A Cadence of Decade Rhythm

Earlier this week, I was privileged and honored to be a part of some Sport Chaplaincy training that occurred in Hong Kong, China. I joined Ross Georgiou from Sports Chaplaincy New Zealand, Andrew Parker from the University of Gloucestershire, Cameron Butler from Sports Chaplaincy Australia, and Richard Gamble from Sports Chaplaincy United Kingdom as we led a couple of days and one evening of training for over sixty people. I will offer more details in an upcoming report.

One of the most advantageous and informative ideas I gathered from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Institute in 1999 and 2000 was A Cadence of Decade Rhythm. I have searched long and hard for its origin, but cannot find it. I would love to make attribution to its author, but cannot locate him or her. If you know, please inform me.

The idea is that the progressing decades of one’s lifetime have particular functions and characteristics. Certain matters of life best fit one decade, but seem to be a poor fit in others. Don’t choke on the generality of this model, but simply take the rhythm as it is intended, as a rhythm. Try to stay in step as your life dances along. I hope this is helpful to you and to those you serve.

A Cadence of Decade Rhythm

Birth to 10 = Memories

·        In the first decade of our lives, every day is full of activity, new experiences, and memories, wonderful and painful.

11 to 20 = Mischief

·        This decade of life is usually full of mischief of all sorts and I won’t presume to list mine, nor to expose yours.

21 - 30 = Majors

·        A person in his or her twenties is normally making decisions about career, family, spouse, home, and other major phases of life. In this process, one also learns about success and failure, experimenting widely to determine what roles and situations best fit him or her.

31 - 40 = Mastery

·        Hopefully, once a person is in his or her thirties, the field of opportunities and interests has narrowed a bit and he or she identifies one thing to master. This person finds a great sense of purpose and joy in this role or task that he or she masters.

41 - 50 = Multiplication

·        Having mastered something, a person in this decade turns his attention to multiplying this mastered quality into the lives of others similarly gifted and trained. This decade is less about the multiplier and more about the others being developed.

51 + = Mentoring

·        The others centered decade of one’s forties prepares one to be a mentor. One in his or her fifties is suddenly afforded the respect necessary to mentor effectively. Prior to this, a person attempting to mentor others is seem to be a pretender. As one ages and stays engaged, the mentor’s wisdom, experience, and expertise only grow in effectiveness with those in the process of Majors, Mastery, and Multiplication.

In using this model with others, my emphasis has been upon the freedom within each decade. Give the youngest ones lots of freedom to make memories and do so purposefully. Allow the teens a little room for mischief, but not so much that it kills them. Help those making major decisions along the course of their twenties enough freedom to fail, to try out new roles, to experiment with challenging experiences. This is how they learn their areas of mastery. Help those mastering something the freedom to abandon some roles and responsibilities that become less central to their areas of mastery. Help those who begin to multiply by connecting them to others with similar interests and passions. Feed their lives with people making major life decisions and those beginning to master similar matters. Finally, free those younger than fifty from the compulsion to mentor. Prior to their fiftieth birthday, they may simply find frustration for their efforts. For those who have passed birthdays # 50 and beyond, find ways to keep them involved with those younger. Rather than shuffling them off to the senior citizens classes, shuffleboard games, and retirement villages, keep them engaged with those whom they can mentor, lead, and advise. Their experience is invaluable and their wisdom can save everyone involved from errors and frustration.

Feel the rhythm of this decade cadence. I pray that the decades of your life dance along with joyful movement.