Parenting and Being Okay Joining the Failure Club (7-17-24)

Last week was about flumping. This week is about facing challenges, being human, and being okay with joining the failure club.

Recently, Alice played The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past, which originally came out for Super Nintendo. She struggled quite a bit when she fought Ganon, the final boss, and as a result she became overstimulated and incredibly frustrated. I asked her to pause for a second to catch her breath, and then I asked her what was going on. Exasperated, she told me that she kept missing Ganon with her sword and how she kept screwing up. Reading in between the lines, I could see that she felt like a total failure and that she was the only one to make mistakes like this.

After hearing this I started a funny rant that went like this, “Congratulations! You are now a member of the ‘I missed Ganon with my sword’ club. Anyone who has ever played this game and made it this far is a member of that club. In fact, not only am I a member, but I’m the president of the club. If you give me a few minutes, I’ll even go and stamp your membership card.” Alice busted out laughing. My funny rant made her realize that she wasn’t uniquely a failure. It made her realize that EVERYONE has been in the same boat as her. Once she realized this, she wasn’t as frustrated. She defeated Ganon and saved Hyrule shortly after.

What does this have to do with anything? When you fail at something, do you ever feel like you are alone? Do you ever feel like you must suck or be a horrible person? I know I do. If you’ve ever failed, I’d like to take a moment to welcome you to the “I failed, which makes me human” club.Anyone who has ever lived is a member of this club. If you want, I can even stamp your membership card and give you a sticker 😉 All kidding aside, we are all miraculously flawed and beautiful humans. None of us are ever truly alone in our failures and mistakes. Somewhere there is a larger club with thousands, millions, and even billions of people who have been through something similar. You are never alone. Take solace and strength from that.

The challenge: How will you embrace your membership in the “I’m a messy human club”?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Transforming Experiences with a Little Extra Effort (7-26-23)

Last week was about creating spaces where people can be real. This week is about transforming experiences with a little extra effort.

We stayed home during the week of July 4^th. We did a few small things like rode our bikes, played miniature golf, shot water guns, and did some crafts. It wasn’t anything too cool, but if you talk to my kids they light up and get excited like it was the best week ever. Here’s why. We all love the most recent Legend of Zelda video game, so I thought I could make things a little more special if I put in a little effort to make July 4^th a Zelda inspired week. Instead of just doing activities, I connected those activities to events that happen in the game. For example, we had to explore the land to find Zora’s Domain (bike riding). We had to save a town from pirates (miniature golf at a pirate themed place). We tried the Goron minecart shooting game (water gun fights). We built signs to show President Hudson we support him (structures made of spaghetti, pipe cleaners, and marshmallows). I hid bananas on our front porch and said they were left from the Yiga clan. Now, some of those things may not have meant much to you, which is totally okay. My kids got all the references and enjoyed how they tied the activities we did to a game we all love.

What does this have to do with anything? Every single day we create experiences for people around us. We might create experiences for customers who use the products we support. We might create experiences for teammates and co-workers. How would you describe the experiences you create for others? Are they positive? Are they neutral? Are they negative? Are they meaningful? In the grand scheme of things, the activities I did with my kids (bike riding, miniature golf, crafts) weren’t that unique or impressive. However, the moment I put in a little extra effort to connect those activities to a something my kids cared about, the experience transformed into something more special. By being a little more intentional and putting in a little more effort we can create experiences that truly resonate with others.

The challenge: How are you enhancing the experiences you create for people?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry