I am very aware of the young people in my life who are graduating from high school, graduating from college, or taking big steps in the "what next" of their lives in the next few months. Lots of 'em! What an awesome experience to witness these young talents, tapping into their skills and resources, to make it in their worlds.Every day there appears to be a fierce determination to begin the rest of their lives. Graduating from high school. Getting into college. Paying for college. Graduating from college. Joining the military. Entering a trade school. Getting married. Taking a job. Joining a service learning program. Traveling. Something is up!
I make this up--To be faced with the economy, the world condition, the Internet, competition, increased cynicism and unrest, endless choices and opportunities, globalization while, at the same time, to be exploring adult independence can be confusing, troubling. I trust the young people taking these huge steps in their lives are aware of the incredible challenges in front of them and I hope they find balance between these challenges and the extraordinary possibility and optimism they must also be feeling.
While these moments of opportunity are milestones and significant achievements, they are but singular experiences--of millions--they will have adapting and reinventing themselves over their entire lives! Life is truly a fluid, changing, adaptable, organic, evolving, unfolding, out-of-control experience. It is not quite what we plan for it to be. And knowing this can be incredibly cool and liberating. Or not.
One of the greatest challenges I have faced personally and that I see with my clients--individuals, partnerships, and teams--is the difficulty being okay with changing, adapting, being fluid. It seems as though our rigid way of thinking takes over and to simply evolve would upset the plan [Goals. The strategy. Direction. Schedule. Itineraries. Deadlines. Program. Agenda. Outline]. There has to be some way of balancing dreams and reality without that being a bad thing, a sell-out.
What's your plan? What's the big idea? What would it be like to just go with the flow? When you think about the barriers to going with the flow, what are they? What do you notice? What would be possible to look at the world with the fresh optimism and possibility of a graduate? What could you learn from a graduate today? What advice or wisdom would you offer a graduate today? What do you do to align endless possibility with the structures that keep your life contained?
Congratulations, Graduate!
