Day 2,245

Growth:

Sleep is a wonderful thing. Never underestimate the power of a well timed 30 minute nap.

Appreciation:

On our overnight flight Gavin propped his head against my shoulder as he fell asleep. Knowing that moments like that will likely become more and more rare I soaked up each and every precious second of it.

Presence:

How’s this for a sight today? Wowza!!!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,244

Growth:

A few weeks ago one of my teammates shared an Out of Office reply that was truly terrible in many ways. What one could conclude from their automated response was that they a) didn’t value personal time, b) felt their employer put too much on them, and c) didn’t trust their teammates. This led me to leave a very different automated response focused on how much I trust, appreciate, and respect my teammates. I hope they see the reply and smile when they see it. I am so thankful for all of them!

Appreciation:

What I’m most thankful for today is the focus Becky and I have had on what is one of the most important things to us – travel. By keeping that passion front and center we’ve had some wildly unique and memorable experiences I’ll remember forever.

Presence:

I had to whip a quick U turn while driving back from Stoddard this morning. The drive along the Mississippi River yielded a unique opportunity. There were hundreds of tundra swans all huddled up in a backwater channel just off from a scenic pullout. Talk about awesome!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,243

Growth:

Today I was reminded of the importance of creating space and focusing. Someone once said to treat each day as if it were your last before vacation – and today literally was just that! The impending collision with a deadline really focuses the brain.

Appreciation:

I’m so glad Becky and I started our day with yoga this morning. It was originally meant to be for her before she spent the day traveling but it also turned out to be for me. After two days of driving 4+ hours each day I didn’t realize the damage it caused to my hips and back. Yoga helped get it all straightened out and felt amazing. Centering, balancing, and healing…. Ahhh…

Presence:

Listening to learn is very different than listening to be right. Today I had to stay 100% present in a conversation lest I start thinking of how to prove my point rather than hearing what the person truly intended. By staying in the moment all I could do was listen and it helped me hear a response I wasn’t expecting. Powerful stuff!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,242

Growth:

What a day of learning! So many new ideas at out Workforce Solutions Summit – both in retaining and speaking. Planning, practice, and intentionality were amongst the most important.

Appreciation:

When speaking on our 2022 retention strategy I’m reminded how grateful I am for such a wonderful team I get to work with every day. They all are the true heroes behind our retention and engagement successes, I appreciate them big time!!!

Presence:

Once again the presence necessary for speaking was a tremendous positive experience. What was even better was when I noticed I was still tense and had my shoulders up. Deep breath, “flip the switch,” “can I do this,” and then off to the races!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,241

Growth:

Sometimes it takes a step back to see how far we’ve come. In preparation for a client meeting I realized my teams have put people to work at well over 1,500 different businesses since I’ve been with Express. How crazy is that? So many experiences through the past 20+ years!

Appreciation:

Today I got to help in one of my favorite parts of my role. A new business is looking build and open a new location and we’re looking for advice on the local hiring market. We spent well over an hour sharing best practices, notes, and potential solutions. Having an opportunity to grow the business from incubation into maturity is quite rewarding on so many levels.

Presence:

During my drive home I was absolutely enthralled by one of my all time favorite Vonnegut books, Slaughterhouse-Five. There was so much detail I picked up that had been missed the last time around. Thought provoking, humorous, and philosophically challenging all at the same time. Genius!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,240

Growth:

Remembering to look ahead at my calendar a couple of days before I leave work for the day provides the opportunity to get a little ahead. Simple practice to work into my daily routine.

Appreciation:

I’m really thankful for the long sunny days of summer today. The early darkness and cloudy weather really reminded me to appreciate those summer days – especially like the ones we had in Iceland this past summer when it was light all day long!

Presence:

With a deadline looming I went into full on flow mode. Office door closed, phone off, headphones on, and whiteboard at the ready. What a difference a focused state of flow makes!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,239

Quick one tonight, getting to bed a little late.

Growth:

A mentor once told me to pay attention to speakers for ways to improve my presentation skills. Look beyond what they are saying, look to the tools they utilize, the patterns they follow, the habits they use. Very helpful advice!

Appreciation:

Dinner with friends is always s wonderful time. Even when my task list is huge and I’m tired there is so much to be gained. Friendship, shared memories, and a broader outlook.

Presence:

Spending time with Dominic and the other Scouts helping on his Eagle project was awesome today! Interacting with then all, observing Dominic’s leadership skills, and doing hands on work? Perfect combo!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,238

Growth:

It is always easy to say yes to way more than I should. It takes grace and wisdom to say no. I really need to focus on the latter.

Appreciation:

One of my favorite activities through our church was “adopting” a college student. We’d have them over for diner once in a while to help the feel at home and to get a good meal outside of their dorm or apartment. What’s fun now is that we are basically doing that again, but with our niece and her boyfriend. Spending time with them over supper at our house is always a lot of fun and greatly appreciated.

Presence:

We made the mistake of going grocery shopping this afternoon. Gotta love grocery shopping on a Saturday afternoon on a cold and cloudy day. The aisles were packed with people and carts virtually everywhere. It took all of my focus to stay calm and breathe deeply. I saw it as an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone, to breathe deeply and talk myself through staying in the moment. I’d love to say it went well, but there were definitely moments of struggle.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,237

Growth:

If I want to get something done I need to make space and eliminate distraction. When I did so today I made a ton of progress. When I did not I faltered. I need to keep finding ways to not get in my own way.

Appreciation:

Starting the day with running in the cold (13f due to wind hill) and following it up with hot yoga (95+f) was an amazing experience. Getting that much physical activity to kick off a Friday was fantastic! I’m grateful for Becky’s encouragement to get me moving to enjoy it all. Left to my own devices I’d likely have done one of the two, thanks to her I got to experience the extremes.

Presence:

Laughing with the entire family while watching a movie together was outstanding and the music my soul needed.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,236

Growth:

When people are put into the crucible the best rise to the challenge and are forged in the fires of hardship. They come out changed and stronger.

Most don’t choose suffering voluntarily, but those who face it are presented an opportunity to rise.

Appreciation:

I’m so grateful for the deep focus we’ve put on our values in my teams. This has led me to better decisions in both my work AND personal lives. Throughout the day my life was improved by living into those values, seeing others live into those values, and by determining my actions by those values.

Presence:

Wow, tough call today! I’m going to go with two as both are worthy of being mentioned.

First, taking a moment to focus on recognizing an individual for something exemplary is a gift to the person giving thanks. The time spent recognizing and writing the thank you must be focused on that task in the moment just as they were in the moment they recognized the behavior of the individual. A doubling up of presence, how awesome is that?

Second, a quiet walk in a gentle warm rain is positively serene. The combination of rain smell, the patter of rain drops, and the slight change of view due to the precipitation is amazing!

Thanks!!!