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Week 67: Putting the Break in Spring Break

Last week was Spring Break, and we ran ourselves straight ragged.

We began the weekend by driving down to the Mammoth Cave/Lake area of Kentucky. We made a stop at Dinosaur World. We hiked through the cave. We went to a regional zoo and made friends with an emu. We went to the National Corvette Museum.

Then we drove back to Ohio for a few hours.

Only to pack up the oldest kid and head down south to visit Grandma and Uncle Mike.

We ate seafood, bbq, and steaks. We visited the battleship USS Alabama as per tradition. My oldest son shot guns for the first time. We went night fishing and caught catfish. And we topped it off with a great Easter feast with friends and family.

I took one meeting for work all week. It was glorious.

And I returned home utterly exhausted; physically depleted but spiritually rejuvenated.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Philosophical Dad Stuff

One of my favorite parables is the story of the two wolves within all of us.

It’s a story told many ways, but the one I read was that one day a wise Cherokee Indian chief tells his grandson that there is a fight going on inside of all of us.

A fight between two wolves.

One wolf represents anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other represents joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

The grandson thinks for a moment before asking which wolf will win.

The wise old chief responds, “The one you feed.”

Feed the good wolf.

Leadership

There’s an old, made-for-television movie about the Alamo, titled “13 Days to Glory” and starring a young Alec Baldwin and an old James Arness among other stars.

Shortly before the final assault on the volunteers, Baldwin’s character, Lt. Col. William Barrett Travis delivers a speech, and draws a line in the sand.

He tells the men that reinforcements are not coming. There is no doubt as to the price of remaining. Each of them will have to choose to either run to safety, or stay and fight to the bitter end.

This past week, while far less consequential, I also drew a line in the sand with my team at work.

I talked about the headwinds we’re facing. Economic uncertainty. Shifting customer preference, increased competition, and new exciting technologies are putting more pressure on us than ever.

I talked about the rule of law being under threat in some parts of the world.

And I talked about how what they’re doing MATTERS.

I saw some sparks. Now to nurture that tiny flame.

They say the first step to solving any problem is acknowledging one exists. Some weeks ago, I’d realized my communication was becoming net negative in nature. It wasn’t just at work either.

I began to consider questions such as “Who am I becoming?” more and more. And I didn’t care for the answer.

Don’t like it? Get better.

I started improving my inputs. I quit reading the news so much. I started reading more inspiring material.

I acknowledged the disappointment that being hurt would preclude chasing ultramarathon related goals this year. And I got on the exercise bike instead.

As things seemed ever more complicated, it seemed a more fitting pivot to get back to basics. I started focusing on one interaction at a time instead of trying to do everything all the time.

Progress!

Then came the horrifying part.

I’d already conditioned some of the people I spent the most time with to think that I was rapidly becoming a grumpy, old curmudgeon.

They didn’t trust the change. At first.

But I’ve been down one of these lonely roads before, and I know that one-day-at-a-time works for a lot of things.

So I did the same thing as the last time, I didn’t talk about it. I didn’t crow about it, or post on social media. In many ways, I stopped talking about it altogether.

And instead, starting BEING ABOUT IT.

We generally overestimate what we can do in a single day, but we definitely underestimate what we can do in 100 days. Over the last month, there’s been renewed energy in my communications, but it’s requiring constant vigilance.

But the people who matter have responded. They know when you’re not bullshitting them.

This week is our annual leadership conference at work. I look forward to it and get energized by the presentations, breakouts, new ways of thinking, and new approaches to both problems and opportunities.

And it couldn’t come at a better time for me.

“It’s not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves.” Cassius from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Live triumphantly. See you next week.