bcg blog

The YoYo Life

The season is off to a great start. We’ve competed at a high level in every one of our games so far. The guys really seem to be getting it. They’re sharing the ball, executing the game plan, and defending on every possession. It’s such a fun group to coach.

Two days later …

We’re awful. We have no idea what truly competing even looks like, let alone possess the ability to actually do it. Just about every guy on the team is indifferent, terrible at basketball, or both. We have no passion for anything. The season can’t get over quick enough.

OK, I think we can all agree that we spend the majority of our time somewhere in between. However, for most of us, our perspective, attitude, and emotions fluctuate so much it’s really hard to maintain a consistently accurate view point. We’re distracted by any number of things, few of which we can do anything about.

More often than not, life resembles a reasonably calm sea with a few waves from time to time. Some are bigger than others and sometimes we have a bunch of them in a row. The waves are unavoidable, but the vessel and the way we navigate is a clear choice.

Unfortunately, we typically fail to realize the choice before us or operate with the intentionality to allow our choices to steady our boat. We’re left with simply dealing with them instead.

Such is the YoYo Life.

Why Should We Care?
An anchor would be helpful. Anchors serve to hold a boat’s location, to prevent it from drifting. We need to minimize our drifting.

That’s what happens to us as leaders, isn’t it - we drift? From year to year, month to month, day to day … heck, hour to hour; we drift. What we establish with good intentions as the priority at the start of the project on Monday is all but forgotten by the time we wade through all the bureaucracy and personal challenges and get to Friday. 

We don’t mean for it to happen - we don’t want to drift. It’s more a matter of us not knowing how to recognize that we’re doing it or how to stop it when we do. By the time we know we need to drop the anchor we’re so far from where we want to be that it’s too late. 

Of course, the next question we have to answer is: what is our anchor?

REAL TALK - Action Steps
The good news is we have no shortage of options for potential anchors and the world has all but exhausted all of them at this point. Some, of course, are better than others. A lot of the anchors will keep you from drifting in shallow water, but if you’re going to be venturing into the depths of leadership you’re going to need a stronger anchor than most. Here are a few of the most common anchors I’ve noticed people choose to drop:

• Yourself 
  
  • Know thyself. It’s a noble claim with powerful implications. Self-awareness is one of the most attractive and impactful qualities of anyone, leaders included. Reflection and contemplation provide great insights into leading ourselves and others. Can you, alone, stand the roughest seas? For me, the biggest waves always seem to force me to call on something beyond myself. I’m never tough enough alone.
    

• Others
  
  • Many choose others as their anchors - children, parents, friends, idols. There are a lot of admirable people in the world who set a standard that consistently lifts us to new heights. However, as we explore their ability to navigate rough waters we realize most are no more stable than we are. It seems we all may be sufficiently flawed.
    

• Your Faith
  
  • All religions are tied to something bigger than one’s self. This is the overarching power of faith - it’s not us or our neighbors. The foundation is firm. The size of the waves may make us question it but as water clears our faith emerges..
    

A solid foundation is what we are all looking for - to lead and live. Who or what is that for you? 
We all need an anchor. Some are far stronger than others..

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