I’ll set the stage: it’s 40 degrees, windy, I’m blindfolded and standing in the woods along with eight others, each of us has our right hand on a rope, the other hand out in front of us hoping we don’t run into each other or bust our noses on a tree.
We’ve been led one by one into the woods to what we can only assume is some kind of rope labyrinth or maze. There we stand awaiting our instructions for the first of our team-building exercises:
Instructor: “Your goal is to find the exit to the rope maze. You must remain blindfolded and keep your right hand on the rope at all times. You may not talk. When you think you’ve found the exit, raise one hand and I’ll let you know if you are correct. If you need help, step away from the rope and raise both hands to ask for help.”
And then the fun begins, as I walk forward taking short, shuffling steps with my right hand on the rope and my left hand outstretched keeping me from running into the person or tree in front of me.
After a few minutes of following the rope in my right hand while listening to the rustling of leaves by other group members and occasionally bumping into the person in front of me, it becomes apparent that we’re walking in some kind of rectangular, loop pattern. Hmmm…how do I escape a loop?
Instructor, again: “Your goal is to find the exit to the rope maze. You must remain blindfolded and keep your right hand on the rope at all times. You may not talk. When you think you’ve found the exit, raise one hand and I’ll let you know if you are correct. If you need help, step away from the rope and raise both hands to ask for help.”
So I continue shuffling around the circle, now on my third or fourth time around, and bumping into the person in front of me, yet again…but (*plot twist*) the person in front of me is clearly someone different than before.
Okkkkkk….so people are getting out…but there’s clearly no exit. What am I missing? There must be a trick or a loophole or something.
At this point, I’m thoroughly confused…and, to be quite honest, a little frustrated because I consider myself to be a good problem-solver.
The romp around the maze continues with no evidence of an exit to be found, and now on lap five and no closer to solving the mystery. The rustling of leaves as others shuffle around the circle has become noticeably quieter. How are people getting out of here? What am I missing? Think harder.
Instructor, again: “When you think you’ve found the exit, raise one hand and I’ll let you know if you are correct. If you need help, step away from the rope and raise both hands to ask for help.”
The sounds around me suggest that most of our group has somehow solved the puzzle and found the exit at this point. Yet, there I am still blindfolded, cold, confused and frustrated wandering hopelessly around the maze again.
Instructor, yet again: “When you think you’ve found the exit, raise one hand and I’ll let you know if you are correct. If you need help, step away from the rope and raise both hands to ask for help.”
Alright, I give up. This is my eighth or ninth time around. The problem is unsolvable. This is hopeless. Clearly, everyone else is more clever than me. So…I step away from the rope and raise both hands to ask for help.
Instructor, in a close, quiet, whispered tone: “Congratulations, you may remove your blindfold and exit the maze.”
Here’s what caught my eye this week:
MONEY: 2 Smart Ways Consumers Are Managing Their Holiday Spending (The Motley Fool)
Last year, Americans spent on average $1,143 for the holiday season…while racking up $1,054 in holiday debt. The solution to the holiday spending vs. debt issue is simple: save in advance and set a budget. But…simple is rarely as easy in practice as it sounds in principle.LIFE: YMCA CAMP PIOMINGO (Brandenburg, KY)
The above-mentioned rope maze activity was one of many team-building/leadership exercises that I got to participate in this past week at Camp Piomingo as part of my local Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class. I’m so glad I got to experience some of the camp activities, and learn more about their summer camps and the overall mission of providing opportunities for kids find out who they are, who they want to be, and to develop confidence and character to become that person. If you have kids or grandkids age 6-16, I highly recommend looking into their overnight summer camps for kids or their occasional day camps for the whole family.