Without preparation there is sure to be failure. –Confucius
A healthcare system I am familiar with is designing ‘Wellness Initiatives’ for its providers. The ‘system’ is committed to helping the providers prepare so they can nurture more than deplete themselves. These providers have become, in effect, ‘students.’
I am remembering the different ‘students’ I have been entrusted with these past 53 years – the first were in 1967, I am not sure when the last will be. I remember their anxiety as they were entrusted with preparing – for class, for a report, for a project, for a paper and to work cooperatively with a small group. I remember my own anxiety as I prepared to meet them – the most challenging preparation was preparing without knowing what I was preparing for – I remember not being prepared for the unexpected and the pain that resulted because I was not prepared. I also remember my commitment to prepare for the unknown. Anyone who has been entrusted with the well being of another knows this type of anxiety well – it permeates all four dimensions of one’s being. It permeates the Physical, the Intellectual, the Emotional and the Spirit(ual) dimensions. We also know the more intense anxiety that comes with our lack of preparation. Parents know this. Educators know this. Students know this. Leaders know this.
It seems simple enough. Prepare and the rest will take care of itself. Yet, this simple directive is experienced by many as a daunting challenge. Why do we choose not to prepare? One might say, “I will trust on luck!’ But as the great Roman play write, Seneca reminded us “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.” Or as the great hall-of-fame golfer, Gary Player noted, “The more I practice the luckier I get!”
It is challenging enough to discipline one’s self to prepare for the ‘known’ – the test, the project, the interview, tomorrow’s task, the blizzard. What is more challenging is preparing without knowing what I am preparing for – again, parents, educators, customer service folks and leaders know this all too well. This type of preparation calls for me to rely upon my life’s experience, my coping skills, my talents, my abilities, my imagination, and specific disciplines: listening, intently and receptively, inquiry, dialogue, prayer (for some), reflection, imaging and trust (in one’s self and in the other).
Charles Handy reminds us that “Experience plus reflection is the learning that lasts.” Engaging via experience opens me up to failure and failure provides me the opportunity to learn. In order to help one prepare it seems to me that experience + reflection + learning becomes important, stumbling and getting back up becomes important, understanding and developing one’s talents, abilities and current skills becomes important, developing skills and how to use certain tools becomes important, developing one’s capacities for certain disciplines – like reflection, deep listening, inquiry, advocacy, imaging and dialogue – become important.
As I close this morning I find myself holding two questions: What do I need to do today in order to be more prepared – for the known and for the unknown? What discipline do I need to pay more attention to today?