I’m sitting in the park. It’s October and it’s gloomy, dank and wet. There’s no one else around. The playground ahead of me is completely empty. I stare for a while. Thinking back to the days when it would have been acceptable for me to run over and jump on the swing.
Then I realise something. I’m already on a swing. And a slide. And a see-saw. The playground ahead of me is just a metaphor for what we experience every day in our life and business.
Here’s why: The playground is a child’s temple. It is a place to run without being yelled at, to get scrapes and not care, and to imagine limitlessly. Jungle gyms are ships sailing to faraway islands as sharks swim beneath on an ocean of wood chips…Kids learn to kick their legs in unison on the swings and hang on the monkey bars (maybe even upside down). Kids on a playground are just like people living their lives, and here’s why:
1. The Swings.
They are life’s most exhilarating moments. The swings are the nights you’ll remember forever or at least always have blurred memories of. They are the vacations, the roller coasters, the first kisses, sex, and bungee jumping. While you’re on the swings, you’re high and you’re low every second. Your stomach drops and your legs dangle free in the air. All you have to do is kick your legs (an art typically mastered in one’s youth). The summer breeze is suddenly so much cooler and fresher as your hair flips back and forth in your face and away from it. You can swing until you’re too tired to swing any longer, but once you gain height it’s easy to stay afloat. When you’re finally finished with the high you simply quit kicking and let your momentum do the work.
Ah-Ha Moment: Back and forth, back and forth. Sometimes quick, sometimes slow. It’s just like commuting to and from work everyday. Or doing the school run. Sometimes we want it to speed up. To get us through the day. Sometimes we want it to slow down. So we can live the moment for longer. Most of all though, sometimes it makes us throw-up.
2. see-saw.
As real estate professionals, we know there are good times, and there are bad times. As we get older and our challenges get harder and complex, this can be one of the most powerful things to remember. And yet, when we're stuck in those crisis moments it's easy to forget. We feel like we're not moving, nor will we ever move. Things will never change, and we'll always see things the same way.
When we're stuck on the bottom of the See-Saw, you can't really get yourself out. You need help - someone to balance you out and lift you up
Ah-Ha Moment: Up and down, up and down. All while someone tries to make you fly off and smash your head on the concrete floor. Well, it was concrete in my time. It’s probably wood-chippings now. The simple seesaw is yet another place where we learn to adjust to others and let them down gently. This is where we you made sure you laid down the rules - no sudden departures as well as permission to be sought before bringing your side down. Thus we learnt to cooperate, to be considerate of others.
3. The Slide.
The slide. A wonderful thing. We spend our lives working so hard to ascend all sorts of ladders in our lives. The higher we climb, the harder it is (sometimes). And yet we can't turn back. Going back down the stairs is frustrating, humiliating, embarrassing... and not nearly as much fun. We might be business building, growing our finances or a working on a project. It could be a huge ladder in front of us or a small teeny ladder. Either way we must ascend one step at a time.
Ah-Ha Moment: When we reach the top, when we've done all the hard work building our real estate business, or our project, or developing our confidence and skills, we need to take a moment to look around. What a view. Sit down and scooch yourself forward just enough... so... you... can... PLUNGE DOWN AND ENJOY THE RIDE!
It’s the end of the day, the sun is going down and cicadas have begun to hum their twilight tune. Now the playground is quiet, peaceful as it may ever be and the tire swing looks as desirable as ever. The tire swing is relaxation time. Your wine nights, lazy Sundays and meditation sessions. The tire swing is the time to plop your bottom down and chill, stare up at the sky and watch the clouds pass by.
The view on personal and business development takes a complete different shape with a playground metaphor. There’s no fear of “getting stuck at certain level”, but there’s the positive option of changing the equipment, or not. There’s much more horizontal moves, and there’s acceptance that we have different preferences. And, there’s more joy.
I strongly believe that people who enjoy their work create results – and not the other way round. And that’s why I created the most amazing playground in the world for women real estate professional
Ready to me in at The Real eState Playground? This is where soul and business collide. Let's Play!!
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