When I was growing up, I loved to watch those Roadrunner vs. Coyote cartoons. They were my favorite Saturday morning cartoons.

The Coyote, ever the trickster, was always out to “get” the Roadrunner. Coyote came up with all these elaborate schemes to kill “poor little Roadrunner.” Frequently these schemes involved trying to drop an anvil on Roadrunner's head. Somehow, Roadrunner always knew the “Anvil Moment” was at hand, and would leisurely step aside. Without fail, Coyote's plan to harm Roadrunner would boomerang, and only bring further insult and injury to Coyote himself.

While our lives are not cartoons, Coyote (the trickster) seems to always be following us around, doesn't he? And we definitely each have our own “Anvil Moments”. We look up, and out of the clear blue sky it seems disaster is hurtling directly toward us. It's not a question of if we will have an “Anvil Moment”, it's a question of when.

How do we emulate the unshakable Roadrunner, and avoid the anvil? I think there are three valuable lessons we can learn from this lovable cartoon character:

And the next time you thwart one of Coyote's schemes, don't forget to give him a heartfelt “MEEP – MEEP”.