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It’s a Juggle
On the shelf above my fridge there are 3 juggling balls. Every now and again I bring them down off the shelf and I juggle for a little while. It takes me a few dropped balls before I get back into the rhythm. Throw…Throw…Catch…Throw…Throw…Catch…Throw…Throw. I aim for at least 30 repetitions. Then I pop the balls back on the shelf and go about the rest of my day.
This little practice helps to recalibrate my brain when the metaphorical juggle gets too much.
I first learned to juggle on a leadership development program. It was an intensive, 2-week residential program at the Australian Graduate School of Management. On the first day we were each given our pack of juggling balls along with instructions entitled Learning to Juggle. We discovered that at the end of the 2 weeks we would be competing in a juggling competition against our fellow participants and anyone who could achieve 30 repetitions of juggling without dropping a ball would win.
We had only just met each other, 24 other aspiring leaders from business, government and the not for profit sector all over Australia. None of us knew how to juggle. We all laughed at the thought that our respective bosses had sent us on an expensive program at a top university to learn how to juggle.
As our shiny new juggling balls were unboxed, the classroom became a blur of colour and noise as we all made…
