Fires are blazing in the western part of the U.S.  With the hot, arid and often windy weather, the chance of a spark becoming an out of control wildfire increases dramatically. Fire bans, education, bulletins and weather alerts are very prevalent, but these raging infernos continue to occur. Some begin due to environmental conditions while others are man-ignited.

We know that if we catch our clothing on fire, we are to stop; drop and roll.  Why stop, drop and roll?  If we run versus stop, the breeze that we create will fan the flame.  If we stay upright, our best hope for extinguishing the blaze is that someone close by will have their finger already on the trigger of a high-pressure water hose or a fire extinguisher or have a blanket ready to wrap us to smother the blaze. Since those scenarios are unlikely, it’s best to remember to drop to the ground so to be able to roll and put out the life-threatening fire.

Leadership and life, in general, provide plenty of opportunities to deal with unwanted flare-ups, heated controversy, and combustible circumstances.  How you deal with those situations is the key to both dousing the oxidation and preventing a bonfire.  I worked with someone years ago who made a habit (and he was very good at it) of counting to ten under his breath before reacting to upsetting situations.  It was interesting to observe how he often turned an abrupt reply into a thoughtful response.  My colleague would stop; drop and then roll.  He would pause for the count of ten, think about what he heard and formulated his answer and then respond, but only after he had some reflection time. I believe that the skill he had developed was unique, challenging and beneficial.  He had to practice with intent until he mastered that skill.  He had to use discipline to keep himself from quickly retorting an opinion.  He had to think before he spoke.

In the 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John Maxwell’s growth Law 8: The Law Of Reflection – Learning To Pause Allows Growth To Catch Up With You conforms to the principle used by my co-worker dealing with stressful situations and also those who have had to put out a fire attached to their bodies.  In either scenario, thoughtfulness and composure will be the ultimate difference-maker.  If indifferent to the occurrence, consider how much damage can result.

John also makes the statement “Experience is not the best teacher, evaluated experience is the best teacher.”  If you think about the subtitle of The Law Of Reflection, “Learning To Pause Allows Growth To Catch Up With You,” it is a not so subtle difference as a way of behaving to allow for growth. 

As a young professional, I rarely turned my back on a battle.  I have the scars to prove it.  However, there was one time when I did, and I am so glad.  As a disagreement with a colleague heated up, I turned and exited his office and retreated to my own.  He soon followed me, but during that short period, I was able to reflect on what happened, collect my thoughts, corral my emotions and prepare a much less violent response.  It wasn’t easy for me, but it paid high dividends as our stable relationship was able to stay intact because I dropped my hands and we talked through our disagreement without further incident. You see, I had a temporary vision of throwing him out of a third-floor window, and if that happened, I don’t think it would have been a good thing.

I can chuckle about it now, but I have often reflected on the near miss of that experience in my life, and each time I thank God that I didn’t do what I felt like doing.  Scary?  You bet it was!  I still cringe when I think about what could have been. So, the experience itself, as John states, is not necessarily the best teacher.  It is the reflecting on it and learning from it that provides value and therefore growth.  Just because you get older, and have more experiences, doesn’t mean you become wiser. However, if you have pondered them, learned from them, and taken appropriate action, your management of such episodes should have improved. John offers three simple reflection questions that may help you with your continuous improvement journey:

1.    What did I learn today? Think of how powerful being able to answer that question will be concerning your development.

2.    How can I apply what I learned today?  Learning without application is practically useless.

3.    How can I pass on what I learned today? Intentionally using what you learn to help others to be more successful is an example of good leadership.

John asks himself these three questions at the end of each day.  That helps him determine his priorities which will help him apply his best efforts to what he feels is most important for his growth.  This process helps him build his daily plan.  This process is his stop, drop and roll.

I also know a man who, alone in his home, suffered from severe burns once after trying to get warm by a fire and staying too close for too long and the back of his shirt became a torch.  In his panic state, rather than stop, drop and roll, he ran to the neighbors for help.  By the time he arrived he had received first, second and third-degree burns over much of his backside.  After an extended hospital stay without infection, he recovered but was scarred for life.  Had he thought about what we know regarding being on fire, he would have dropped to the floor and rolled over repeatedly until the burn was stopped.  Then, if he went to the neighbors for help, he may have avoided the severe wounds and life-long scars.  You see, this man lived in the country, and the nearest house was nearly two hundred yards away.  The time it took him to get there with the flames fanned by his movement made all the difference concerning the amount of damage incurred.  Had he paused briefly, reflected on the process and executed it, he would have shortened the burn time by probably a minute or two. 

The same can is correct regarding your success and how you impact that of those around you. The time spent on periodic, regular reflection can prevent flammable circumstances from combusting and doing irreparable damage.