There’s a scene in The Lion King—after the wildebeest stampede, after Simba has run off on his own—where he’s crossing the Serengeti. Unexpectedly, he meets Timon and Pumbaa. To Simba – a lion – a meerkat and a warthog must seem like the most unusual acquaintances he’s ever made.
The Serengeti in Between
Little does Simba realize that after he defeats Scar, they and Nala will be the ones standing right by his side as he takes his place at the head of Pride Rock. They are his friends who saw him get to the big dance. But before that, they are the unexpected companions he finds at a particularly low point in his life.
We see this trope in almost every hero’s quest, but right now, I’m feeling a little like Simba on the Serengeti. I’m alone, knowing that my supporting cast is about to change—and quite radically at that.
I got drinks with Sierra yesterday. I’ll call it an “encounter,” because I’ve learned that labels like “date” or “scam” are just ways we try to force a binary outcome on a situation that hasn’t unfolded yet. We’ve known each other through social media for years, but this was our first face-to-face. We talked, we laughed, and for two hours, there was no “dead air.” It wasn’t a world-record-breaking event, and it wasn’t a disaster. It was simply two people connecting in the messy middle of life.
I admit, I struggled with this post. I spent the last twenty-four hours trying to “solve” the encounter, hyper-analyzing every text and every silence, trying to determine if I had “knocked it out of the park” or if I had missed the mark entirely. I wanted it to be perfect because I think, on some level, I was terrified of being stuck in the binary traps of my past: either the frantic search for a “home run” or the agonizing, glacial pace of a relationship going nowhere.
But that’s where the breakthrough hit me. I don’t have to choose between the frantic pace and the glacial freeze.
This is the power of Option C.
Finding the Third Gear
We are often told life is black and white—that we have to choose between the two options presented to us. But Option C is the audacity to realize there is a third choice. It is the realization that I am not a victim of the pace anymore. If it’s too slow, I have the agency to shift gears. If it’s too fast, I have the power to tap the brakes.
Choosing “Option C” is choosing myself. It is the third gear of autonomy. It is the pace of a man who is building a life, not just waiting for one to start.
I keep coming back to this scene from Moneyball. It’s not just about baseball; it’s about the quiet, disciplined work of trusting the process,
I’m moving at my own speed now. Trusting the process doesn’t mean sitting back and hoping for the best; it means being the driver of my own Serengeti. I don’t know if Sierra is part of the new supporting cast or just a cameo, and for the first time in a long time, I am perfectly okay with that.
If nothing else, I got the answer to my question. I’m no longer the scared crook in Dirty Harry sitting here saying, “I gots to know.”
Now I know. And as the old PSA used to say, knowing is half the battle.
Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Having crossed the 1,000-day milestone, I’m now charting the territory beyond. The mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.
Today’s post is inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt. While I’ve taken the topic in my own direction for the Road beyond 1,000 Days, you can find more responses to today’s prompt HERE.
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- The Art of Not Blinking: Why Ukraine’s Fight is My Own
- Simba on the Serengeti: The Art of the Third Gear
- Choosing Happiness: My Alternative Definition of Success
- Making the Day My Own
- The Moment of Rewiring: Stories I’d Experience for the First Time Again
AI art created by Google Gemini
The article “Simba on the Serengeti: The Art of the Third Gear” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
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