What’s in this issue:
💭 Thought: The gift of perspective
😆 Today’s Laugh
💭 Today’s Thought
My husband is in the U.S. military, and two weeks ago, he got the news that he could possibly be deployed within the next six months. And to help him prepare for this possibility, he would need to attend a mandatory two-week training at the end of April.
Without getting too into the details, I’m sure you can imagine the range of emotions and thoughts running through both me and my husband.
I felt extremely anxious at times, knowing this was completely out of my control.
I felt calm at other times, because this was completely out of my control.
The planner in me started re-arranging our schedule for the end of the month, to make things work while he was at training.
And yes, I also started thinking about what help I would ask for and how I would navigate him being deployed for months at a time.
Fast forward one week…
My husband loves to play soccer, and ends up breaking his ankle during a game. The expected recovery period is 6+ weeks.
The next day, he got a call from an officer letting him know that because he broke his ankle — and thus couldn’t go to the mandatory training in April — they were removing his name from the deployment list.
Again, a swell of different emotions…
First, relief.
Then, fear (will this make him more likely to be deployed next year?).
And also sadness, as his next couple of months recovering will be hard and painful in many ways.
My experiences these past couple of weeks have reminded me that we’re so quick to assign meaning to events in our lives as either good or bad. But really, life is full of surprises, and we likely can’t know the full meaning of a single event without allowing for the passage of time, and with that, the gift of perspective.
The parable of the Chinese farmer helped me get through the ups and downs these past couple of weeks, and I offer it today in case it supports you to access new perspectives and feelings around the surprising events that happen in your life…
Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all of his neighbors came around to commiserate. They said, “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate.” The farmer said, “Maybe.” The next day the horse came back bringing seven wild horses with it, and in the evening everybody came back and said, “Oh, isn’t that lucky. What a great turn of events. You now have eight horses!” The farmer again said, “Maybe.”
The following day his son tried to break one of the horses, and while riding it, he was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbors then said, “Oh dear, that’s too bad,” and the farmer responded, “Maybe.” The next day the conscription officers came around to conscript people into the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. Again all the neighbors came around and said, “Isn’t that great!” Again, he said, “Maybe.”
📚 Today’s Read
Your Operator’s Manual: Craft Your User’s Guide
When it comes to working well with others it can help to share with them a bit about us, such as who we are at our best, our personality, and our working style. Doing so can be a boon for the interpersonal work needed for great collaborations.
- Allison Schultz
Crafting an Operator’s Manual is a practice we use often at the company I work for (Automattic, Inc.). To build a culture of high trust, authenticity, and collaboration, I highly encourage you to go through the exercise in Allison’s article (adapted from a framework we use at Automattic), both for yourself and with your team. Click here to read more.
See you next week!
xo,
Anne