Do you follow the Royal Family? I’ve always paid some attention to the British Royal Family, partly because they’re human just like we are and it’s always interesting to see them out living their lives while still in such a prestigious position, but also because I have great respect for the late Queen and any time we have the opportunity to see leadership up close like this it’s worth paying attention to. So I wouldn’t call myself a devotee or follower or anything like that (I don’t subscribe to any news alerts or social channels) but I always pay attention when news about them enters the regular news headlines.
So of course I was sad to hear about the cancer that the King and Princess Kate are dealing with. I know it’s hard for a normal person to go through cancer with their normal responsibilities, but to know that because of this cancer you’re not able to follow through on some or many of the responsibilities you have to the people you’ve sworn to care for has to be an additional level of frustration and disappointment. The other day though I saw that the King is apparently going to be starting back up into more regular activities which is good news. The thing that I found most interesting in the article that I read about this news was the fact that as much as everyone would like the King to just get back to work, he and his doctors are both taking things a day at a time and not (over)committing him to anything at this point.
While I do believe it’s important to follow through on responsibilities you’ve chosen to take on, sometimes life happens and you have to be wise and brave enough to be able to say “I promise I will give you my absolute best” and show up as well as you can. This doesn’t apply to lazy people of course, but rather to those who do bring their ‘A Game’ most of the time and are simply dealing with a curve ball for a season. Sometimes ‘showing up’ may not look like you think it should or look like it normally does, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t making progress and aren’t trying. Those of us who work really hard should take a lesson from the King and recognize that sometimes it’s OK to take a break and go slow. Sometimes that slow down season is the only thing that will allow you to get back to bringing your ‘A Game’ again.
Realistically the King could never fully pass off his responsibilities because of who he is, and that’s true for most of us, and that’s OK. But the King also can’t take on everything, even if he’s in perfect health because there aren’t enough hours in the day for that. So everyone, even royalty has to learn where there limits are, when to push and when to slow down. Which season are you in, or which season do you need to accept that you’re in?
Laura Dickey 