Ted-ology: What’s the Signal?
In one of the hardest episodes to watch (‘Make Rebecca Great Again’ s.1 e.7), we see as weight of all that Ted has been holding on to finally come to ahead by his first panic attack at a karaoke bar. Things had been building to this point and then suddenly he felt as if his world was crashing in. It alarmed and changed him in many ways but he chooses to not really reflect on what might have caused this and attempts to press on as he has in the past.
Months later, as the team has began to finally find it’s rhythm, we watch Ted experience another panic attack during a final minutes of a close match. He rushes off the field, no one knows where he is, and we only find him later curled up in Dr. Sharron’s dark office and where he finally takes her up on her offer to talk by stating “I wanna make an appointment”.
Contrast this to Jamie Tartt.
In this same episode (‘The Signal’ s.2 e.7), Jamie is in the midst of his redemptive journey. In his own way, he’s more conscious of his fellow teammates than he has ever been and is constantly seeking guidance from his coaches to grow. Even getting frustrated as Roy refuses to coach him. Jamie demands that he be coached as he knows he and the team have plateaued. It is at that moment where Roy tells him to watch out for a signal to unleash what Roy says are all the traits that he has been holding back since becoming a team player - the things that previously set him apart. These things were what made Jamie a ‘prick’ in his early years but, as Roy points out, when used correctly and at the right time are the catapult for him and the team to move into new space. Later in the match, Roy and the other coaches give him ‘the signal’ accomplishing what Roy had predicted.
The brilliance of this storytelling is that they are in many ways showing opposite sides of the same coin. That coin being how we respond to signals for growth.
There are signals that warn us that danger and unhealth are coming, and there are signals that point us to lean into our strengths. It can be difficult to recognize them early in our journey but signals can come from all over the place:
Our bodies can signal to us we are doing too much. Or too little.
Our minds can be signaling to us when we are scatterbrained or when depression hits.
Our loved ones and those closest to us can be signals if we let them enter into our lives as well. As they can reflect back to us what they see - they can encourage or they can caution.
The more I reflect back on my life, I can see the signals that were warning - in those aches and pains in my body to the sadness my spouse sensed in me, one ended up being a cavity and the other ultimately lead me to seek help for depression - and that were signaling to lean in - mentors who’ve challenged me to not waste my gifts, or honoring the urge to speak on topic or act when I knew what was right.
We receive signals everyday to some degree, so a question for us today would be: what signals are there that we might be missing?
The challenge is not if we will want to respond to them but rather when will we respond. Because these signals will challenge us to grow and growth is not always easy or painless - but it’s always worth it.
And so are you.
So what signal do you see today?
For further reflection: