Don’t Be the Frog

Don’t Be the Frog

By Steve Gwisdalla, Founder, Tribe of Up

We have all heard the story about a frog and boiling water. If you put a frog in boiling water, they will jump out. But if you put a frog in regular temperature water and gradually turn up the heat, they will stay in it until they boil. My dear friends, here is my message for the week.

Don’t be the frog.

Now, I know what you are going to say, but let us continue the analogy for another few moments. Think about your last shower. How many of us start a shower at the water temperature when we finish it? Be honest now. I have taken a straw poll with a dozen people. Eleven of the twelve admitted they gradually turn up the temperature the longer they are in the shower. Why you may ask? Our body acclimates to the increasing temperature and after a while, the new normal feels cooler, so we turn up the heat. Before you know it, we are drying out our skin, damaging our hair follicles and yielding a negative return on our shower, thanks to near scalding water that we feel is ‘normal.’

Once a week, I force myself to take as cold a shower as I can stand. If a shower is meant to wake us up, I dare you to tell me a cold shower checks that box in spades. Honestly, I hate every second of it when in there but feel amazing as soon as I get out. Awake, alert, and refreshed. I simply cannot do that every day. I am not there yet. But I challenge you to try it.

My friends, occasionally, we need to shock our systems. We need to unplug. Get off screens. We need to pick up a good old-fashioned book and read. Get outside and do nothing but observe. We need to focus on our breathing for five minutes a day. Listen to understand, not listen to respond. Turn off the news. Rediscover yourself. If you try this, you may be like me and not like who you see in the mirror. I have done all these things and more and realized how far away from myself I truly became. Keep at it. Every time we do this, we get a little closer to our lost self. Hold open a door for a stranger. Choose fresh vegetables instead of fast food. Pray. Give thanks for what you have, not lament over what you don’t. Walk barefoot in the grass (while we still can and before the frost comes). Connect with someone. All these things and dozens more will help you get out of the ever-warming water and risk boiling a part of yourself away. Shock your system by turning off your political beliefs when meeting someone. Do not choose to like or dislike someone because they support “the other person or party.” Diversity is not just skin color or ethnic background. The diversity of learning and diversity of people in your tribe makes your tribe stronger. Advocate for more joy every single day. “They” want us against each other. “We” will only lose if we let them win. We still can ensure that outcome. Choose kindness. Unplug.

My fellow tribes’ members do not be the frog. Hop out of the water and into the fresh air. Hop into joy and kindness. Just hop! Close your eyes and breathe. Then hop some more. Do this and soon you will recognize that person staring back at you. What a great homecoming that can be. Hop. Hope. Heal. Steve is a Dexter resident and the Owner, Chief Hopping Officer, Vice President of Hopping Affairs and all-around “hoppening” guy at Better Place Consulting, a success and career coaching firm. Reach out to him at [email protected].