One summer lifeguarding when I was younger, we were told to clean out the pump room.
In addition to pumps, the pump room had all the chemicals used to keep the pool clean and healthy. Since the bags were expired, we carried them out to the dumpster and tossed them in, regardless of which chemicals were in the bags.
They all sat in the pump room together without a problem, wouldn’t they be fine in the dumpster too?
After tossing a handful of bags in, a green smoke started to rise out of the dumpster. Clearly, and quite ignorantly, we started a potentially lung-destroying chemical reaction.
If we had thought about it, maybe we wouldn’t have done it. Or maybe we still would have because we were teenagers and didn’t think about or care about the consequences. Or maybe we were too young to recognize the power and opportunity of being responsible.
Even as adults, though, many of us create poisonous chemical reactions in the rooms we enter.
Years ago, my wife shared with me how my energy when I enter the room with her and the kids can be jarring.
My energy didn’t match the existing energy in the room, and my family felt it. My being showed up as an interruption in the otherwise consistent experience they were having together.
My being caused some dissonance for my family.
It’s true! I could tell. And taking ownership of my impact in the room with my family has been powerful in all areas of my life - if I can have a dissonant impact in the chemistry of a room, well then I can have a harmonic impact too.
I’ve still got room to grow in this, and nearly every one of us does.
How we’re being, how we’re showing up, has an inevitable impact on the chemistry in every room we enter.
Our being is often felt even if we're not meaning it to be. Our being can cause resonance or dissonance.
Our being has an impact whether we're aware of it or not - it's hardly ever neutral.
Just like those chemicals in the dumpster.
And there’s no one else who can control our being for us. That's up to us.
How are you committed to being (showing up) in the areas of your life?
Intentionality starts here.
Much Love. ❤️
P.S. Working with me has a profound and lasting impact on how people show up in their lives - for others and themselves. If you'd like to experience that, reply to this email and let's talk.
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