Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of the conversations with Coach’s podcast is it’s just a conversation with me today, because it’s another one of our lessons episodes. This one, it came from a book came from a number of sources, which as you might have noticed, is typically the case, both an interview I listened to, and a book that I read not too long ago, and also a conversation I had with a coach for this podcast, where this has happened to come up. And so obviously, it’s when it’s when it’s on my mind like that, when it’s coming to me from multiple areas, like I gotta figure out how to share this, or at least talk about this. So I titled this episode throwing and catching. This is all about juggling. So please bear with me, this is all just all G rated. So I am, I am not now nor have I ever been in juggler, not terribly coordinated in that regard. But one thing I’ve always been fascinated with is the process of not always but the process of learning how to juggle, at least when I first was exposed to the idea of actually learning how to do it rather than just throwing stuff up in the air and trying to catch it. Just thinking about whether the techniques because I mean, you watch somebody who can juggle, like 10, nine or 10 things at once, or they’re one of those like the I don’t know what they’re called Ground jugglers, they are the people who will bounce stuff as well as throw things in the air. There’s just basically this ability to keep multiple objects in dynamic motion for an extended period. The great the great jugglers it’s fast for me, it’s fascinating to watch. I’m always amazed. I feel like a little kid whenever I’m watching it, sort of like how do you do that? So thinking about that, and thinking about how you learn how to juggle. In my head, my first thought my first thought always was it’s about like, your, the art of juggling is just catching a bunch of stuff, it’s falling, you know, you’re trying to catch catch catch stuffs going up in the air you’re trying to catch it. And what I always did, and that’s probably why I never took any further steps. I don’t know. I will investigate that too hard.
But I always find myself like throwing, you know, one couple tennis balls in the air and then try to add a third. And I’ve seen how it’s done and how like the different patterns in the air is like how high do we need to throw it. And then before long, I find myself lunging all over the place trying to catch stuff. It’s like a little bit off directory. And so like I kind of take a step to catch it and throw it back up. And then all of a sudden I’m flailing, absolutely flailing it is not a graceful experience. But anyway, thinking about that. And having having this come to me, the sort of concepts from juggling and just thinking about how, how strongly like powerfully it applies to my day to day life. But also I feel like business and coaching. And just entrepreneurship in general. The art of juggling, at least as its told to me, as I’ve read, it is not so much about the catch, as it is about the throw. Now what happens is when you’re focused on the catch, you’re basically just reacting to wherever the ball happens to go when you throw it. So you’re just you’re just tossing something up in the air. And your focus is how do I catch this. That’s me juggling is just catching these things, when really, the place to focus, if you really want to learn how to juggle is how to throw the objects that you’re attempting to juggle, because it really is the slightly off throw. That begins the process of ruining your catch. Like you throw something one degree off the direction you’re supposed to throw it, and suddenly your hand is a few inches more to one side of the other than it was before. And then you’re compounding that mistake by either continuing to be off by a very small margin. Maybe you correct it, but you’re off by enough to affect a different aspect of the juggling a different object you’re supposed to be throwing and catching. Maybe you’re correcting for that mistake. And in that correction, you make another mistake somewhere else in your throw, etc, etc, etc. I think the the lesson is obvious, but I find myself just just endlessly fascinated thinking about how that applies to my day to day life.
And how I’ll put it this way to kind of put a bow on this often, frightfully frightfully often in life in business. Whatever you happen to be thinking about. There’s something that you’re trying to do that matters to you something you’re trying to get better at something you’re trying to execute, and you are doing it. But you are focused on the wrong aspect of it. And you’re finding yourself lurching and lunging about clumsily, sometimes dangerously. And you’re wondering, what are you doing wrong? You’re you’re, you have the right objects, you’re throwing them up in the air, you’re managing to catch them but before you know it, things are out of control. And to put it frankly, I think my lesson from this is that my focus is in the wrong place. I’m focusing on the wrong part of the process. If I want to truly be good at this if I want to truly achieve one I’m trying to achieve. And so if you do find yourself lurching around and stumbling, or hitting a plateau or just in some way just being stymied by a process, maybe you are putting too much of your effort in the wrong place. Not that that place doesn’t require some effort and attention. Obviously, juggling has a catch aspects to it, you do have to, you have to keep these objects in motion. But it’s important to think about which parts of that process have the most profound effect have the most ability to affect your success or failure in this thing you’re trying to achieve. Whether you’re juggling balls, or chainsaws or business obligations or family, whatever you happen to be juggling. I think it’s I think it’s an important Reimer to reflect on where you’re putting your learning energies, your your effort, your work, your passion, and just to see if it’s going into the right place. Because like with juggling, the throw is far more important than the catch when it comes to successful juggling. And I think that kind of framing could really help you see where you might be able to better focus your own energies for yourself, for your business, for your, for your family, for really anything. So anyway, I, I think about that quite a bit. Think about that, very often. And I just I love the playfulness, of the analogy of juggling. It’s it’s playful in a way that I’ve respond to quite a bit. Because a great deal of playfulness and these things that we’re trying to keep in the air and keep moving. And every once in a while. It turns out graceful. But I’m always looking to learn more.
So anyway, I hope you feel like you would respond to that to that analogy. I like it quite a bit. It’s imperfect in the way that all great analogies are. Don’t take it too far. Because it’ll probably fall apart. But yeah, think about think about where you’re focusing on and whether or not you’re focusing on the catching and you find yourself lurching and lumbering and stumbling all over the place. Or if you’re focusing on the throwing, and everything’s circling and moving and bouncing smoothly and you look like a star like a professional. Anyway, I will leave you with that and I will talk to you again very very soon.
