Finding Lessons in Challenging Situations (Abominable Snow Race) 2-4-26

This is a one-off entry inspired by the Abominable Snow Race. It’s about finding lessons in challenging situations.

I managed to talk my entire family into doing the Abominable Snow Race this year. We did the 5k obstacle course race through the snowy wooded trails of Wisconsin. I can’t say it was exactly fun, BUT it was an adventure. Here are a few of the highlights/lowlights 😉

It was cold! At the start of the race we were at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, a lot worse than we thought it would be. The course also had more hills than anticipated.
The first mile was gorgeous. Beautiful wooded trails, lots of fresh snow to eat, and a few easy obstacles to warm up on. We even saw a local racing legend who does the race in a speedo every year. I don’t know if he is brave, tough, crazy, or all of the above.
By mile 2 things got rough. We were tired and cold. We were all a bit cranky. I kept telling the kids that we only had one really difficult thing left. We had to climb up this steep hill with a rope. We got about ¾ up the incline when we all went tumbling down. I skinned my knee and for a moment the kids thought we would be trapped in the woods forever living as forest monks. (actual quote)
Now we were at mile 2.5. We were taking a break, the kids gasping for breath, overwhelmed and unsure if they could make it. Out of nowhere this woman comes over to check out on us. She tells my kids she feels their pain and is suffering right along with them. She tells us she’s from North Carolina and NOT AT ALL READY for the cold or snow. We look at her face and a combo of sweat, ice, and tears had her mascara running down her face like war paint. The kids snap out of their moment and go walking along like they are perfectly fine, and the woman joins us, another duck in our row. We become a merry band of misfits, offering moral support as we wind through the woods for the last half mile of the race. The woman says how her kids would never be able to do this, which makes my kids feel incredible.
We crossed the finish line, and while it wasn’t pretty we made it. We were all angry, exhausted, and freezing. We had been through some things. Everyone was so grumpy we didn’t even talk for like 15 minutes. After we got some food in our belly we looked back and started laughing at the wild series of events. Also, I helped the kids see that even if it was hard, even if they struggled, they did something that day that most people wouldn’t even try to do.

Our lessons from the day

It’s possible to find humor and even joy in things that suck. It may not have all been fun at the time, but looking back, the entire experience is HILARIOUS! We have laughed so hard recounting the tales with folks.
Part of the reason why it was so hard is we assumed it wouldn’t be as hilly and as cold as it initially was. It’s a good lesson that being physically AND mentally prepared for the worst comes in handy.
It’s nice to have a reminder of what you are capable of. The race was a testament that we can do hard things. During future challenges one of our measuring sticks will be, “Is this as hard as the Abominable Snow Race?” Probably not. I’m so dang proud of my kiddos for doing this.
There are always people out there to commiserate with and help along. Our encounter with the woman was a cool one. She helped us and we helped her.
If you’re angry and hate the world, maybe you’re just tired, cold, and hungry. A good warm meal can solve a lot of problems 😉

Connection with work- Maybe you’re not trudging through cold and snow right now. I’d bet that you are facing some challenges. With this in mind, I imagine that some of the lessons we learned during our race are applicable to where you are too.

The challenge- What lessons will you take from the challenge you are currently in?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Vacation and Preparing for Dragons (10-5-22)

Pretty sure this is the embodiment of going through busy airports

See the source image Happy Wednesday,

This week we will kick off a series based on reflections I had during my most recent vacation. My family went on a cruise that visited Belgium, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England. This week is about vacations and preparing for dragons.

Before we went on vacation, my wife and I sat down with the kids. My wife explained, “This is not a vacation. This is going to be an adventure. We will have main goals, side missions, and treasure! AND there will be dragons that we will need to slay or avoid. Luckily, I know we are tough enough to defeat those beasts.” The kids chuckled at the time, but there could not have been a more fitting description. While we had an amazing time, we also ran into quite a few dragons like navigating new and anxiety inducing environments, tight layovers and needing to sprint through airports, lost luggage, our itinerary being completely changed due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth (no joke), navigating the streets and tubes of London with suitcases, and more. Whenever one of these challenges would arise, we would all say, “This is just another dragon to slay,” and after we got through it, we would celebrate surviving the beast. As silly as it may sound, the simple fact that we went into vacation knowing there would be dragons gave us the strength and confidence to better deal with them.

What does this have to do with anything? At work, how often do we start a workstream by acknowledging that we EXPECT to fight dragons? I’d argue, not often enough. Usually, we plan and assume that everything will go according to plan. We build timelines with minimal buffer as if there will be no bumps. Now this might sound good in theory, but then once we run into a dragon, we aren’t ready mentally do deal with it. Does this sound familiar? I know this happens to me all the time. Think of how different it would be if we started projects by talking about potential dragons we expect to encounter and mentally preparing for unexpected dragons. How would that change our preparation? How would that change our ability to mentally pivot to deal with the dragons?

The challenge: How can we do a better job of preparing for the dragons we will inevitably face?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Lessons from Being a Dad Part 4 What if we unlearned that obstacles should stop us? (3-2-16)

We’ve talked about recognition and appreciation, so now it’s time to switch gears to talk about determination. This is one of my favorite pictures of Violet. This is her, “Nothing is going to stop me!” look.

Since she was born, Violet has been strong, ornery, and stubborn. (Where did those traits come from?) I believe these super powers of hers are magnified by the fact that she’s a toddler. If you ever want to see true focused “you can’t stop me” determination, you should try to put obstacles in a toddler’s way. I don’t think that toddlers understand the fact that obstacles are supposed to slow them down or stop them. I think this is something they learn over time. Instead of being limited by obstacles, they are so focused on achieving their goal that they just power through.

For example, the other day Violet wanted some cookies. We told her no and put them on the kitchen island out of her reach. We thought that would end the situation. We were wrong. We were playing and all of a sudden we realize Violet had snuck away. Violet had moved a kitchen chair and a bar stool to the island. We watched as she got onto the kitchen chair to climb on the bar stool to get on top of the island. She smiled to herself as she opened up the tub of cookies and grabbed one. I’m not sure this was the best parenting move, but I let her have the cookie. I had way too much appreciation for the determination and problem solving 😉

This is one example. She has figured out baby gates, childproof locks, etc. In each of these instances, Violet could have looked at the obstacle, decided it would be too hard to overcome, and gave up. However, she doesn’t know what an obstacle is, so she doesn’t know it’s supposed to stop her. Instead, she views the obstacle as something she’ll have to power through to get to her goal.

What would happen if we started to look at obstacles like Violet? What if we unlearned the fact that obstacles are supposed to stop us? How would that change the way you worked and lived your life?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry