Before graduating college, I remember sitting with the career counselor working on my resume and preparing for job interviews. It was impressed upon me to use plenty of verbs in describing my experience – ex. managed accounts, organized files, prioritized tasks, etc.
One of the most important descriptors was, “is a good team player.” I have always considered myself to exemplify this pretty well. However, after embarking on the World Race, I’ve realized how often I fall short of exemplifying this. The WR has set the bar much higher!
At home, I’ve been accustomed to so much independence. At my jobs, I could decide how and when I wrote my emails, organized my spreadsheets, ordered supplies, etc. If there was someone or something I wanted to avoid, there were many ways to work around it and still feel accomplished. In my personal life, I could always choose what I did with my free time, who I visited or didn’t see, and how I decided to spend my free time. I wasn’t really accountable to anyone… On the World Race, it’s different…
We live, work, and play with our teammates 24/7. If there is something or someone you want to avoid, it’s much more difficult to avoid. Even if you don’t know all the details of what your days look like, you know they are not your own… You are accountable to your teammates and your host. They have plans of their own for you and are often so excited that you are there, even your free time has the possibility of being spent with your host!
I’m learning how to accept this… Some days I’m pretty good at accepting that my life is not my own, that my teammates are on their own journey, and even that God has given me grace for the day. But other days, it’s harder. Harder to accept you might not be able to eat what you want, do what you want when you want to, or even get alone to decompress….
During Training Camp we were taught how to deal with conflict in a healthy/Biblical way through something called Feedback. Feedback is a daily meeting (usually towards the end of the day) when we “call each other up to be more like Christ.” Often this will entail telling a teammate how they encouraged you during the day or how an off-handed comment may have made you feel discouraged. It enables everyone to put negative feelings to bed before we shut our eyes. It’s been helpful on many occasions and I hope to apply this same principle to my personal life when I get home.
In the meantime, I am seeking to learn how to be a “team player” and to accept things that I cannot change. To do so with joy is though, but whenever I ask God to help me and I consciously give my troubles to Him, He is faithful and life is better. Just wanted to share one of my current challenges. 🙂
