The Instructor Challenge Taught Me to Navigate Challenges

Every year Calleva Camp Instructors gather to for the Instructor Challenge. Over the course of two days, all Instructors go through a series of challenges they must navigate as a team. Working together, the teams face physical, mental and intellectual challenges. The Instructor Challenge is an integral part of building community, strengthening outdoor skills, practicing team work and having fun!

An orthopedic nurse told me that as part of their program, they wore a cast on a limb to experience what it’s like for patients.

What does that have anything to do with the Instructor Challenge? Well, I believe to guide someone through something, you must experience it for yourself. The instructor challenge allowed us to put the cast on ourselves. To see how we would navigate the cards dealt to us especially during times of discomfort.

And (drum roll please)… were got the “soil” card. Yes soil to grow a garden but also the other kind of soil as well. Some might not find the adult diaper section of Walmart postcard worthy. Although, even pacing the aisles of Walmart endlessly offered it’s own treasure trove of wisdom.

Luckily, we had professional day right before the instructor challenge. It equipped us with a wealth of knowledge to draw from. One particular quote from Ted Lasso became a crucial one in the instructor challenge and also for life at large. Who would’ve thought a goldfish had the potential to become a life coach? But it certainly proves to be the case.

“You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It’s a goldfish. It has a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish.” -Ted Lasso

One could’ve easily gone down the rabbit hole of fixating on one part of the challenge to forget about the bigger picture. There is a slippery slope between coming out of this a Walmart guide instead of a river guide. Sometimes needing to “find the answer” or “completing the challenge” can easily give you that super tight pair of tunnel vision goggles that instantly makes you blind to the scenery people travel across country to see.

The tango between striving and letting go is something that surfaced over and over again during the challenge and will continue to make itself known in life. But becoming aware of this dance and finding the balance is maybe “the answer” and “the challenge”. It is the ultimate X Games element off the farm and into the world.

As we gathered together to reflect at the end of the challenge, our team ultimately circled back to how we can impact the incoming groups of individuals that we are so lucky to have the opportunity to empower. The takeaways were tear jerking.

Truth be told, things are easier said than done. So, putting ourselves in the situation of what a camper may feel can only create more connection and understanding. We all know, the world needs much more of that. Especially children who are told “no” and “don’t” more times than the majority of adults can handle.

The next time a child refuses to come off the rock climbing wall before they reach the top when time is up, I will remember that feeling and how leaving Walmart’s diaper section felt oddly similar. Sounds like a joke but zoom in on our faces during the challenge and it was 100% game face with a dash of furrowed eyebrows.

All jokes aside, I am certain that we all walked or maybe limped away from the instructor challenge with experiences that not only taught us more about ourselves, but will serve as a bridge for us to connect and understand each other better. After all, we will continue to work on what we learned through the challenges. At the same time, the awareness itself will ripple out in ways that will continue to uplift me in all the peaks and valleys of life.

With that I’ll leave you with another quote by the great Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”