Swimming with Alligators
By Steve Gahagen
While in Florida one January, I checked out a couple of state parks. At one, I was greeted with a sign that read, “Don’t Swim with the Alligators.” Where I lived in Minnesota, alligators are not much of a threat, especially in January. I was thankful for the heads up. I was definitely more attentive than normal to my surroundings.
But the warning not to swim with the alligators caught me by surprise. Does anyone really need to be told they shouldn’t swim with the alligators? While in Hawaii once, I got to swim with a school of dolphins. I wouldn’t think of doing the same with the alligators.
The warning brings these questions to mind: “With whom are we swimming” “What people are we doing life with?”
Our relationships define much, if not all, of our lives. In order to live our greatest story we need to surround ourselves with others who are seeking to live their greatest story. We need life-giving friends who encourage us (fill us with courage) to scale the mountain. We swim with the alligators when we surround ourselves with a network of people who drag us under and prevent or discourage us from becoming our best.
One of the unexpected outcomes of discovering and playing to our strengths is that it provides an additional tool to build healthy relationships. It gives us a common language to talk about ourselves and one another in positive ways. When we see others through a strength lens, we see possibilities. When we comprehend the talents we possess, there is a sense of wealth and gratitude.
When we at Play to Your Strengths create Strengths Mentoring Clubs for students, they have an opportunity to experience life-giving community because our conversations are built around what they have and not what they’re missing.
Questions to Consider:
Have you ever gone swimming with alligators (metaphorically speaking)?
What relationships have been most life-giving to you?
How are you encouraging the people around you to live their greatest story?