Sneak Peek From Tom Goodlet’s Upcoming Book, Listen Like Jesus (Working Title)
As I share the following illustration with you, please do not look at me any differently or enviously. Several years ago, I officially earned the rank of orange belt in karate. Please don’t treat me any differently—now hold for applause… or sarcasm. I know this may inspire you to try and hit me if we were to meet in person to see if I can defend your attacks, your funeral… or at least light bruising. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of having an orange belt in karate, it signifies that I am officially an advanced beginner. Not quite deadly—just irresponsibly dangerous. I studied for months under the instruction of Sensei Doug. That is his Japanese name—his American name is just Doug. Doug is excellent and was extremely patient with me.
It all started when my 7-year-old at the time, Mason, decided he wanted to take karate lessons, and Mr. Doug had been to his school many times. So, we looked him up and signed up for classes. It worked out that I was the one who would drive Mason to his karate lesson. Each time we arrived, I would be ready to sit on the nearby couch and watch him, but Doug would come over and say, “You know, Tom, it’s really nice when the dads do karate with the kids.” And I would respond, “That’s great, Doug,” and I established my seat on the couch. The next time we showed up, Doug would say, “I don’t know if I told you this, but it’s really nice when the dads do Karate with the kids.” I said, “Okay, thanks.” But did nothing. This happened over and over until eventually I said, “Fine. Give me a gi, bring it on—let’s do this!”
Since my 7-year-old son started earlier, he technically outranked me. If you have never been to a karate class before, you have to start the class by understanding where you fall in the ranking. You line up from highest rank to lowest, so I was always at the bottom of the line. It was easy to see that I was at the bottom of the line because I was the tallest in the class; the 2nd and 3rd graders were shorter.
The day I got my yellow belt, I thought, well, this is exciting because I get to stand in front of those white belt losers and be more toward the middle of the line. That was fun for the night, then Doug moved us to a new class, where I was back at the bottom of the line. And let me tell you, there is nothing more humbling than a third-grade girl who continually corrects your karate moves, and she is right because she is a higher belt and she has been practicing harder, and no matter how hard I would try to catch up, she still just beat me, over and over.
The thing about karate is that if I had a problem with being a lower rank, a lesser belt, there was still an obvious solution. Karate provides a clear pathway to improve oneself and clear milestones to celebrate improvement along the way. I didn’t have to stay a white belt, a yellow belt, or an orange belt, for that matter. If I didn’t like my ranking, it was solvable with a little time and effort.
Problems, by definition, are solvable. There is something you can do to change them. They provide new possibilities. They provide us with opportunities to improve, innovate, connect with others, and even experience miracles. If it is not solvable, then it is not a problem.
#leadershipdevelopment #problems #skilldevelopment