Starts, Skis, & Steps
Hermes: Course, there is another way, but I ain't supposed to say it. Orpheus: Another way? Hermes: Yeah, around the back. But that ain't easy walkin', Jack. It ain't for the sensitive of soul, so...You really wanna go?
Orpheus: With all my heart.
Hermes: With all your heart. Well, that’s a start.
-Hadestown, Wait for Me
In the multiple Tony Award winning musical Hadestown, Orpheus seeks a path to rescue Eurydice, who is the love of his life. Without a train ticket, Hermes offers him an alternate route “around the back” before warning him about the difficulties of the journey. When Orpheus responds to Hermes question about his commitment with the simple answer “With all my heart”, we understand the depth of both his emotional investment and unbreakable desire to be reunited with Eurydice.
What I find even more compelling, is Hermes’ response. By simply saying “Well, that’s a start”, he recognizes that intention and commitment are futile without a well thought out plan. It is the absence of a plan that often stands in the way of reaching those goals that match our values, it prevents us from acknowledging and addressing our limitations, and it prevents us from having the appropriate level of emotional investment and commitment. So, how do we begin to create that plan?
A few months ago, in my post titled “Laps, Leaders, & Lessons” I used a one minute video to highlight the traits of a leader. It was a master’s class in inspirational leadership. To highlight the steps required to create a plan, I’d like you to watch this two-minute video of a young girl who is trying to convince herself to push over the edge of a K40 ski jump for the first time.
As you watch the video, listen closely to identify the steps she uses in creating her plan to convince herself to jump (literally and figuratively) into a place of uncertainty and face her fear. Like all effective plans, her process contains a few very important characteristics:
Methods to control actions – our friend reminds herself that snowplowing down the run is not correct ("no snowplows")
Techniques to control thoughts - she reminds herself that this run is "just a bigger 20".
Catalyst to begin - you can identify the moment where she is ready to jump, as she tunes out the counsel of everyone else at the top of the run and declares in a semi-brave voice "Here...I... Go".
In just under two minutes, she was able to construct a plan to control both her actions and her thoughts and successfully implement the plan. After a brief celebration, she immediately developed a new goal when she stated: "60 seems like nothing now".
Now it is your turn to acknowledge your emotional investment and commitment to your goals and create your own Personal & Professional Development Plan. Like our young friend, you will need to determine how you will control both your actions and your thoughts. To be clear, this won't be the last plan you write in your life, but instead the first in what I hope becomes a regular practice as your values, goals, or limitations change.
Just like the young lady above, nobody gets to the point where they fly and stick the landing on their own. I hope you let me be part of that journey.
That’s a start,
Jason Boaz, PGA, ARWC
PGA Career Consultant
Illinois and Wisconsin Sections of the PGA of America
PGA Certified Golf Professional
Advanced Resume Writing Certification
608.318.5355