Every Risk Has A Reason
Pondering
Why isn’t success immediate? Fundamentally because we aren’t in control. How do we progressively expand our 'zone of control?' Exhibiting the patience to wait, hope and have trust your approach(es) will prevail.
New Home Anxiety
Dad you ever take a new job in a new town? “Many times. It was tough leaving the comfort zone of ‘the known,’ was doing pretty good. But ‘the known’ got boring, felt stifled, caged, I wasn’t growing. So I made a change. Knew I was going to experience the requisite discomfort, nervy moments, self-doubt.”
“Calculated the risk, did homework in advance, built the resolve, knew it was the right decision. It took a while, but things got A LOT better, the change was well worth it.”
This dog been on a lot of flights but never one this long. Had to take a second plane, man that Miami airport is a disaster. It’s a really long day. Seem to be some extra steps and we got a lot more bags. This trip is very different.
Dad, we had a pretty good life in Dallas, now Colombia is our new home? Heard it’s dangerous.
Why are we doing this?
“Puppy, in your new world you will live extraordinary life, become who you’re supposed to be. Be member of an elite club. Do things you’re not supposed to, do things you thought you couldn’t do, In our new home there will be daily discomfort, adversity like you’ve never seen. There will be extremes on each end. Good days extraordinary, bad days pure agony,”
“We BOTH have to figure it out. Apoyo y Ayude Siempre.”
What?
“It’s Help and Support Forever.”
“Equally important, we must continue to grow the underlying TRUST in each other. That’s how we get through tough at times. Good news if we do this right, we’ll ‘Never Go Home Again.’ It’s a metaphorical expression puppy. You'll have a new enlightened mindset and perspective on everything.
Think different, think better.”
“It’s La Aventura to ‘GET UNLEASHED’ and find our ‘TRUE STATE.’”
Sounds risky, sounds fun Dad. VAMOS!
Oh, and I get unleashed too, right?
You’re Not Ready Yet
In the former life, my anxiety was dreading something bad doesn’t happen. I really didn’t feel safe, didn’t like that much. I still have anxiety but in this case it’s waiting and hoping the desired positive outcome, to ‘Get Unleashed’ occurs as soon as possible. Dad, did you get the as soon as possible part Dad!
“Sure did, sounds like I’m the one solely responsible to make it happen, right? You got these dreams of the ‘Unleashed La Princesa.’ I’m sure you can get there but gotta be patient, you’re not ready yet.”
BULLSHIT DAD! You said I get unleashed in our new home right? Dog gone it, showed you I can swim in pool back home. Let me loose this dog wants to paddle! Unleash me, I AM READY!
“That’s the mighty Pacific puppy. You go for a swim it would be DOG GONE.”
Oh, yeah new home, new challenges. We really do trust each other, right. “Sure do, but we both need some time, need tests plural for us both to ‘Get Unleashed.’ And these tests will come at us thick and fast. Never ending, not a one-time affair like GMAT, MCAT.”
Uh, Dad I don’t like cats.
“Jaja puppy, our super-graduate level tests more of a ‘Bar Exam.’ We gottta keep raising our personal ‘BAR’ every day. Pass a complex series of ‘pup’ quizzes. The key thing is to reflect on why we failed and inventory what we learned. And there’s gonna be A LOT of failures. If you’re not failing, you’re not trying.”
Whatever, ‘Buzzword Dad.’ I understand this will take time, but maybe this process will might just strengthen our bond, take our trust to a new level.
“Well phrased Twinkles. But you have to relax, ‘espero’ puppy, Our evolution has just ‘be-fun.’ (sic) Espero means ‘wait, hope.’ Admit I’m going to have to develop that skill, most definitely not in my current inventory.”
Padre, I know about 100-words and only ONE in Spanish. Guess coming to grips with change is being all about learning, I better get started on my Spanish.
So what does this ‘us-perro’ mean?
”Twink, you just created a SPANGLISH word meaning Together (US) Dog (PERRO), Us-Perro. Espero.”
I like that attitude, we’re gonna rock here Dad!
Zen-Like State of Espero
Sometimes I’d look out the window and think, Dad when are you coming home? When are we going on a walk? I’m getting angry-anxious!
"ESPERO pup, WAIT, HOPE. You as a dog should realize you really have no control. We both need to realize that WAIT + HOPE + TRUST is a pretty darn good success formula. But diligence over time is required to activate the formula. Frustrating that every day is test but that’s how you build self-confidence. And growing trust is how you expand your ‘zone of control.’
You need to be careful. If tiny dog gets frustrated and tries to accelerate the process, expand her zone of control, express your dissatisfaction with me by pissing on the rug … efforts like those will result in a backfire. Shows me you don’t trust me. Shows me you think I’m not listening to you.”
Heading to our new home Medellin, we saw two of our friends, Antonio and Sofia waiting for the bus. Dad, look at Sofia’s puppy dog eyes, she looks sad Dad. Let’s give them a ride.
“You have a sweet heart puppy, but they live in Chile. I will take them about 20-hours for them to get home.”
Didn’t I mention fact the dog has zero comprehension of ‘the concept of time.’
“Sorry dog. Following the Andes all the way down to Chile is a long way away, mucho mas tiempo for our new amigos to get home.”
See I understand that.
“Amigos are waiting for the autobus, hoping it’s on time is first step in a multi-legged journey back to Santiago. Potential for a lot of ‘variability and surprises’ here in America Centro/Sur. ‘Espero,’ is not just a coping mechanism, it’s a realistic state of mind.”
“If autobus drivers pull a huelga (strike) that could throw a monkey-wrench into their already complex fragile plan. They have a plan but really can’t control its execution. Nice if they could, but they can’t. Espero isn’t powerless rather it’s a realization of knowing what you can control. At least they TRUST each other, have a shoulder to lean on, just like you and and I do.”
Espero, that’s what I gotta do to get unleashed and ‘Unleashed.’ Why did you choose ‘Despacitio’ as the theme song for this chapter?
“It means, ‘Slowly.’
What we learned
Excitement of a new beginning can be exhilarating.
Lotta gravitational pull surrounds the comfort zone, It requires effort and determination to free yourself. Remember a rocket requires 25,000mph to achieve ‘escape speed.'
Tests are an uncomfortable but necessary part of the process. They keep coming thick and fast.
Don’t get ‘over your skis,’ do more than what you’re capable. Consequences can be catastrophic.
Every time you think you have it figured out, likely to encounter another test which proves that you don’t.
Espero (wait, hope) and realize you can only control what you can control.
But you’re not totally powerless. It’s YOUR JOB to expand the personal ‘zone of control’ Building TRUST is the enabler.
