Toos Day: A Scouting Mindset 2/22/22!

 

A Scouting Mindset

When we are working with our scouts, the use of mindset is an important factor for both girls and boys. Today Troops 10 and 1019 did something amazing with our kids. We hiked around frozen waterfalls! For the sake of the crowd, we used a professional guide service.  If you are in Pennsylvania, I highly recommend Valley to Summit. Our guide is actually an active Scouter himself. Chad is involved with the national level COPE and Climbing programming. Was it the cheapest activity, no, was it worth every penny, yes!  When we are doing outdoor activities sometimes it gives us time to think about things, unwind, connect with nature, and reflect on where we are. Today was one of those days. First, I got to see our girls do something they might have never done, and may never do again. This experience is theirs, forever, it can never be taken from them. These things we give are gifts with no expiration date, and no return policy. These experiences will shape our youth in ways we may never know. This is why I think that mindset is something that needs to be addressed. 

If anyone has looked at my pictures, I am a 42-year-old, overweight male Scout Leader. 4 years ago I contracted a disease that gave me a 33% chance of never walking again, and about 60% chance of never making a full recovery. I am fortunate, that I have made around a 95% recovery and can share this new life with my daughter. I got emotional last fall when I completed a 10-mile hike with our troop.  It was the first long hike I attempted since my hospitalization. 

A little background on my condition. I was diagnosed with Acute Idiopathic Transverse Myelitis (TM). TM is not a common condition, but one day at work, I was not feeling well, and my legs began to feel heavy, almost as if I had done a workout and overdid it. The symptoms continued throughout the day, until around 6:30 PM I was taken to the emergency room due to weakness. I took my last steps for 3 days when I walked to the hospital registration desk. TM is an autoimmune response from the body that attacks the myelin (the lipid structure that surrounds your nerves) and causes inflammation and damage. My damage is located between T12 and L1. It took the lower half of my body away. I was in the hospital for five days, with countless tests. If it were not for the care of the hospital staff, and their drive to find an answer, I may have had a very different outcome. Everyone has a story, I know that, I just wanted to share mine. 

Back to mindset, as I digress. I came to Scouting with my second daughter. The time with her older sibling was sports. Wins/Losses, scores, records, competition. There is nothing wrong with this, in fact, I love sports. However, the background of coaching inadequately prepared me for Scouts BSA. I did not understand a setting where if you engage, you win, if you try, you win. I am not saying you master it and become the best, but you gain. You always get a plus in the growth column.  You fail, you grow, you succeed, you grow. This is quite a different mindset for me because there was no bad vs. good level. It was growth.  Honestly, it made me rethink some of my attitudes towards coaching youth sports.  It was growth for me. I also had to take a look at how I approached activities. Early in my leadership roles, I realized that my attitude, approach, and mindset would have more impact on my results with Scouts than my competencies, my knowledge of the aims and methods, and my understanding of what I was getting myself into. 

In the last 6 months, I had to face my own mindset issues. The first was in October. The Troop chooses to take on the Billy Yank Hike at Gettysburg National Battlefield.  This is a requirement for their historic trails badge. To be honest I was personally apprehensive. As I discussed before, I am still having fatigue issues with my lower body. I was not sure I could complete this myself. How could I approach this with a positive mental attitude? Then it dawned on me; others are counting on me. I had an honest conversation with our Scoutmaster and the Troop. I realized that sometimes as the leader the challenge is also for us. When we completed our hike, we celebrated the accomplishment. We celebrated with each other, not just us celebrating them.  We are in this together. 

Today we did a five-mile hike, on ice, around Ricketts Glenn's amazing waterfalls. We hiked 18 of them in total today. I was nervous I would hold the team back. I was excited, I was getting outside. I was happy to be with such amazing leaders. Nobody won an award today, there was no score. However, each time I saw a leader encourage a scout to push further on when the scout thought they had no more to give, or each time I heard laughing, I realized that there is more to life than keeping score. When your children are learning to work together to accomplish hard tasks together. Adults are coming together to guide youth leaders, and enjoy each other's company. Teaching young men, and young women how to work together, while independent Troops, when they come together they are there to accomplish a goal. Teaching youth to work together is really preparing them for the world beyond youth. Learning how to respect and rely on each other. They will reflect the mindset of the leaders. Due to the amazing support of our partner Troop and the mindset of their leadership, our girls have never been treated as second best. Because of the mindset of our girl leaders, our kids know they belong. When the mindset is growth, the outcomes are limitless. When we celebrate each Scout's contribution, and not "who dominated" we teach growth. 

Today our kids learned that when things get tough they can rely on their own mindset to improve their situation. Our Scouts were challenged today. Some were beyond their comfort zone. They had leaders that wanted to help them in their challenge. They had the right mindset. I watched a 15-year-old take control of a group of 17 kids, and this is not the most assertive kid I know, but he took on the role of leader. I watched kids take on a challenge with a positive outlook.  They rocked it. 

 

The leaders that make this possible come from a "With" attitude. They are there to be with the kids. They are there to be part of the activity.  They come from a point of wanting to participate and enjoy the moment. Attitude is infectious. A negative attitude can derail even the best experiences. That is why leaders need to show up and be excited to engage. Leadership is an active mindset. You have so much influence over the kids, and how they respond. Realizing that challenge does not come with winning or losing. Realizing that growth is the goal, and domination is not, can make you a better leader. We should not be ranking our Scouts on who is the best. We should be recognizing growth, challenge, and accomplishment. This is how our mindset can improve the lives of all the children we touch. 

Troop 10/1019 at the bottom of 90' waterfall.