By Dave Bushy, PCC
How do we gain perspective? I suppose it’s from experience. Framing that experience through awareness of its meaning is the hard work that supports our growth.
Because experience is less about our trials than about learning. And less about our difficulties than seeing them as opportunities.
My own life’s journey has been forged by a lifetime of experiences which have afforded me ample perspective. One in particular stands out. Thinking of U.S. Army C-Rations and remembering eating them inevitably triggers that perspective for me. Because, even the C-Rations (shown in the photo) can taste good.
By way of explanation, I’ve been blessed to attend many leadership programs over the course of my career.
One in particular stands out.
The course was 63 days long. We camped outside most nights and often slept on the ground with no tents. We were deprived of sleep for days on end, carrying 40-pound backpacks, a rifle and a load of ammunition. Our water supply was a muddy river with halazone tablets thrown in to purify the contents of the canteen.
And food? It consisted mostly of one box of C-Rations a day – canned meals that might have included spaghetti and meatballs, beans and rice or ham and lima beans. The “C-Rats,” as we called them also included canned fruit or cake, a can of crackers, canned spread, and a small packet containing instant coffee, cream substitute, sugar, salt, chewing gum, matches, toilet paper, and cigarettes.
I lost 20 pounds in those two months. And only half of our class graduated. My memory of the course is indelibly printed into my memory.
I still think of the program. At one point we patrolled in the swamps of Florida for 12 days. With minimal food and often lacking water, the course was meant to teach us to lead soldiers while forcing us to recognize our own lack of perspective on our limitations – limitations which were quickly redefined each day. Was four hours sleep enough? How about two? Was a day without water in 95-degree heat tough? How about being so exhausted that some of us began to see things that weren’t there. And food? Ripping the pack of cream substitute open and licking its contents was the norm. And damn, it tasted good because we were so hungry.
I was fortunate to successfully finish the course and proudly sewed on the U.S. Army Ranger Tab onto my uniform after I completed the course. Some men in the course tried just as hard as I did, but got injured during the course and washed out. Others became so weak they couldn’t continue. None of us judged them as if they had failed – we just felt fortunate to stagger through to the end.
But my perspective was broader than Ranger School itself. Unlike so many other guys, I did not have to go to Vietnam, as the war wound down (at least for American troops) in the months after I finished. That perspective is the most important for me, as I might have experienced hardship in a leadership course, and lived through a level of discomfort and privation that many American civilians cannot appreciate. But those who served in combat in Southeast Asia lived hardships that I can only begin to imagine.
And that perspective remains.
So, when I begin to think about challenges I have faced in my life, I retain a perspective that they were less about trials than about learning. And less about difficulties than opportunities. And on the very rare occasion that I might feel sorry for myself, I hearken back to the days I licked the contents of a cream substitute packet and thought it tasted like heaven.
The gaining of perspective is a worthwhile journey for any of us. Everyone has lived challenging experiences in their lives. Some people get removed from jobs or laid off. Others contend with difficult bosses or co-workers who are hard to please. Still others have personal issues at home, be it financial realities, illness or even worse in their families. Their perspective might not be as easy to see as my own rather stark military example, but it helps any person to spend time in reflection to appreciate their own journey.
Know that you are stronger and more resilient than you think. And if it helps, remember that even C-Rations can taste good!
Dave Bushy of Boston Executive Coaches – bostonexecutivecoaches.com – is an ICF-certified coach who was trained at the Gestalt International Study Center (GISC). Dave is a former U.S. Army officer and senior airline executive who works with leaders throughout the world.