This past weekend, I went to a Murder Mystery Dinner and Improv Weekend at the Zinks with a few of my Klemmer Pride. We were there for fun and fellowship, but honestly? The real “improv” started before I even got to the airport.
The learning, the growth, and the God assignment showed up before I even cleared security.
Pattern Recognition: I Haven’t Unpacked It
I realized a few days before my trip that my flight was booked under my maiden name. I have no idea how it happened; my divorce was finalized last February, I kept my married name, and I’ve flown several times since then without an issue.
But here’s the thing: I knew about the discrepancy. I told myself, “Yolanda, make sure you take your marriage certificate. You don’t have any ID with your maiden name.” I even responded to myself: “Got it. Will do.”
Well, I didn’t do it. Completely forgot.
Then I told myself to check in 24 hours early. I didn’t do that either. There’s a pattern there—a reminder that sometimes we create our own hurdles.
Tony Robbins always says that “Success leaves clues,” but so does self-sabotage. He teaches that Pattern Recognition is the first step to changing your life, but recognition is only half the battle. I get to move into Pattern Utilization—actually doing something with what I see.
I’m currently in that middle space. I’ve recognized the pattern of “I’ll do it later,” but I haven’t done the deeper work to break it yet. I saw the hurdle I built, but I didn’t move it. (If you feel like you’re hitting similar plateaus, you might want to check out my Momentum Blockers Survey to see what’s standing in your way).
“Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeazy” (Or So I Thought)
I was just 15 minutes from the airport when I realized I still hadn’t checked in. I figured, “I’ll just do it at the first red light. Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeazy.”
Except it wasn’t. The app kept saying “no itinerary for this passenger.” I copied, I pasted, I tried again. Then it hit me: the maiden name.
I didn’t panic. I went into “fix-it” mode while navigating Dallas morning commute traffic, but eventually, I had to admit that I had no control and this wasn’t safe. So, I prayed:
“Lord, this can work. There are an infinite number of ways that this can logically work out. And I’m asking that you work it out in such a way where I know that it’s You without a doubt. I’m going to stop looking for solutions and trust You to handle it.”
The 15-Minute Miracle
I’d love to say I stayed in total trust, but the second I hit the shuttle, I was back in solution mode. I scoured Google Drive and searched county records for marriage licenses. Nada. Zilch.
I got to the Help Desk and the employee told me the flight starts boarding in 15 minutes.
I was desperate. I searched every old email, every digital archive. Then, I remembered an email address I created back in the 1990s. I found it: An email with my dissertation forms. There they were, side by side: my married name and my maiden name. The employee accepted it. I made the flight.
Thankfully, when my patterns failed me, God’s plan didn’t. He answered my prayer exactly how I asked: in a way where I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, it was Him.
Your Move: Don’t Let the Mess Stop the Mission
We often wait until we have it all figured out before we claim our assignment. But if I had waited until I “fixed” my patterns, I would have missed the miracle.
Coming Soon: This airport mishap was just the preamble. Stay tuned for my upcoming posts where I’ll be diving deep into the actual Improv Weekend—sharing the incredible insights, the unexpected growth, and the breakthrough moments that happened once I finally got off that plane.
What pattern are you recognizing today? Don’t let the hurdle you built stop you from the move you’re supposed to make. Leave a comment below and let’s talk about it.
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