Whew, from its start the day has shot off like a rocket!  The day has been a flurry of very rewarding activity.  Early morning yoga to calm the nerves and get some sweat pouring.  Walking the dogs to enjoy the outdoors and time with Becky.  Off to Menards and then the workshop to work on a top secret project.  Some quiet time in my workshop focused on creating and solving.  Time in my workshop with Gavin helping him create.  Serving as greeters and gift bearers at church.  Spending time with friends at a dinner party enjoying great food and company.  Now off to bed after spending time to unclog my brain via blogging.  For reals, it’s been a fun and fulfilling crazy busy day with almost zero stress.

Through our conversations and in preparation for our upcoming vacation I’ve been compiling quite the reading list!  While I know I won’ the able to read everything all at once there’s something magical about just getting the list all lined up.  From nonfiction works like The Guns of August and Digital Minimalism to biographies and autobiographies like South: The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition and The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts to fiction like Insomnia and 11-22-63 there are so many options.  Throw in a reminder of so many excellent stories I’d love to re-read like The Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends, Name of the Wind & The Wise Man’s Fear, Spin, and World War Z and I’ve got enough to keep me busy for several years.  In many aspects of my life I’d be stressing a list like this, but in this case it just makes me smile as I know I’ll won’t be lacking for a great read for a very long time (or until the next Rothfuss book finally comes out!).

Thanks!!!

Our Friday night date consisted of heading to the Onalaska YMCA for a cycling class.  One of the biggest reasons I had the idea was due to the coach.  Travis led many of our classes last year and we’d often attempt to go out of our way to hit one of his sessions.  I’m so thankful for a coach who can continue to push you further and further each class.  Not only is he eternally upbeat and high energy, he also takes the time to engage the entire class and help us each find our right level.  One of the things I’m looking forward to this winter is hitting his class often.

Five years ago today we were on an epic family vacation to Disney World.  As a part of the experience we had the wristband things that helped get photos of us while were everywhere, even on the rides.  After a short period of time I started to pick up on where the cameras were usually stationed and began having fun with each of them.  On this one we’d been on the ride several times already and I had it pretty well dialed.  I can’t believe how perfectly the reactions of everyone else worked out, it was just the shot I was hoping for.  Here we are, half a decade later, and I still literally LOL every time I see it!

Thanks!!!

One of my favorite authors shared the concept of focusing on a small shelf of books to re and re-read as opposed to constantly adding new books.  The theory is the multiple readings of a smaller number of books will help you pull out more wisdom and learning from those few books.  While I don’t agree wholeheartedly with this concept (as evidenced by the plethora of books I’ve recently consumed for the first time) I have to admit that there is definitely a benefit from his concept.

Another person I look up to highly recommended a mix of fiction along with more business focused books, biographies, and other non-fiction.  The reasoning behind it was finding meaning and examples in story that help you better apply the concepts you’ve learned.  It can also lead to comparisons to real life which may have been missed.  While I lean more heavily toward nonfiction his advice still rings in my head and helps guide me towards different books at times.

One the past couple of days I’ve spent my non-coverage and/or early morning drive re-reading Once a Runner by John L Parker Jr.  It’s a great story I’ve read a few times in the past focused on the fictional story of a college runner.  The story is essentially one of grit and focus to achieve a huge goal.

As I read it this time around I caught a few more pieces that hadn’t sunk in until this read.  There’s a portion that felt like it was written specifically for where my brain is at on one project.  The funny thing is that I’ve heard similar thoughts and advice before but those words rang hollow in the past.  It wasn’t until I heard it in the context of this story that the concept truly hit home.  I re-read the chapter and then drove in silence as I let it sink in.  For anyone interested, check out Chapter 23 with special attention to detail 😉

In addition to that very wonderful nugget there were several other ideas imparted into my brain.  I’ve read them before, but it wasn’t until I’ve lived to this point that some of them finally made sense.  In some cases I missed them, in others I hadn’t had relevant experiences to relate them to, and in others I was finally ready to receive the message.

Today I’m thankful for the advice of both of the individuals mentioned above.  Without their insights I may not have circled back to this book when I did.  I’m especially appreciative of Once a Runner as it has helped me find ways to be a better version of me.

Thanks!!!

I must’ve hit my head at some point during the past year. When I saw the fresh snow on the ground and the flakes still falling from the sky I was pretty much giddy with excitement! How crazy is that? Most past years I would’ve crumbled and found an excuse to hit back under the covers.

Outside of one vehicle (our normal early morning driving dude) we had virgin snow to run on. The dogs were both playing in the snow and bounding around. I enjoyed the sensation of sinking into the inches of snow with each footfall. Everything looked so peaceful and bright, even at 5am. There was also that little extra bit of quiet as the snow soaked up the extra sound. Long story short, it was awesome!

I’m thankful I found myself in the right attitude this morning.

Thanks!!!

The Merriam-Webster definition of enough is:

“occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations“

Enough is a seemingly simple and straightforward word. Many of us most likely learned its definition back in early elementary school. I know I figured it out early when my parents would holler “that’s enough” when my brother and I would fight. Enough meant plenty, the supply met the need. Pretty simple stuff.

On my drive today I was listening to Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday. The book has quickly grabbed my attention, but one chapter in particular caught my interest so much I immediately rewound and listened to it again. After the second listen I shut it off and drove while deep in thought.

One of the examples he leads with is of an exchange between Kurt Vonnegut and Joe Heller (author of Catch 22). The two are at a dinner party and Kurt chides Joe about how the billionaire who is throwing the party made more money the past day than Joe’s book has made in its entire history. Joe smiles and shares that he has something the billionaire doesn’t; “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”

Joe’s point is that he is thankful for what he has and isn’t wanting for more. Whether someone has more isn’t of interest to him and will cause no envy. He is satisfied with what he has. That wanting of what he himself has is the source of great joy.

For me personally it is a concept I’m confident in and yet totally lacking all at the same time. I’m always driving for more and pushing for more. I appreciate what I have at one level, but I often use it to fuel my drive for more. There are times when this drive has pushed me beyond what I should’ve done at that moment and I’ve paid the price afterwards.

And this exactly why I’m thankful for this simple concept today. There is a friction between two competing concepts in my mind. I am doing mental jujitsu against myself as I struggle to find balance between being satisfied with enough and pushing for more as I attempt to reach my full potential. For clarity, I’m not thinking more cash and more stuff, rather more to give and more ways to help.

The dissonance between these two ideas has been pushing me to think more deeply today. I’m so thankful for this simple concept of enough as I am positive I’ll be wrestling with it for quite some time.

Thanks!!!

Earlier this morning I couldn’t help but savor the smell in the air. It’s only around for a short period of time each year. The smell reminds me of hiking in the woods, bow hunting, Scouting, and time with family. It’s such a simple thing, just a scent, but it brings me great joy.

Today I was thankful for many things and could’ve blogged about many deep and complex thoughts. While they each got screen time in my brain I took time to count the blessings they brought. Some even started to develop into writing. I appreciate each of them greatly and I don’t mean to slight them in anyway.

The day has been filled with much complexity. Writing about the joy from something as simple as the smell of fall leaves feels so right. I often make things more complex and difficult than they need to be. Today I’m reminded to keep it simple and find joy in simplicity.

Thanks!!!

Today I’m reminded of why I take the time to blog each day.  I am very thankful for the daily habit my blogging has developed.  Quite often I kind of forget that I’m doing it and don’t take time to appreciate the joy it has brought over the past few years.

Many days there is something that jumps right out at me and I just know it’s what I should blog about.  Those days are almost too easy to write about.  It’s almost like they can write themselves.

The vast majority of days don’t have that one thing that immediately comes to mind.  Those are the days when I catch myself thinking about one specific question more and more often each minute that goes past 6:30pm…  “What am I thankful for today?”  I then stop and walk through the day and think through all that I’m thankful for today.  My mind combs through the day and I can’t help but smile as I do so.

This evening I caught myself asking myself that question and the lightbulb lit up while I was running through my day.  How awesome that one simple question can put such a huge smile in my heart each day?  While I write about one of those thoughts each day there are usually a dozen or more things that I pause to reflect on each day.

So today I’m thankful for the daily reflection that comes from writing this blog.  When I started I wanted to find a way to bring more joy to my life.  Today is a wonderful reminder of how one simple question can make such a difference in my life.

Thanks!!!

After yoga we cleaned up and headed up to Wausau for the day.  My brother in law, Matt, and the rest of Team USA had an exhibition curling match against Canada.  Prior to 2:00 today the most curling experience I’ve had was about 15-45 minutes of intermittent viewing during the last winter Olympics.  Never in my life had I watched a full match from start to finish, and I’d never previously set foot in a curling arena (so I’m still learning, is that what you’d call it?  A curling arena?  I hope so, that sounds pretty awesome!).

Thank goodness we were surrounded by a few folks who knew the game very well and were able to help us interpret what was going on.  I had a rough idea – get your stones closer than the opponents’ stones and if you do it often enough you win.  It became quickly apparent that I knew very little.  Have you ever seen a curling scoreboard?  It’s crazy when you first see it, but after it is explained it makes a lot of sense and is easy to read.

The more I watched the more interesting it became.  At first glance I thought it was a pretty simple thing, knock your opponents’ stones out and get yours close.  Then the levels of complexity started to show themselves, knocking out one of your own, blocking, and so on.  At one point I saw one of the teams bust out a spreadsheet.  It took a couple of minutes but I realized it was pretty much their playbook.  When you’re winning by this much at this time go with this pattern of play.  When you’re losing by so much at this turn play this way instead.  I could easily see how someone would get so fired up about something that is a very cool mix of strategy and technique.

The thing I’m most thankful for though is being able to experience something that Mat is very passionate about.  He’s been hooked for quite some time and this was the first time I’ve watched live and in person.  Between watching him throw (is that the right term?  I’m such a newb), interact with his team, and then talk about the game afterwards I became more thankful for having this opportunity to watch him do this.  There’s something special about watching someone do something they are deeply passionate about.  

So I’ve still got a long way to go before I have a better understanding of the sport, but I’m thankful for getting to experience it today.  Throw in the extra time with family and watching Matt live his passion and it’s been a pretty awesome day.

Thanks!!!

Last year Becky and I had the pleasure of catching the Dark La Crosse show. It’s an awesome event that shares some of the more interesting events in the history of La Crosse. When we saw the announcement this year we ordered tickets and opted to bring the boys. They both get a kick out of history and I’m pumped to see how much they enjoy this.

I always appreciate time as a family, the family nights like this are amongst my favorites. Tonight not only provides some time together but will also provide stories we’re likely to share and remind each other of for years. How cool; make memories, learn history, and educate the boys more about the area we live in. Gotta love events like this!

Thanks!!!

When I don’t take the time to focus on the important aspects of life it seems as is the universe is more than willing to fill my field of vision with the urgent. Funny how that works, isn’t it? Even though we know what we really should be focused on there is a gravity that pulls us towards the stuff that wants to be done now but that doesn’t always push us towards our goals and dreams.

Tonight I was able to put the focus where it should be and catch up on some critically important stuff that leads towards the completion of my dreams – of both the short and long term. While I knew I should be focused on it there’ve been so many other things that I e let get in the way for too long. With time dwindling down it was time to buckle down and focus. Once I did my eyes were opened even more widely to just how critical it was to focus on it.

Yeah, it sucked to not follow through on plans to hang out with friends, but I’m feeling so much easier stress now. Had I just gone out I knew that I wouldn’t be 100% focused and present, my mind would keep drifting back to the other project. Once this is complete I’ll be ready to re-engage 100%.

Time to sleep like a champ with much less stress!

BTW – nope, the picture doesn’t have anything to do with my post, but I’m thankful for how much fun these two yahoos had (as well as Dominic and Sam)!

Thanks!!!