Sprouting Toward Sunlight
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Groves of Growth
Did you know a grove of aspen trees is the largest living organism? I didn’t either. My son taught me that science fact.
What’s interesting about aspen trees – also called “Quakies” here in Colorado due to how the leaves shake in the mountain breeze – is that while you may have a grove of aspens popping up across a mountain valley, they are tied together by an elaborate and intricate root system beneath the surface. The seedlings of a new tree are always vying for sunlight above the ground and nourishment from the roots below, giving it the strength to grow up into the grove. Some make it, others don’t. But the result is one of the most iconic trees in the Rocky Mountains that light up in the most amazing reds, yellows, and golds each September.
If you’ve never been to a Colorado “Color Weekend” to go “leaf peeping” (yeah, it’s really a thing) during their peak fall display, it’s 100% worth it.
Day Dreamin’
I’ve always been a daydreamer. In a split second, my mind can jump to a different place or time. It’s something that has followed me throughout my dream life, too. I used to get frustrated with it when things didn’t turn out literally like I imagined or dreamt or when I felt like I couldn’t stay focused without distraction.
Then, I learned it was a gift.
Thought Trials
A mentor and member of my dissertation committee, the renowned Dr. Packianathan Chelladurai, called them “Thought Trials.” He trained us to do them in grad school. My propensity to daydream gave me a knack for them.
Most people stop thinking when the thinking gets hard. They don’t allow a thought trial to go to its natural conclusion. It’s either right or wrong, and they stop. They don’t allow themselves the grace and grit to back the thought up a bit, shift it 2-degrees, and go down the new path. Dr. Chelladurai, or “Chella” as his countless protégés called him, taught us to push past that discomfort. To see what else might exist behind the apparent. To allow our minds to be open to new thoughts, new considerations, and new paths of logic.
It sounds strange, I know. But it actually works wonders. It’s like exercise for your mind rather than your muscles. Rather than being bound by the task at hand, I like to let my mind wander and see where it goes. Undistracted. Unfiltered.
Surprisingly, giving myself that freedom has led me to cool places. Sure, I weed through a lot of useless junk in the process, but by developing this practice over time, I’ve also noticed increased ideas, creativity, understanding, and solutions.
And honestly, it makes sense. We must stretch to grow. To form new neural pathways. To override our brain’s natural tendency toward the path of least resistance.
Bringing it Together
Thought trials are a lot like those aspen trees. They are founded upon a network of root thoughts beneath the surface, each one a path to be explored, questioned, confirmed, or redirected. Some lead to a dead end, some serve the vital role of supplying nutrients to a new thought, and others spur the ideas that work to sprout through the dirt on their way to becoming a new tree.
Will they all survive? Nope. Will some eventually shoot up and reach the sunlight? Absolutely. And what’s happening in the in-between? Oh, just the largest living organism in the world is being formed.
19th Hole with Stoll
What are you curious about? What truly piques your interest? Do you spend time thinking about it? Imagining? Trying on new thoughts and logic to see what happens? You can do this in any area of your life, personal, hobby, or professional. It’s a concept that is at the foundation of Cimarron Global Solutions as our team strives to go deeper, serve better, and sprout our own ideas to positively impact the sport and tourism industry.
Want to know the ultimate secret to success in your own thought trials?
IT IS OKAY TO FAIL.
Yep. You heard it from me first. Let me take the pressure off you in a world where the allusion of perfection and obsession with burying insecurities abound. Give yourself permission to try new thoughts, permission to be wrong, and permission to learn and grow in the process. Celebrate it. After all, it’s what sets apart the great ones!
Do I need to remind you that Thomas Edison tried over 10,000 ways (each an individual thought trial, BTW) that the light bulb DID NOT work before he got a winner? I’m sure glad he didn’t stop at 9,999. How about you?
Edison is quoted as saying, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”
Go after it. Try something new. Embrace failure. Get out of your comfort zone. It’s where growth – and innovation – happen.
Evoke a thought.
