Tag: determination

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

Pretty sure this is the embodiment of going through busy airports

See the source imageHappy 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