The Magic Of Cross Training

It used to be that cross training referred to an athlete learning a different sport than he or she usually played in order to use muscles they didn't use in their first sport, thus gaining increased strength, flexibility and skills. Then the term came to be used in business for the habit of having several employees able to do a certain job so they could step in and take over if that was needed. But cross training can also be thought of as taking any skill from any discipline and seeing if it will work in any other discipline. Poets are encouraged to paint pictures with words and so on. When I was a young waitress a more experienced woman told me it would be helpful to "Think like a trucker" and never deadhead. She explained that to a trucker it was costly to return from a trip with an empty truck. That was deadheading. The wise trucker would try to make sure they carried a paying load when they delivered and when they returned to home base. As a waitress I could use that idea to always make sure I had something in my hands no matter which way I was going. Now you can think about ways you can cross train to make your life better. Lovers work to communicate well. But so do successful businessmen. Accountants are orderly. But an artist who drops his tubes of paint on the floor will have trouble finishing his pictures. Reach out into the energy of the magic that surrounds you and think of different careers or disciplines that have skills you could use in your own life. Perhaps you don't need the sense of smell or taste of a great sommelier. But the wine steward at a fine restaurant might help you pronounce the names of wines correctly. Be proud of your own profession or craft. But if you find a tip you can use from another discipline take advantage of that. Anything that helps your life is your own magic wand to use. May the spark be with you.