The Wheelhouse

You can call it a “sweet spot”, a “wheelhouse”, or even your “happy place”. Many simply refer to it as a “comfort zone”, but we all have them. It is that activity, job, or situation that we are best suited for and where we feel most confident in our ability. Recently, two of us here at Entegral experienced the opposite of our wheelhouse… maybe you would call it our “fetal position” or our “shock and awe place”. That is a place that you don’t quite feel like you measure up, and more importantly, you begin to recognize how much you appreciate other people.

I am referring to, of course, the “wife getaway”, where the husband / father is left home alone to be Mr. Mom for the weekend. How hard could it be, right? You get the kids out of bed, shove some donuts in ‘em, make sure they have oxygen while you watch college football all day, and keep one ear out for the sound of broken bones, right? Not exactly. Though this wasn’t the first time for either of us, and we have learned many lessons before, here are a few takeaways that we won’t soon forget.

1. Don’t walk barefoot in the house. Little Barbie shoes really hurt when you step on them.
2. Throw your diet out of the window. Kids don’t react well when you pull up to “Souper Salad” for the evening meal.
3. Beware of silence. Something really bad is going on, like eating Vaseline or coloring on walls.
4. Kids don’t know best. If you let them, they would eat Gummie Bears all day and run down the center of the street blindfolded.

In all seriousness, there are some real insights that we gain when we are pulled outside of our comfort zone into someone else’s. Primarily, we are reminded to appreciate other people. Everyone that is important in our lives deserves to know that we consider what they do to be of vital importance. Secondly, we are reminded to appreciate our differences. Where I am weak, my wife is strong and vice versa. Lastly, we are reminded to work hard. When we are put in a position where we are stretched, it clarifies how hard everyone has to work to keep the operation humming.

In all walks of life, these lessons apply – whether it be at home, church, with work relationships, or even business to business interactions. Learning to recognize what we are not good at and appreciating those that complement our skills can sometimes be difficult, especially for those of us that think we can do it all. But the learning is key if we want the best for our family, church, work relationships, and our companies.

Those of us that learn these lessons need to remember them. Those that haven’t yet – well, watch out for the little Barbie shoes on the kitchen floor, because they hurt!