There have been many times when I would get despondent about my business. I would saying things like:
I can’t do this, it’s too hard, I don’t know what to do next, no one knows me or my credibility, what can I really offer, this is taking too long, what it is really all for?
I’m not spending time much generating leads or creating the business because I feel like it’s too hard for people right now. You are still in crisis mode or getting back to “normal”. Maybe once you get back to your own version of normal, you might see it is not actually all it was cracked up to be and you will be in search of alternatives. That, might be a place where you have the mindset to work with me.
On my walk with the furry boy, I turned a corner on our route and was reminded of a podcast with Sinek and football player I had recently listened to. Just as I turned that very same corner the day before, they were discussing “getting to the next huddle”. The footballer was telling the story of a time during a game when he severely injured his shoulder, he was out of the game. He managed to convince the physio to tape him up and got back to the game. The first tackle he went in hard with the injured shoulder and almost vomited from the pain. But all he kept saying to himself was, “just get to the huddle”. Once there, he composed himself, the pain became more bearable and he got back out on the field for the next point. And over and over again, he kept smashing that injured shoulder in the tackles and getting back to the next huddle. He got through the game. He explained, if he saw the game in its entirety, the monumental task ahead of him might have been too great for his psyche and he might have thrown in the towel sooner. Yet, seeing the game broken down into smaller more manageable pieces, he was able to see it through. And each of those painful cycles served to strengthen him and gave him greater resilience in other aspects of his life.
This story works great for finite games like a football game and granted, I can see the benefits and transference to outside the game. But what about the long game or where there is not definitive “end”. Sinek speaks a lot about the Infinite Game and it is a concept I totally support. So, then I am left asking, how many huddles are too many?
What is my next huddle? The book – Along with its own subset of huddles. Then it serves as the story of change and I have credibility for my creativity. This serves towards my aim of becoming a coach for creatives. The quirky problem children that don’t quite fit the pigeonhole they have been assigned in life. FYI – It’s called out of the box thinking for a reason… And they might go on to become our great thought leaders of the future.
A-ha, so the book is a finite task that is a part of the bigger infinite picture. Got it!
So, what might be your next huddle? And does it serve towards your bigger infinite picture?
Or are you just getting through lockdown? Then it’s just getting back to work in the new normal, then just letting things embed, the just letting things settle a bit more, then just getting the kids back to school, then before you know it… it’s Christmas and New Year. Then what?
Will you decide to blindly keep pedalling to the next huddle, in this not so finite situation?
Or might it be time to get off the hamster wheel firmly secured to the walls of your assigned pigeonhole, and take a leap?
Now it’s your turn…
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Abbie Pierce 