The Pathway Part 1 | Reflection - are we lost?
Let's set the scene...I'm sure we've all lived it at some point. We are loaded up in the car with family or a group of friends, bags packed, an ice chest full of drinks, sandwiches, and bags of chips at the ready. It’s road trip time! As we barrel toward our destination, the car ride seems to take a little longer than it should. After a while everyone seemingly realizes we have been circling a bit and we ask, "Are we there yet? How much longer? Didn’t we just see that same sign?" And then eventually…."Are we lost?” After a brief moment of silence with the driver leaning over the wheel squinting out the window as if to narrow their focus, “no of course not, I know exactly where we are, we're just taking the scenic route.” Of course, everyone in the car, including the driver, knows after passing the same gas station for the fourth time...we are lost. The key here, however, is knowing the point at which we are lost and making the decision to stop and {gulp} ask for directions. In that moment of stopping to ask for directions the decision that has been made is not one of weakness, rather one of accepting responsibility and having the courage to get back on the right path. Of course, nowadays with Waze, Google Maps, or any number of navigation apps, this generally doesn't happen as much as it used to.Now think about this familiar scene in terms of our careers. We try to navigate the busy, chaotic, noisy, dimly lit streets of our coaching or teaching professional careers balanced with our personal lives and with very little direction, if any at all - there certainly is no true GPS (more on that later). It is oftentimes as if we are driving with a blindfold on circling the same block in a distant town far away from home. {hey there’s that same billboard again}. How many times have we faced the same questions, concerns, or doubts after a game? How many times have we walked into a practice with "our drills" but without truly clear directions of where we are headed? How often is the reason because we do not know exactly where we are? A better analogy for this may even be a ten-lane traffic jam during rush hour with a wreck up ahead while trying to merge across three lanes to get off on our exit. Either way, the moment of truth is being able to ask that first question and admit that we may need to find our location, that we are in fact, a bit lost. Plus, our "current location" might be further away from your destination than any of us would like to admit.This moment of reflection requires introspective vulnerability. How can we know where we need to head if we do not know exactly where we are? This process typically begins by asking a question, maybe even a single question, either to ourselves or coming from someone else. It is this willingness to simply ask these questions, the right questions, and be vulnerable enough, secure enough, and confident enough in yourself to look inward that truly matters. This deep reflection helps us know exactly where we are by raising our awareness and allows us to find the exact GPS location of our professional paths. This is of course is great news because now we can finally begin the journey to our true, clear, and aligned destination. Stay Essential, Kyle KavanaughAre you ready to start your reflection process? Click here.