The Unexpected

I have a post about goal setting and helping hold others accountable or motivating people to keep at it but what happens when something unplanned happens? I believe it could be called "a spanner in the works" (which is also a Rod Stewart album I think) and how do you deal with that?

Like I mentioned in my other post about my monitor not working due to something getting spilled on it because of a wayward squeaky toy. That was fine because I had a monitor from work that I could plug into via a docking station. I will need a monitor since my intermediate programming course will be starting now that I finished my last course (got an "A") and I can't use my work computer since I will most likely have to download a program.

But, the docking station went out last night. I plugged the connector into my laptop and it didn't recognize the monitor. I tried unplugging it and putting it back in and nothing worked. Then it made a loud whirring noise and the light turned off. 

I tried looking for causes using my mobile but nothing seemed to fit the issue I was experiencing. I checked prices for a brand new docking station but the brand name ones were too expensive for me. I found an off-brand one that was highly rated and had a couple thousand purchases in the last month so I paid the extra shipping to have it delivered on Sunday. I'm hoping that will fix the issue. If not, I will have to get another computer and shift things over which can be a pain. Also, with rent coming due, I don't really have extra funds for another machine. But, it would be cheaper than having a computer tech come and look at it.

I might be delayed in starting my next course. I don't know. It can get frustrating when you're trying to do something and things happen. And people saying "Well you should have..." doesn't help. That's hindsight and won't help fix the problem you have now. I felt useless yesterday when I couldn't get it to work because it was just fine the day before. The dog sensed it because she came over and gave me kisses (she also wanted to play). After a while, I played with the dog and did a picture to keep my mind off of my problem (there wasn't anything more I could do about it at that point in time anyway).

I do know, however, that I can't let this potential setback derail me from getting my degree. That would be like admitting defeat and resigning myself to stay at my current job which is something I can't do (too much stress here). It also would make all the effort I put in to get to this point seem useless. And I don't want that.

I know I spent quite a bit of time on my own circumstances, but to all others, how do you deal with the unexpected? A contingency plan is a good thing to have and a probability assessment but how do you deal with things outside the scope? We aren't omnipotent (even though it seems many expect us to be).