Happy Easter from PurposeWorks
We know it’s a short week so we will try to keep this morning’s thoughts short, sweet and impactful.
I had the amazing privilege of going scuba-diving this past weekend in one of my absolute favorite places in the world, Sodwana. I wanted to share some reflections on my trip and hopefully they will give you some perspective as they did me.
But first a little back story is necessary to contextualise my thoughts. Five years ago my husband and I did our open water scuba course – I hated every single minute of the training: I am claustrophobic as hell in a wet suit. I couldn’t equalise, so it was painful to get deep enough under water to learn the necessary skills. I struggled to get the breathing right because now I needed to breathe in and out through my mouth and not my nose.
I really felt like giving up.
One of the last pool skills you need to do is remove your mask and swim only with the tank and regulator (the device that helps you breath under water) from one end of the pool to the other. I was terrified. I began swimming and about midway through the pool I swallowed what felt like half the pools water. I started panicking! I knew if I went up to the surface I would have to start all over and they probably wouldn’t clear me to dive. I stopped, finished choking, and said to myself – “you have got this far you need to finish”.
AND I DID.
After I got out the pool my husband said “I really thought you were going to quit!” I didn’t and that was a huge win for me!
Fast forward to this past weekend – I now cannot wait to get into the water. When I fall into to water it is like I GET TO breathe. So here are some of the reflections I had on events of the weekend:
1. On the way we got a burst tyre when we hit a pothole – not the way we were planning on starting our weekend. I was running on very little sleep which made my resilience way less than it could have been. We were stuck in a small town with four small kids for four hours. Talk about getting off to a flying start.
Reflection: Sometimes we need to (or even get forced to) sit still, get stuck, to find time to think, to gain perspective and move forward. The world is obsessed with going flat-out, but going slow is still moving. Also, SLEEP is super important. No matter how good our intentions are, when we don’t sleep enough our impact is limited and we cannot show up as our best selves.
2. For me to be confident and comfortable falling backwards into the ocean, I have a process or ritual I follow while setting up my gear. My process gives me comfort, it grounds me – It doesn’t ensure things can’t go wrong but it allows me to respond better to the unexpected.
Reflection: Don’t look around at what others are doing. Comparison will only make you insecure or over-confident and none of those are a good place to operate from. Find, test and establish a process that works for you. Stick to it. Trust it. Focus on what you can control and do your best to forget about the rest or what others are getting up to.
3. The dives weren’t great. The conditions were rough, we had to fight streams and surge which makes seeing anything hard and makes the dive challenging.
Reflection: You can choose to focus on the stream or see it as part of the experience. When you focus on the stream or the challenge, all you will remember and see is the hard parts, the negative and the less than optimal. When you accept it as part of the experience, you are more present and you get to see things that you would have otherwise missed.
4. My 3-year-old daughter was being a little (a lot) challenging and I became extremely frustrated with her being so clingy. When I stopped and took stock I realized how super scary it must have been for her watching me ride out on a boat and not knowing whether I will come back.
Reflection: We need to meet people where they are. I need to have compassion. The world can do with more compassion. Every person we encounter has a story, a fear, a journey, something they are struggling with. There is much value in (at least) trying to see things from somebody else’s perspective.
Thank you for taking the time to spend some of your short week with us. We really (seriaasly) do appreciate it!
I hope that you will get to spend time with your loved ones this long weekend. And that you can be present and rest well. If you will be travelling, please do so safely.
God bless you and your loved ones.
At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.
