When things happen in threes and fours, I take notice and think, ‘Hmm… someone is trying to tell me something. I better listen.’ Here’s why I’m thinking about consequences right now….

I had a conversation with an old camper who I sent home a few years ago.  The actions this camper decided to take over a few summers led being sent home without the chance to return. Now in college, this camper reached out to thank me for how we handled it. Turned out, it was the lesson they needed to change things around.  

Then, I missed a great opportunity for something really fun to share with friends. I failed to ask a simple question of someone who would have been more than happy to help. Because I decided not to ask, Kate and our friends missed making a pretty special memory.

And then, last night, my reading was literally all about ‘if/then’ statements and rulings. (Who knew Exodus was so litigious? Okay, okay – a lot of people did. It was simply surprising timing for me.)

Turns out, I was supposed to think more about ‘consequences.’

All Negative?

Now, when I type that word, I immediately put ‘negative’ in front of it. Do you? As in, “Young man, if you don’t get home on time tonight there will be consequences….”

But that’s not always the case. In fact, there are a lot of great consequences, too.

For example, I’ve been traveling a lot visiting with new families – more than I have since 2019. As a consequence of the work and time (and the fantastic community you campers have built together that I get to show off), we have more new campers than ever before enrolled at this point of the year.

A ‘closer to camp’ example.  When you do something remarkable at camp (like helping to clean up the Dining Hall table without being asked, supporting your friends, etc.), you’ll get recognized by the counselors and Director Kate at the flagpole. That’s a pretty great consequence.

Even easier: when you say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, some nice person at Canteen gives you candy as a consequence of your actions and words. (Almost) FREE CANTEEN!

So, yeah – there are a lot of positive consequences, too. We normally call them ‘rewards’ but that’s just a shorter word for the phrase ‘a consequence that I like.’

The Main Question

Will you accept the consequences of what you choose to do and say? Here’s something important to remember: literally everything we do has consequences.

What you read or listen to or watch influences you in some way, not to mention just paying to attention to that thing or song or screen takes you away from something else. Deciding to turn do trapeze at camp means you can’t do something else at that time during the day. Eating that (third) cookie will taste great… and add too much sugar to your system.

Do some things matter more than others? Probably… but I’m not really convinced on that point.

Some people say ‘don’t sweat the small stuff.’ I think that should be more of a mantra you say to yourself. HOWEVER… your ‘small stuff’ most likely isn’t ‘small stuff’ to the person in front of you. 

You get to pick, though. Now – you want the good news? One of the great things about being humans is that we all – ALL OF US – make mistakes. And, we get to learn and do better the next time.

So, before you get all jammed up about consequences, just take a moment to be grateful for all the great parents, teachers, mentors and friends (and camp directors) who’ll love you no matter what you choose.

Have a great weekend!