Gentle Corrections

How do you feel looking at the photo above? (Photo courtesy of autumn wind studios)

Does the thought of driving in the rain evoke the same sense of relaxation as a rainy afternoon at home watching a golf match on television or curled up with a good book? Or do your shoulders tense just thinking about it?

I love driving in the rain. I like the cocoon created by the sheets of rain around me. It’s like looking at the world through gossamer curtains. I don’t even mind torrential rain…as long as all the drivers around me keep their heads about them…because it’s so fun to be in the phenomena of weather, but protected just enough. And I know that eventually the downpour will end or I will drive beyond it.

Having recently finished a great book called The Art of Racing in the Rain, I gained some insights about driving on wet roadways that come to most of us naturally, but have some unique applications to our lives. Here are a few from the book and a few of my own. See if there are any takeaways for your life today…

• Be gentle. Sudden movements or over corrections can be disastrous. A tiny adjustment of the wheel is all it takes to keep you centered.

We think we need big moves to make us better…a whole new attitude; a fierce exercise plan; a raw food diet; a new leadership team; a new important career…but, as my dear friend and yoga instructor Kathy reminds us, it takes just a simple shift to make the biggest difference. Sometimes, the shift is mental as you refocus your attention to reclaim your balance.

Gentle, subtle changes and interventions for you, your relationships, your team at work…they will make a profound difference.

• Your car follows your focus. In the scenario above, if you focus on the guardrail, you will have to fight to keep your car in your lane because your body—your back, your shoulders and your hands—follows your gaze.

What are you focusing on in your life at this moment? Do you choose to focus on the negative issues even when they are often insignificant and outnumbered by the good and potentially sublime?

In building relationships and work teams, focusing on the good doesn’t mean you ignore the presence of things that are negative. Enough good must exist for a stable foundation.Then, as you establish the pattern of interaction, pointing out the beauty and the potential to do greater good offers guidelines. It’s easier to keep doing and improve the things being done right, than to eliminate everything that seems wrong. We all know the drill sergeant approach can shape behavior by making it clear what not to do, but does it empower others to identify and pursue good choices on their own? Does nitpicking eliminate the nits, or does it just leave a lot of little holes in the fabric of your relationship?

• This too shall pass. This mantra has become associated with me almost as significantly as Blooming Where You’re Planted. And I’m glad. I think either would make a highly amusing epitaph.

Sorry, I digress. This too shall pass. It is so obvious. We know our very presence is a temporary condition. So why do we forget it so quickly?

Whatever it is…joblessness, the pain of a broken heart, the joy of a first love, health, wealth, positions of influence…none of it lasts forever. Moments of utter despair and suffering in our lives are relatively short lived unless we choose to carry them forward with us.

The downpour will clear. The sun will return. What lasts is how you chose to respond to the rain. What lasts is what you build in hearts around you. Are you gripping tight, fearing the next turn and railing against the weather?

It’s just precipitation my friends. And without it, not much growth occurs.

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1. Course Correcting Conversations | The Bloomin' Blog says:

   January 6, 2012 at 11:35 am

   [...] of wet, airborne infants that are somewhat disturbing!) I've talked before about the dangers of over correction, but what happens when corrective measures have to be [...]