Answer The Tap

“With age comes wisdom.” I believe in this adage. With every breath, our knowledge of this discipline grows.

Most of us go a step or two beyond breaths. We accumulate all kinds of experiences — from work, relationships, the news, travel, and …

My interest is piqued when we ask, “what do we do with this experience?” Specifically, does this experience foster certainty and security? Or, does it create a mindset of unexplored possibilities?

When enough weeks and months, even years, pass by without challenging our “wisdom,” our desire for education and experimentation can discreetly shut down.

For years, I collected — and accepted — my work experiences with the belief that “this is the path.” Most of those experiences were good, some of them were not so good.

I bought into the idea that with experience and time comes the opportunity to narrow down what I didn’t want and didn’t like.

Here is my estimated cost for the walk on this narrow path…

15 years.

The cost to settle down, feel less stress, and acquire the “untouchables” of safety and security = 15 years.

Your time-mileage may very.

How many years of *not so good* would you endure for your opportunity to narrow the path?

Before you answer, consider this…

A friend recently sent me this photo from a few years ago. I was representing my organization in a presentation to his company.

I hardly recognize that person standing in front of the room.

But I remember the speech. Enthusiastically I shared a message of a bright future for everyone in the room, even though I had allowed my health to decline for several years.

At some point, all of us receive taps on the shoulder. Perhaps they come from the outside, or in my case, from the inside. These taps are small awakenings that ever so slightly cause you to look beyond the narrow path. The taps call out with the question, “Is this really it?”

The taps are not hard to feel — just hard upon which to act.

Today, I stake my health on a few boxes that I check every day — no exceptions.

These boxes keep me honest on the simple and small incremental steps I take to keep me at the edge of uncomfortable and uncertainty.

Surprisingly, checking the boxes create more taps on my shoulder, which in turn guide me towards more curiosity and more uncertainty.

In a few weeks, my family and I will wake up every morning far from our home of 20 years in Tennessee.

Far from the sight of fish swimming in our pond.

Far from the sound of poodles howling at the occasional coyotes, and the sound of bullfrogs giving way to morning song birds.

Instead, we’ll wake up to the sights and sounds of the street below a downtown balcony apartment, with its…

:: Zippy motorized scooters.

:: Windows being raised up on storefronts.

:: The voices of humans as they head to schools, cafés, shops, and workplaces… speaking to each other in a language I don’t understand. Yet.

My path widens. Our path widens.

We heard the question: “is this really it?” and replied with:

Let’s *Answer The Tap.*

With gratitude,

Joe

Hi, I’m Joe, the owner of 5 With Joe Performance Coaching. My clients are leaders, organizations, and teams who utilize my Olympic Gold Medal performance strategies and 40 years of navigating whitewater river rapids to streamline decision making and actions when engaged in complicated river currents of business and life.

The best way to interact with me is though Sunday Morning Joe, my weekly newsletter that explores the art of improving performance, overcoming challenge, and aligning with purpose for Sunday readers in search of more depth and motivation. Subscribe HERE for free.