A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TOUGHNESS
There’s no disputing that winning in any important area of life requires an element of toughness. There’s value for each of us in cultivating and developing the strength and fortitude it takes to stand firm in the midst of what you might call the unexpected storms of our experience. Winning often requires the unwavering resolve of a mighty oak tree.
But it’s also important for each of us to recognize that there’s a different type of toughness we need to work on developing if we’re serious about the success we say we’re after. Sure, demonstrating our toughness is often about standing firm. But sometimes demonstrating our toughness is also about remaining flexible. Sometimes winning requires us to be a little less oak tree and a little more palm tree.
Palm trees aren’t like other trees. Scientifically, palm trees are really trees at all. They are considered monocots, genetically closer to grasses, corn, and rich than they are to traditional trees. Instead of a rigid inner core, a palm tree trunk is packed with “millions of tough, string-like vascular bundles and spongy, malleable cells.” This internal makeup allows its trunk to flex under extreme pressure - like the hurricane force winds of a tropical storm - without breaking.
There’s a lot a palm tree can teach us about what real toughness looks like, especially in the midst of a storm, and there are some important lessons its makeup can help us apply to our own winning pursuit. Most of us are pretty good at creating in our minds a clear picture of our path to success. Most of us like having a game plan, a strategy, or an expectation for how today’s gonna look and for what winning is gonna require from us. The problem is, we aren’t typically as good at accounting for the unexpected storms that end up accompanying our pursuit. It’s hard to be good at it, because the truth is we rarely know when that adversity will arrive or what exactly it will look like when it does.
In moments like these, the traditional strength and toughness of an oak tree can only help us so much. While that unshakeable resolve is typically a good thing, there’s a reason oak trees don’t grow in tropical locations, because in hurricane force winds, the oak tree’s rigidity actually hurts it more than it helps. Its inability to bend, to remain flexible, and to adapt to those severe conditions make surviving the storm impossible.
You see this personified in people regularly. Even highly skilled performers often break down when things don’t go the way they planned, when conditions get tough, or when adversity arrives. They may have the strength and fortitude and unwavering resolve of an oak tree, but in that challenging moment, those qualities actually hurt more than they help. Their inability to bend, to remain flexible, and to adapt to those severe conditions makes surviving the storm impossible.
My challenge and encouragement for you here today is to figure out where winning might require you to demonstrate this different type of toughness. It’s good to create in your mind a clear picture of your path to success. It’s good to have a game plan, a strategy, or an expectation for how today’s gonna look and for what winning is gonna require from you. But I also want you to recognize here today that there are some storms approaching. You may not know when they will arrive or what exactly they will look like, but they’re coming. My hope, of course, is that you develop the type of toughness it takes to remain standing when they do.