To Stand Up Takes Practice

This past week, I worked on buckets. You stand up a bucket once you have enough staves prepared. It is a process that takes practice.

I realize that you probably don’t understand what I am talking about. That is fine. Coopering, or bucket and barrel making, is a rare skill today. I happened upon a master cooper almost a decade ago and intrigued, I pursued obtaining the skill. I have slowly been working at the craft since.

Of late there is more urgency to learn as my master is wanting me to increase my skill and find someone to teach. It is an age old process. Let me briefly describe the process of standing up a bucket and how it relates to you and your success.

Have You Been Stood Up?

No, I am not talking about dating. But think of the pain you might feel when stood up for an appointment. Without support, you just might fall.

In coopering, you make staves from wood. Buckets use straight staves, meaning they are not bent to form the vessel. Barrels are much more complex and require heat to bend the staves when you stand up the barrel.

Each stave is uniform in length. It’s thickness is the same as others. It also requires specific angles on the sides to make the bucket round. The width could be uniform, or the staves may all be different in size. The top of the stave is a different width than the bottom to allow a tapered shape when the staves are assembled. There are ramifications from each choice in making the staves.

As I stood up each bucket, I placed the wide end down. In this case, it was the top of the bucket that faced down as I put the pieces together, thus the term standing up. Hoops are used to hold the bucket together, but as it is assembled, with each stave erect, there is nothing to keep them from falling over if bumped. Any slight bump or careless move can topple one or all.

That experience of watching everything fall apart has been quite humbling and educational. It is in seeing my mistakes that has made me a better cooper. I choose to analyze what I did wrong and make adjustments.

What Lies Underneath?

The last bucket I stood up held interesting messages. I made it from some really old staves. They were some of the first I made while demonstrating coopering, so I was both inexperienced, and I had not given the staves the attention they needed as I described the process to those observing. I cleaned them up some. When I stood the bucket up, the top looked perfect. All the joints were perfect and the bucket was nice and round.

Then, I tightened the bottom of the bucket and the flaws in the staves became very apparent. The joints were not tight. The bucket in its current state will not be watertight.

Will it be watertight in the end? Hopefully. I know techniques to improve the fit, and I will make minor adjustments to the joining edges of the staves. There is always room for improvement.

However, how much time and effort will it take to make it work? Is that bucket worth the effort? I have a mentor to give me direction, but he is also asking me to work it out on my own so that I learn from my own experience. The flaws of the past may make that bucket quite imperfect.

Moving Forward Brings New Opportunities

Just as the staves of a bucket need to have the right attributes to look good and hold together as a group of disparate pieces, our teams, friends, and families need the proper attributes to function well to hold together. Those we associate with help shape who we are as we move through life. Each interaction shapes us into something new. Are those around you straight and well shaped? Can they support you in becoming who you want to be?

Of those supporting us, and those we support, we have choices to make. I recommend not walking away from family, but perhaps there are others who might better help to shape you in your circle of friends. Maybe your work is not stretching you. Are you sitting back and not becoming more because you are too comfortable. Could you ask for different assignments to help you become more valuable? Consider your options.

Visualize Your Results

As I make buckets, I visualize what the final product will be. When you can see the end result in your mind, you will find better movement toward that end. Do you see who will be by your side to help keep you standing tall as you go for your dream? Are you surrounding yourself with those who can best support you? Who are you supporting?

When you join with those that you can create great synergy with, you can see how life provides opportunities to accomplish what you want, faster. Don’t give up on your family. Find the best people to be around and support them as they support you. You will find that the angles in your life get refined more and you will stand better in the role you are meant to play.