Stirred Soup Is Not Burned Soup

In my adolescents, there were different fall activities where we made hobo soup, and everyone invited had to bring either a canned food or fresh vegetable to contribute to the pot. Usually, the host would start with the meat and broth as the base and for the meat to have time to cook. Then, when each person arrived with their food item, it was added one by one along with any herbs and spices. Each time I have eaten hobo soup, it’s never been the same because it's always made up of different ingredients.

Hobo soup is never the same as are transitions, no two are alike. What are the ingredients that make up your hobo soup of transition? Some possible ingredients may be work-related stress, family, friends, other relationships, changed roles, location, reactions, position, health – physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional, environment, culture, society, losses, rhythms, identity, routines, etc.

Where are you in the process of making your hobo soup? What is your process for cooking your pot of soup? Do you put it all together, turn it on high and then walk away to do something else and forget about it until you start to smell it burning, or your fire alarm is going off? What chaos and mess you now must take time to deal with. Or do you take the time to stir occasionally and to allow all the ingredients to marinate and flavors to blend as it simmers on the stove? In other words, are you a push through or pause and reflect cook?

Stirring causes things to rise to the surface – to learn and understand where you have come from so that you can better understand where you are going and not become stuck to the bottom and burn. I have recently heard through various leadership podcasts and in some leadership books the importance for leaders to devote regular time to pause and reflect. Studies have shown that leaders who do this increase their productivity because of their willingness to pause and reflect. Pause to stir and reflect on where are you coming from and where are you going?

Stirred soup is not burned soup.

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