Hi Friend,
Ahhhhhh… what a satisfying week! I was back in Coeur d’Alene, one of my absolute favorite places. The first two days I was east of it in Kellog at the Silver Mountain Resort, which is famous for the “longest gondola ride in North America.” It goes up a mountain, then down it, crossing over the quaint town, then up a bigger mountain. It’s just over 3 miles.
I had a blast with the Retail team from Washington Trust Bank. They are creative, engaging and fun! Then I headed back to CDA to spend the day with my good friends at Advanced Benefits. They were celebrating their 30-year anniversary. They let me hop in and emcee. We were back at Hayden Lake, which is simply stunning!
A few times I was overcome with light envy. I was like “you people get to live in this paradise every day!” I don’t think I’d get much done. On the back side of Silver Mountain were ski lifts. There are a ton of trails there. I took one lift down and hopped on another to get a different view. They were all amazing. It was super weird to be on a ski mountain in September. Obviously, there was no snow. You could make out where some of the ski paths were, but not entirely. There are also a bunch of mountain bike trails that looked treacherously gnarly.
OUT OF SEASON
I couldn’t tell if this was a good mountain to ski or not. I saw the map that showed blacks, blues and greens, but even when on it, I had no sense of the slopes. Have you ever been around someone who had a good reputation or you had a preconceived idea about, but when interacting didn’t get that sense at all? When someone isn’t bringing their best, have you ever thought “they must not be in their season?” More importantly, have you ever felt like you had everything you needed but something just wasn’t clicking? Why aren’t I flying down this hill on these skis? Oh, because it’s all rock and dirt. When we are out of season, everything feels clunky and a lot of work.
GET A BIKE
As mentioned, there were bike trails all over. Because skis aren’t effective, doesn’t mean we have to wait for snow. The season we’re in requires different tools and resources. Most are content to make excuses and justify why their skis are going so slow or not at all. Learning to ride a bike down a mountain is quite different. If we want to excel in each season, learning new skills is required.
You and I don’t always get to choose our seasons. Something can happen in a loved-one’s life, our job, our health or in society and it immediately puts us in a different season. We are not prepared or equipped for it, but we find ourselves skiing down rocks. It’s painful, grueling, unjust, uncomfortable and unproductive.
What if every time we found ourselves skiing down rocks, mad at the world, complaining and bemoaning our situation, we thought “I need to find the right resource for this season.” EVERY SEASON CAN BE NAVIGATED (just not with skis).
Instigating Ideas…
1. Identify your current season and resources.
2. Offer someone a bike if they’re struggling.
3. Be gracious in judgment of others.
Going down the mountain bike trails looked incredibly scary and hard. So it’s not like difficulty is eliminated. The right resource simply enables us to keep making forward progress and not accepting our life is stuck until snow arrives. Too many have accepted they can’t keep going and have been in one place for far too long.
What resource do you need for the season you’re in? New friends? New ways of thinking? New structure? New process? New Therapist? New hobby? New food? New perspective? New language? New beliefs? New Identity?
RENT A RESOURCE
The ski resort rented mt. bikes. They knew people who end up out there don’t always bring their own bikes with them. When we’re in the middle of skiing down rocks, we don’t feel like we have the capacity to learn/develop a new skill. There is ALWAYS an option to gain what you need for the season you are in… if you believe that, it will enable you to look around and find it, borrow it, rent it or steal it, if necessary.
I hope this week you fly down the mountain you’re on. If it means accessing a new resource or thriving in your season, may it be exhilarating, satisfying and full of joy.