The Tribe Gathering- Sunday Mindset For The Week Ahead

What's Next?

Author

The Tribe Has Spoken
May 28, 2023

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest."

- Confucius

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL GRADUATES!!

In the same manner you get your body “beach ready,” in hoodie weather, so do we also develop who we are in “sunny seasons” by the growth that took place in the “winter”

Turn, turn, turn. Being an educator and coach requires living by a schedule dictated to you by the season you’re in. You become as dependent on the Fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring, and Summer breaks as a fussy toddler needing to be carried & tucked in at nap time. Both longing to be coddled and carted to a place of rest in order to recharge and rejuvenate.

As a leader, however, we can’t allow ourselves to give in to our own whining about our difficult times and be lulled to sleep by the cheers and chants that fill the background of a winning season like the lullaby of waves crashing on the sand in Summer.

Likewise, we can’t fall into the trap of hibernating and hiding from the cold. Like a seed in the ground waiting for warming temps, more direct sunlight, and life-giving rain to wash away the muck and mire so it can bloom, we must endure and simultaneously grow stronger while facing our “winters” head on.

Though rest is vital, so is reflection and, when needed, reformation. This is why, regardless of the forecast of your current season, the most vital question we can always ask ourselves is, what’s next?

As new seeds fall to the ground and become covered by the Fall foliage, they’ll endure a harsh winter before their true growth and fruition are evident. We in like manner learn the most from our “cold and dark seasons.”

Without reflection on the previous season we’ve endured we can regretfully neglect to acknowledge the beauty of what we passed through. It’s so very easy to dismiss the lessons learned and growth acquired from our “winters,” because we’re as determined to reach an easier or more successful season as a summer sun-kissed child rushing toward the surf. Gratitude is a muscle that should be exercised fervently and often regardless of your amount of “cloud cover.”

We can take our “sunny seasons,” for granted as well. The sound of laughter and music on a beach are quickly drowned out by the wind and rustling of leaves in the early Autumn. If we’re aware of change occurring we can see the leaves begin to signal the Fall. Such is life and sport. And while we know that transformation of our season is baring down on us we can still reflect on the sun, smiles, and warmth of “winning seasons,” and express our gratitude in the manner in which we step into our “Falls.” Even while we wait on the next lesson to be presented by the coming “winter,” we can rest assured as we dig in that once it passes we will be stronger because of it.

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.- Eleanor Roosevelt

The cold doesn’t last forever, and neither will your trials and troubled times. Be grateful for the strength, wisdom, & growth acquired from these seasons. There’s a reason why you’re going through the season you find yourself in. This is the necessity in asking “what’s next?” This is where the person and leader you must be next is built. Express humility, gratitude, acceptance, and resilience. Learn from the season you’re in. The knowledge, perspective, & armor built will be needed.

The sun will shine on you again. Your time to bloom is coming. Grow stronger, be ready, be grateful.

Just as graduating high school and college seniors in unison fling their caps into the air as Spring flowers simultaneously explode into full bloom, times of adversity will end with the coming of a season of triumph. Be ready for your time to fulfill your purpose by using your new found strength and resolve. And be grateful for the cold that shaped you.

Continue to learn and grow in every season. In like fashion, success, winning, and easier times are finite. And though we should absolutely soak them up like we do the sounds, sights, and sun of the Summer, be careful to stay aware while you’re lying in your lounge chair during “warmer months,” else you might just get sunburned!

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