Reflection Point – I’m officially tapping out

We’ve been watching Alone Australia Season 3 the last couple of weeks as a family, watching an episode or two every evening after dinner, and finished it earlier this week.

This series I found particularly interesting as it is the first I’ve seen with an Australian destination and is held in the stunning West Coast Ranges of Tasmania surrounding Lake Burbury.

If you haven’t watched one of the Alone series’ before, it is a documentary based on ten contestants’ experiences, armed with only basic necessities, trying to survive in extreme conditions by hunting, building shelters and fighting predators on their own.

At a high level  (and so I don’t spoil it for you if you choose to watch it!)  as the days and weeks drag on, the participants one by one are either medically evacuated or used the provided phone to call and “officially tap out”.

It was fascinating how each participant that were not medically evacuated but chose to “tap out” arrived at this decision; having extensively evaluated their situation, their available resources including food availability or starvation levels, their health (physical, psychological, and emotional) and their independent reflection on their time away alone, and how they arrived at a decision of what they now knew they needed.

It reminded me of an earlier reflection I wrote some years ago (if you’re interested you can read the full blog here) which explores the concept of wellbeing provided by Global Leadership Wellbeing Survey (GLWS) which frames wellbeing as a balance between personal resources (assets) and challenges (liabilities).  Consciously maintaining this balance between the work and life challenges we are experiencing, and balancing these with increasing our assets – like a see-saw – supports balance, thriving, and high performance.

Of course, these participants were focussed firstly on “surviving” more than thriving, but it did remind me of how often we pause to reflect and consider this see-saw or balance between our available resources and the challenges we are up against – and when we need to take action to correct this balance so we can support ourselves towards greater wellbeing and thriving – both personally and professionally as a leader.

As you end your week, take a few minutes to consider the following reflection questions.

Question 2

What areas of your personal resources could you seek to build upon to support greater thriving, not just surviving?

Question 3

How can you consciously support others or your team to consider their see-saw and balance of their resources versus their challenges towards greater wellbeing?