We’ve gotten into a pretty fun routine this week. There is a call from Gavin late at night giving us an update of everything he’s seen in Washington DC that day. Hearing the excitement in his voice has been rewarding on many levels. I’m so excited for him to have the opportunity to experience a trip with his classmates and without his parents like this. When I hear how pumped he is when he shares the details of the day I am smiling huge!
We definitely miss having him at home, but it’s well worth missing him knowing he’s having so much fun on his adventure.
All I really need at times is space. Space to breathe. Space to think. Space to be fully engaged in the present. Space to recharge. Space to take in the quiet. Space to be.
During the day there were two moments of space which I’d created. One was a very short hike in the woods during lunch. The other was stand up paddle board yoga on the lake in West Salem. Both were moments of space created to allow me a chance to breathe as I attempt to run through the finish line of my current sprint. My average nightly sleep has been down this week and I’ve got a lot to accomplish between now and our flight next week. Taking time to slow down helps me regain my balance.
While hiking I heard a noise I’d never experienced. After becoming still and focusing on the location I was surprised to find a huge woodpecker creating a burrow high in a tree! I’d see a giant redhead stick out of the hole, then tail feathers and scratching noises, then a redhead, and repeat. It was awesome to witness this process!
During our SUP yoga a very brief rain rolled in and out within a matter of minutes. Shortly afterwards we were rewarded with one of the most vividly spectacular rainbows I’ve ever seen in Wisconsin! It was a legit Hawaiian rainbow in our backyard. The rainbow had its double and then had three layers of indigo as it shined from one bank of the lake to the other. Truly stunning.
Two moments of created space with moments of awesome tucked inside. What a perfect way to be present and regain balance.
Yesterday this photo popped up from exactly 10 years ago. My initial response was a smile and the surprise of seeing how young the boys were on that trip.
We were at Wall Drug on our way out west for one of our first longer trips. This was the second straight day of ice cream, we were all pretty pumped. The entire vacation itself was so much fun, we created many memories together.
In many ways it was a peak when one thinks of life as a series of peaks and valleys. Behind the camera it was quite the opposite, it was one of my biggest professional valleys.
There is no need to get into the details – all that matters is the fact that the impossibly difficult situation unfolded while, and specifically because, I was out of the office on vacation with my family. Through that situation I learned much about myself and my values. In the moment I don’t know that I’ve been as furious in a professional setting, yet it helped to shape who I would become. I had to live through it, work through it, and grow because of it in order to work on closing the gap between who I am and who I should be. The pain was extreme, the valley was deep, but thanks to it I was able to start climbing back up.
It is so easy to remember the peaks, the successes. It is just as important to remember the valleys, the failures. Those are the moments which make the successes possible.
When I look at that picture I still feel the pain of the lessons learned that day. While it still stings I feel more joy and elation because of the peaks the valley lay between.
Dominic’s first day of summer corresponded with his first day at new summer job. Over the next few months he’s helping our team recruit and create better opportunities for our associates. While he was training today he knocked out the first project I had for him – and in much less time than I was expecting. Pretty sure he’s going to pick up in this pretty quickly.
Taking him through orientation was wildly surreal. Spending time with him showing him our systems was very enjoyable. Him showing me better ways to do a couple of things already was humbling and cool all at the same time. In general, what an awesome experience to share with him.
Today I brought home to work and brought work home. That makes me smile.
Not only did we survive our May, we seemed to enjoy it. For sure, I really like when we don’t have quite so much excitement quite as constantly as we did over the last 30ish days, but now that it’s behind me it was a pretty epic month.
This morning started out in a very different manner. Becky and I woke up early-ish and went for a nice long hike. There were very few others on the trail so we had a tremendous amount of quiet time for the two of us. There were many flowers blooming, the forest was so vividly green, and the clouds slowly rose from the bluffs in the distance. It was amazing!
The counter balances of life can be so beautiful in their own ways, today’s shift to quiet calm was exactly what the doctor ordered after the crazy busy month.
Not only did we survive our May, we seemed to enjoy it. For sure, I really like when we don’t have quite so much excitement quite as constantly as we did over the last 30ish days, but now that it’s behind me it was a pretty epic month.
This morning started out in a very different manner. Becky and I woke up early-ish and went for a nice long hike. There were very few others on the trail so we had a tremendous amount of quiet time for the two of us. There were many flowers blooming, the forest was so vividly green, and the clouds slowly rose from the bluffs in the distance. It was amazing!
The counter balances of life can be so beautiful in their own ways, today’s shift to quiet calm was exactly what the doctor ordered after the crazy busy month.
Dominic’s team ran very hard in the 4x800m relay at State today, but their competition was a bit faster. He and his teammates were already putting together plans for their training plan to get on the podium next year. Pretty awesome to pause and consider how well they did and their growth mindset and grit.
Throughout the past week my thoughts have been going back to the book Awareness by Anthony de Mello. Absolutely fantastic read, one I would HIGHLY recommend to everyone. This was I think the fourth time going through it and each time I learn more and more (pretty sure I just blogged about that a little bit ago).
What really jumped out over the past week has been an awareness of a few different thought processes – identity, labels, and certainty. In so many ways each of these three can quickly slide from being somewhat beneficial to highly destructive. When I am “certain” about something I’m more likely to use a fixed mindset rather than a growth mindset. When I know my “identity” I am much less likely to listen to be flexible and open minded to new things and situations. When I use “labels” I miss seeing something for what it truly is and see the label instead.
While it has been easy for me to see others engaging in each of these (isn’t that always the case), I’m starting to see these patterns in myself much more quickly. The awareness of these three negatives has been helping me pause and ask myself “why” many more times than normal. I find I’m spending more time in thought about my actions and thought processes and this is helping me learn much more about myself. What I’m learning is very frustrating as it seems the gap between who I am and who I should be is wider than I realized, but at the same time I’m even more optimistic as the solutions seem relatively simple once I take time to be more aware of my thoughts, to be more intentional.
Today has been a nonstop thrill ride of action and excitement from start to finish. My brain is still running in circles as I lay down and get ready to go to sleep. All good stuff, just a lot of it today.
While waiting for a couple of events at the WIAA State Track Meet I caught myself more than once looking away from the action. The way that University of La Crosse track is nestled in the Mississippi River Valley creates a unique and epic backdrop for the track meet. See or yourself:
Watching the meet was awesome, cheering on Dominic’s teammates was a rush, and seeing the physical feats were all well worth the time. Being outside with such beautiful views all around enhanced it all.
My teams have been very focused on finding ways to keep living into our Purpose, our “Why” Statement. Our teams exist to brighten lives through fulfilling work. Conversations and actions over the past couple of months have been a wonderful movement into living better into that purpose. We’ve changed processes for our associates (the people we place in new careers) as well as for our internal teammates.
I am a fan of measurements and scoreboards. When I can “see” the results on a scoreboard I “get it” more easily and quickly. The analysis of the results over time really helps me “see” where we need to go next. This focus on brightening lives through meaningful work has been very difficult to quantify. My skin is crawling as I struggle to be okay with not seeing data. That said, I’ve got a surplus of calm and confidence.
Our focus is in the right place. We’re adding more joy to our community. The number of smiles from all involved are all the analytics I need to know we’re headed in the right direction. The stories I hear and the actions I witness of my teams taking actions focused on brightening lives gives me proof without data.
What I’m grateful for today is the elevated levels of joy through living into our purpose. I know, it kind of sounds a little hokey, but I’m telling you there’s a palpable difference as we put our attention to brightening lives through fulfilling work. Our decisions are different, the results are different, and there’s an increased level of joy. All that from focusing more on our “why,” our reason for being.
The road ahead of us is long. The more we live into purpose the harder we’re all working, but the bigger we’re smiling. I can definitely appreciate that!
My work day started when I left my house a little after 5am and ended a bit after 5:30pm. It was a long one and involved all together too much driving. While it was exhausting I’m still very appreciative of it. Today was a reminder of how much time I used to spend on the road and how fortunate I am to not have to do that nearly as often.
After supper as a family we went for a walk as a family. Quiet time, together, outside, and moving. Yes please!
Without going into too much detail, I’m grateful for learning. One of my passions is tapping into my natural curiosity to learn more about different things. Not only did I experience much of that today I was able to share in an interesting and enlightening learning experience with the boys. Good stuff!
Thankful for Forty 