You’ve just accomplished a daunting task, realized a dream, fulfilled a lofty goal, or checked an item off of your bucket list. Now What? That depends, I guess, on exactly what was done. Let’s say, as an example, you just secured a big account for McMann and Tate, the advertising firm where you work. Or maybe you got through an entire day without causing a core meltdown at the nuclear plant, and Mr. Burns didn’t threaten to fire you. Were you just acquitted by the Senate in your impeachment trial? Shout out to President Trump, who I am sure reads this blog. Perhaps you just discovered a cure for cancer, reinvented the wheel, built a better mousetrap, blah, blah, blah… It could be that you actually remembered to put a new bag in the kitchen trashcan after emptying it, although that would be a farfetched possibility at best.
As I am posting this, the Super Bowl was less than a week ago. I’ll spare you the rant on the degradation of society and culture as we know it. Yes, I’m obviously referring to the Pop Tarts Pretzel commercial. It’s not the ad itself to which I take great umbrage, but the tampering of an American classic. It is no secret that I love me some Pop Tarts, so why break what was not broken, figuratively speaking? Let’s just say that combining Pop Tarts and pretzels is much less appetizing than chocolate and peanut butter. STAY IN YOUR LANE, POP TARTS! Anyhow, I watched the entire game, sans the halftime “show”. If the performers were wearing parkas, I still would not have watched, because I don’t like their music. The Kansas City (Missouri, it turns out) Chiefs won the game and the MVP, Patrick Mahomes, took the traditional trip to Walt Disney World. By all accounts, he had a wonderful time at the Magic Kingdom, due in part to the fact that he didn’t visit in the summer. Have you ever been to central Florida in July or August? It is hotter than the hinges on the gate to Sheol, if Sheol even has a gate. Side note- If it wasn’t for the Super Bowl, most of us wouldn’t know our Roman numerals.
Accolades received, Disney visited, late night TV appearances behind him, Mr. Mahomes still has work to do, a life yet lived. Sooner than we think, practices and OTAs will begin for the next season. And the next. And the season after that. Granted, a Super Bowl victory and MVP award are rarified career achievements, and if he never takes another snap from center, Mahomes has accomplished what few others in his craft ever will. But he is still faced with the question, “Now what“? You and I, like the hero of the Super Bowl, must also ask ourselves the same question often, even in the comparatively mundane day to day lives we live.
So now what?
(Click “Stand On Firmer Ground” for a deeper look into Now What?)
Stand On Firmer Ground