Cleaner, Brighter, Better
Life's Wash Cycles
"No mud, no lotus."
- Thich Nhat Hanh
Cleaner, Brighter, Better
Chasing Influence: Transformational Coaching to Build Champions for Life
Alan Cohen's book, Spirit Means Business*, teaches us a valuable lesson about the challenges we face in life. He uses the analogy of a washing machine to describe how life's difficulties can ultimately make us cleaner, brighter, and better than before.
When you open the lid of a washing machine during the agitation cycle, you may see gray, smelly water full of dirt and residue from the clothes being washed. You may think something has gone wrong without understanding how the washing machine works. After all, the clothes are supposed to come out cleaner and fresher, but they look worse than before.
However, suppose you know that the agitation process is an essential part of the greater picture. In that case, you can relax and trust that everything is working as it should. In the same way, when people or events in life agitate you, it's essential to reframe the situation. Instead of seeing it as a negative experience, consider it an opportunity to bring underlying issues to the surface so that they can be purged and ultimately improve your situation.
Cohen reminds us that everyone encounters illusions as they navigate through life. By embracing the "wash cycles" that life puts us through, we can emerge from our struggles cleaner, brighter, and better equipped to face whatever comes our way. Just like the clothes that come out of the washing machine, we too can come out of life's challenges looking and feeling our best.
"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations."
- Zig Ziglar
Connecting this quote to the story. In life, struggles and challenges can ultimately lead to positive outcomes. The story uses the analogy of a washing machine to explain that problems may twist and spin us around, but in the end, they can make us cleaner, brighter, and better than before. The quote simply explains that difficult roads we encounter in life may be tough to navigate, but if we stay the course, they can lead us to a beautiful destination. Although life can be challenging, our struggles can help us grow and lead us to a better place.
Chasing Influence tip: Growth and learning involve failures—we must be courageous enough to show up and try … even if facing challenges may mean stumbling before succeeding.
If you enjoyed this story, a series of three Chasing Influence workbooks is available. Stories are accompanied by discussion questions and answers. Each workbook contains 33 lessons to use with any team.
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©Troy Urdahl, 2024
* Cohen, Alan. Spirit Means Business: The Way to Prosper Wildly Without Selling Your Soul. United States: Hay House, 2019.