Hi Friend
What an action-packed week! Starting on Sunday I began a three full days run of speaking and co-hosting with my friends in New Jersey. The day after that concluded I had an annual physical exam. Then I shot the strangest five minute video on my mountain bike for an event happening next week. I delivered a virtual keynote for a new client. I picked up a mini-van for my upcoming road trip. I was exhausted.
Each of those contain humorous details and unexpected twists. My physical exam for one was not what I expected. Though I refer to it as an “annual” exam I rarely visit the doctor. I was shocked to find out a “physical” is really “blood work”. He checked to make sure my heart was beating and rubbed my neck but couldn’t feel my thyroid. Then he sent me to another room for his assistant to draw five vials of blood.
The video I recorded was a GoPro on the front of my bike riding through the trails. I wrote what I refer to as a long form poem and recorded the audio of me reading it. I put the two together with a little background music. A few friends who have seen it used words like “weird”, “acid trippy” and “different”. It possesses none of the characteristics I’m known for. I just wasn’t feeling ANOTHER talking head video. It’s odd. Maybe one day you’ll see it?
Now that I think about it, the conference was also quite different. It was the first one I’ve been a part of that was replicated exactly from the in-person schedule. 😳 That means it was three long days lasting between 5-7 hours each day! That’s unusual for virtual gatherings. YET, the feedback and engagement was rather spectacular!
Risky attempts return surprising rewards.
I like surprises. Not everyone does. I even like the word “surprise”. It feels more celebratory and fun than “unexpected”. Can you imagine:
“We had an unexpected birthday party for Kathleen.”
The moment of realization is why some prefer to avoid surprises. That jolt to the mind, nerves and cardiovascular system is an immediate shock that leaves us bewildered and out of breath, confused and concerned or startled and scared. It can also erupt in elation.
We don’t tend to think of surprising as a slow burn element. The nature of a surprise seems instantaneous. Yet with any unchartered endeavor in process, not knowing the results until completion gives the nature of surprise a more robust body. We might have a surprise brewing at this moment and not realize it. We may see one coming, not fully appreciating what it is and actually work to delay its arrival.
What surprises you?
Have you ever heard someone say “nothing surprises me anymore.” The inferences is they’ve seen such wild, bizarre, astonishing things in life, that whatever comes next is par for how life goes. The shocking and unbelievable aspects of surprise are no longer. However, despite their insistence, surprise itself still remains an active part of their lives and ours.
Surprise characteristics
Wonder
Unanticipated
Delight
Fright
Without surprises, we lose a bit of wonderment.
When was the last time you were surprised?
Being surprised by someone is startling. Surprising ourselves is curious. We are intimately familiar with our own being, so when we do or say something we haven’t before, it gives us pause. It can result in positive or negative consequences, but the essence of self-surprise keeps us feeling alive. The doldrums of monotony drain our spirits, while bursts of amazement demolish routine.
It’s vital to our livelihood that we assess frequently “How am I surprising myself?” We can be intentional about it.
Instigating Ideas
1. Incorporate Surprise Projects in your life that keep you wondering about how it will turn out.
2. Create a positive surprise for someone this week.
3. Consider how to breach your weekly routine with surprises.
4. Attempt something you’ve thought about doing, but haven’t yet.
Something I gleaned from making the surprising video this week: I didn’t like it. There’s a reason I haven’t done anything like it before. I don’t naturally gravitate towards that kind of expression. Even with it completed and submitted, I don’t particularly love it. It’s fun and different. I like that I put myself out there to do it. It took several hours more than I should have allotted for a five-minute video.
With a lot of difficulties in life it doesn’t seem like I needed to create more. However, you and I both know it’s entirely different to have demands required of us from work, home and society versus self-generating our challenging choices. Follow that stirring in your spirit to see what surprising element you can shape.
I dare you to put in motion an action or activity that you have no idea how it will play out. I would love to hear what it is and how long you think it will take to be surprised by the end result. Legitimately not knowing the outcome provides the framework for your surprise. Please Share.