MOVE: May 9, 2014

The Willingness to Keep Solving Problems

Spoiler summary: The success paradox: the closer you get to success, the harder you have to work to keep succeeding.....it's not all rainbows and unicorns.....but succeeding, even without complete success, is a series of good problems and continued development.

It's soccer tryout season in the Eisenhart household.  For those folks that have kids who play competitive soccer, you probably know what I'm referring to.  It's like preparing for the big recital for musicians, or preparing for the science fair for the academically inclined or preparing for the belt-test for various martial artists......it's about taking all of the effort and learning that's happened over the last year and letting it fly....executing, and it's stressful for all involved.  It reminds me a little bit of the college application process - maybe there's a "safe" school (or in this case team) where you're pretty sure you'll be accepted and probably do well even without pushing too hard......there could be a "stretch" school, where things would have to go just-right to pull it off and the challenge and stakes would be very (maybe too) high....and then there's the "challenge" school, where it's not a guarantee by any means, but you're pretty sure you can pull it off, and you'll likely develop faster if you do.....Goldilocks: not too hot, not too cold....just right.

Although my son (7) is only starting to care.....my two daughters (10 & 12) are serious and focused.  Somehow (with a dad that grew up with only a fleeting interest in the sport) it has become their passion.....or if you read last week's note, their "geek-dom" (I blame it on their mom).  They have been working hard all year with the goal of improving their skills and pushing forward in their pursuit to be the best they can be, a life-lesson I truly LOVE to support.  So far, it seems to be going pretty well.  They both appear to have solid clubs who are interested; and with me being a big believer in "hard work pays off", I'm happy for them both.  So the last couple of nights, as we get closer to "offers", and the decision of where (and for whom) to play, I've started to try to interject the questions that I hope will help them process through the decision (ultimately their decision) of which opportunity to pursue.

"What if you get an offer from XYZ (stretch) club?", "What if you get two offers that both seem really great?", "What if you have to decide on one before you hear from the other?", "What's the most important thing to you in deciding?", "What's the thing you think could lead you down the wrong path?", "If you opt for a new, harder challenge, are you ready to keep working as hard as you have this year?", "Are you ready to work harder if you need to?", etc.

As I watched them struggle to think through the questions, it was remarkable to me how similar the conversation was to the many professional conversations that my team has with folks who are also beginning to succeed, whether that be with health change, injury-prevention or goal-achievement.  Often the conversation starts lighthearted enough, a little celebration of the success to date, but then it gets to a point where the work that it took to green-up the grass begins to come to light. From there, it's not a big jump to realize that it's going to require continued work, maybe even more work, to keep it green.  It wasn't green simply because it was in better soil or started as better seed or because they had some magic fertilizer, but it was green because someone painstakingly cared for it....they nurtured it.....a sustained effort for long enough (however long that had to be) - and that today's finish line is tomorrow's starting line.  Although this is not really a story about green lawns or soccer-loving children, it is a story about the always looming question "is long-term success worth the effort?"......"are you satisfied with succeeding today or are you after success that passes the test of time?"

The GREAT NEWS IS - we are in early May and we have been fortunate enough to see and hear about many early successes in 2014 by people who we know to be working very hard at it.  Just this morning I got a note regarding one of the folks I know has been working hard and who has achieved 75% of his weight loss goal - a major accomplishment.  However, no different than my daughters, this success comes the reality for both this individual and my team as they assist, that it isn't a finish line, but an invitation to step into a bigger or faster moving game, with tougher competitors and perhaps under the even brighter lights of friends, family and colleagues who are closely watching....and maybe even getting inspired.

Success is not without problems.....it just comes with different and newer problems.  Real problems....but good problems.  I have no idea what color uniforms I'll be cheering-on next year, maybe no different than the ones I cheered on this year.....but I do know that as long as my kids, friends and clients are chasing challenges it won't be easy or without stress.....different maybe.....but by definition, still difficult. I will however know that it'll be very much worth the effort.

Have a great week,

Mike E.