Summary: Some people create their own storms and then get upset when it's raining. A wise person can humbly look back and see the path that led to this storm. Reflective leaders can see and own their actions.

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Some people create their own storms and then get upset when it's raining. You know what? There are times where I have made a series of poor decisions and I am the recipient of the thorny fruit of that decision. My decisions can cause a yucky storm! And what about you? Have you ever found yourself in a storm of your own making? Are you sitting in a storm RIGHT NOW of your own making?

A wise person can humbly look back and see the path that led to this storm. Reflective leaders can see and own their actions. Actions that brought about a storm.

Have you ever experienced a person who, as they say these days, is a hot mess? Well, sometimes those people are sitting in a storm of their very own making. It can be easy, as an outsider, to identify that some ELSE’S actions have caused a storm to exist around them. But do you want to know what is NOT easy? Do you want to know something that is super hard? Tracing back your own steps and identifying where YOUR actions may have been the precipitating factor in starting the painful storm you are currently walking through.

Are you willing to own that if you find yourself in a pickle, It's maybe because you opened that jar of pickles? I want to be thoughtful before opening a jar of pickles. Sometimes it is not a jar of pickles, sometimes it is a can of worms.

So today, if you're experiencing a storm, what part of it might have come from your hand? A lot of these things are absolutely outside of our control. There are storms that come our way that have absolutely nothing to do with our behaviors or with our work ethic. However, some storms are storms that come into our lives because we're slack handed and not doing our best. So, before you start getting mad at the storms, take a look back and ask yourself, “Was I the instigator of the very rains that I'm experiencing?”

Summary: Trying new things comes at a cost. The reason it comes at a cost is that we don’t typically start anything as an instant expert. Be brave enough to suck at something for a while. In time you will get better.

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Are you willing to suck at something new? Are you willing to try something and suck at it for a while? I find this to be quite hard. I don't like the feeling of being all thumbs and when I start something new. It's very painful. But I've come to conclude that I'm going to be brave enough to risk sucking for the short term. I'm going to push through my feelings of insecurity and my feelings of being 10 thumbs. I need to overcome the fear that this just might NOT work out.

I'm going to be brave enough to suck at it for a little while. I want to cut new ground. I want to do new things. But trying new things comes at a cost. The reason it comes at a cost is that we don’t typically start anything as an instant expert. I might have some natural proclivities or natural giftings in an area. But anything truly new is typically hard going at first. New territory doesn't feel comfortable. Are you cool with not feeling comfortable? Are you cool with sucking at something so as to get better?

Honestly, this is a new concept for me. I am just embracing it. I am embracing that the startup cost of anything new is – that I will likely suck at it for a while! I want you to embrace it as well.

I do not have to be perfect as I start something new. And, truth be told, being good right out of the shoot is essentially impossible. Hear me loud and clear: You don't have to be perfect right out of the gate. Be willing to suck at something. Be brave enough to suck at something for a while. In time you will get better.