem was not the internet. It was my computer.

After spending an hour on the phone with Apple, we found my Bluetooth was interfering with the connection.

The fix? Turn off Bluetooth. Voilà! Wifi worked.

Why am I telling you this story about everyday frustrations?

Because my actions tell a truth as old as time — The problem is not outside. It’s inside.

Well in this case, inside my computer, but you get the cheesy metaphor now I hope. 😉

We’re trained to look for answers “out there.” We buy gadgets, take pills, and outsource our power to authority figures. We jump through relationships trying to find “the one.” We move locations, shift careers, change presidents- but as Jon Kabat-Zinn wonderfully stated, “Wherever you go, there you are.”

We still bring ourselves to the table. Like the case with my Wifi, most of our issues are internal. The good news is, we have the power to change that.

As we change whats inside, the outside unfolds and blossoms.

If we don’t take back our power, we’ll project and blame the world for our problems. We’ll fall into ignorance and think, it couldn’t be me!

When we take responsibility we realize it could be me, and Thank God for that. Now we can do something about it.