One of the most impactful trainings I’ve ever had was on the standard cycle of learning we all go through when we learn new tasks – Situational Leadership (aka SLII). Typically, when we are first about to start a task we are all types of excited and we’re ready to run through walls to accomplish the new task, we just need to have someone give us a little direction. Once we start down that path we quickly realize that it is not going to be as easy and simple as we initially assumed it would be, we have learned what we didn’t already know. At that moment we feel crushed and now need some positive coaching in addition to the direction.
And that’s where I am today. As excited as I have been to start recording I am frustrated. The volumes and levels aren’t quite where I need them to be and it is painstaking to adjust them. As I read in practice I’m tripping over my written words and it is driving me bonkers. This whole project has gone from a “this will be a blast” to “hmm, how do I dump this without too much shame?” 😉
Of course, I am going to work through it. Can I do this? Yes, I’ve worked through other things before. One step at a time. I’ve got a way to adjust all the levels and will take the time to do that tomorrow morning when I am not watching a puppy (who decided to take advantage of my recording practice by grabbing one of my hand clamps and chewing both of the rubber pads off). Yeah, I am likely going to stumble over my words. No worries – I can edit it! It’s not the end of the world if I have to re-record certain sections. I’ll figure it out, I’ve done more difficult things in the past (like writing the book in the first place).
Yes, I am frustrated now, but I know how to work through it. I’ve got this. Tomorrow will end with much progress made!
Appreciation:
This afternoon I got to catch up with Becky and Gavin and hear about how their trip to France has been going. So glad they decided to go on this adventure together! The memories they are making together and the time they have with just the two of them is awesome and will only continue to grow the bonds they already have. While I would like to be with them I know there’s a magic to having that solo time with one of our sons at a time from past experience. I’m very appreciative that they are getting this time together and are making some lifelong memories!
Presence:
There was a moment this morning as Leia and I walked through the woods this morning that was so perfectly tranquil. There was no sound of traffic. The air was still. The only sound was that of Leia bounding through the leaves like the puppy she is. The smile on her face as she decided to play a little chase with me was priceless. The happiness of a puppy outdoors playing is a joy I need to remember to harvest in my own life more often. Play and have fun, life doesn’t always have to be serious and goal driven.
Today I was working on the last of the testing and set up for recording the audio version of my book (which you can learn more about here). I’ve got the pseudo-studio in Dominic’s bedroom closet ready to go with soundproofing, I’ve got all the equipment set up, I’ve got my recording app (Audacity) all set, and did a couple of test runs to see what I’m getting myself into. At this point I know I will be able to record well and in a format that will get uploaded to ACX (Audible.com) and other websites. All I need to do now is the hard work, recording 😉
What I was reminded of today is how grateful I am for all of the online resources we have available to make projects like this easier. Being able to hop on YouTube to learn about recording, using Google to find how to upload and install a plugin for the application, and then stumbling upon advice to e more successful was a total godsend! Having such a wealth of knowledge and wisdom at our fingertips like this is something I don’t take time to appreciate often enough.
Appreciation:
For the past decade and a half our house has been a largely loud and crazy place. Whether it was chasing the boys, playing with the dogs, or hanging out with friends it seems like our house was always a place of busyness. Today it is only Leia and I. Gavin and Becky are on a trip in France and Dominic is in college. Such a crazy and drastic change!
Within this quiet has been a huge focus on productivity. I put together a fairly large list of what I want to accomplish this weekend and I’ve already made some serious headway on it. Additionally, with the definite lack of conversation there’s been so much time to think and contemplate while I am getting things done. The quiet has been uncanny – almost like when I did my solo writing retreat and solo backpacking trip – but in an even more interesting way as it is in the place which is usually the center of conversation.
I know without question that I prefer the busyness and conversations within our home, but there is a magic to this stillness that I am thankful for in small doses. It reminds me of a book I read not too long ago about someone who has almost completely withdrawn from the rest of society. He pops back in every so often just to stay sane before fading back into the wilderness. In my case it seems like I need to fade into the background of solitude every so often before jumping back into real life in order to hold more tightly to my sanity.
I miss the time with my family, but I am appreciative for the time I have alone. It is certainly a time of healing, rejuvenation, and focus – so long as I choose to utilize it that way. I am reminded of the old quote by Blaise Pascal:
All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.
Blaise Pascal
Here’s to enjoying that quiet time in a room alone.
Presence:
This morning Leia and I went for a little hike on a beautiful trail just off of Fisherman’s Road and enjoyed some outside time in the sun. She took her time to sniff everything possible as we slowly worked our way along the out and back trail. It was easy to see she was loving the outside time in the woods as much (possibly even a little more than) I was.
This afternoon she was getting a little squirrelly so I thought we’d take on our second hike of the day. After a very short distance she was walking very fast and starting to pull on her leash. Even though I was not prepped for a trail run – I was wearing cargo shorts and no socks – I decided it was time to test her out with some trail running. Seeing as she’s a puppy we’ve been slowly building up her distance, I haven’t taken her for a trail run yet. I hit the gas, she smiled, and then all I saw was her backside… until she would suddenly dart off the trail to stop and smell something!
Other than her smell breaks we ran well over three quarters of the trail together and it was awesome!!! I am not sure which of us was smiling bigger by the time we were done. Definitely a moment I’ll remember forever, kind of like the time I took LuLu running solo with me back in the day. Moments like that are pure gold.
Many years ago I had a conversation with my friend Rick about composing music on his computer. I asked why he didn’t just mix everything perfectly, making each note of each instrument hit at the perfect tone. He shared that there is a perfection in imperfection. If everything was perfect in the song it just wouldn’t sound right. The little imperfections at the right places made a good song a beautiful song.
Earlier this morning as I was thinking through about my blog post and thoughts from yesterday. I started to realize how much that concept applies to life in general. Our lives are so deeply enriched and wonderful BECAUSE of the imperfections and struggles. They allow the moments of joy and happiness to really come to the surface and shine.
So similar to my post from last night. The imperfections are a perfect was for us to grow and remember to appreciate what we have, to enjoy the full melody of life.
Appreciation:
This morning Gavin was up and moving early in preparation for his upcoming trip with Becky. He and Dominic jumped on the phone and provided quite the background soundtrack to the work I was doing from home. There was nonstop laughing, giggling, and joking around between the two of them and it was music for my soul! I am so grateful for the way they continue to spend time connecting with each other and the friendship they have built.
Presence:
This morning I stumbled upon one of my favorite early morning solo run albums, The Rural Alberta Advantage’s Mended with Gold. The music combined with the 20-ish degree crisp air to form the right conditions for an inspiration meditative run to kick off the day. I love the way music can help my mind slip into a flow state so easily.
It seems as if we all go through “funks” in our lives. You know, those times when we aren’t fully happy, we feel a little down, and like there’s almost something missing in our life. Sometimes they feel like I am in a room in which all the light bulbs have either gone out or are fading fast rather than being outside on sunny day. Regardless of how you describe them, they really kind of suck and are not where we want to hang out often.
There have been a handful of “funks” I’ve lived through. Each had its own suffering, but as I look back each was something I grew through. When I was much younger I descended into a deep funk and as I grew through it I learned the importance of inner happiness rather than looking outwards and focusing on the opinions of other people. Another funk in my early thirties helped me see I needed to take better care of myself physically which also led to a huge growth in self discipline. Before I turned thirty nine I was enveloped in a funk that eventually became the creation of this blog and focused my attention to appreciation and changed my life in profound ways.
In between there have been small funks which registered small growth. There’ve also been larger funks that I really don’t want to dive into in this format that led to larger growth in other directions. Throughout life there has always been, and seems that there will always be, ups and downs in my mood. Often there is joy and elation, but there are also funks.
At one point in life I’d argue that we should never be in a funk, that it is as simple as choosing happiness instead. What I’ve been learning more and more is that funks are a counterbalance to joy, but also a creation of joy. Through those difficult times we find our growth, we create future joy. They still hurt when we suffer through them, but if we pause and realize they can be a tool for us to grow closer to who we are called to be.
That’s where my head has gone this evening. I thought about those past funks and saw the growth they resulted in. Their pain is still there, but is has been numbed by the growth that has come since. As I work through what feels like the tail end of a funk my mindset changed drastically after a simple question crossed my mind.
In a moment of emotion, singing out loud to an awesome song with my moonroof open (more on that in the Presence section), the question appeared and brought a moment of absolute stillness and honest contemplation.
“What is the purpose of this funk?”
What is the purpose of this funk? What am I learning through this? How do I need to grow as highlighted by this funk? Something must be off or wrong if I am feeling this way – what is it, what caused it, how do I change it? Why is this specific funk hitting now? When I work through this how will I be closer to closing the gap between who I am and who I am called to be?
“What is the purpose of this funk?”
As I thought through the question I had several rapid fire thoughts which I will share honestly and openly. For clarity, I still have much to consider in this, but these were the starting points:
Learning how much is truly out of my control no matter how much I want to be in control
Choosing a path, being bold, not settling for the path of least resistance, not drifting, acting intentionally
Realizing what is truly important to me, manifesting more of the opportunities which fit my strengths
Making a choice rather than hedging my bets
Learning to let go, that I can only accomplish so much, not trying to do everything
Thinking through this list brought up so many ideas to struggle with and through. What was interesting though was that rather than feeling like I was in a funk it was an acceptance of not being 100% joyful as I would like to be and seeing that working through this would help me get closer to that state.
Another interesting insight – it is not the goal of living a perfectly joyful life, rather it is to enjoy the struggle and the journey towards that goal. Definitely an idea to come back to later.
Tonight I’m really grateful for the question – “What is the purpose of my funk?” It has helped me transform a feeling of almost helplessness into a tool for growth, a source of future joy. If you’re currently in a funk of your own try asking yourself that question, who knows where it may take you!
Appreciation:
I am grateful for the way so many moments worked out today to help create the mindset and the mental and emotional space to work through that thought above. As I type my blog I can’t help but be thankful for this process of daily journaling and blogging to help my mind work through so many of these thoughts. In the past I would have maybe had the moment of insight and then lost it into the recesses of my brain, never to be seen again. By writing this thought process down today I can come back to it in the future, I work through the concept more completely through writing, and – even though it is incredibly humbling to open myself up like this to whomever happens to read this – to live more closely into my personal purpose of brightening lives through shared experiences.
This process, this ritual, this habit… what a gift!!!
The reflection of the mountains and trees resonated with me as I wrote tonight – enjoy!
Presence:
My drive home from Menomonie was rather epic this evening! I opted for some music rather than audiobook or podcast, opened up the moonroof, and sang my butt off. It started as an opportunity to let loose some energy, to relax. What’s wild is that is was exactly at this time with my guard completely down and I was unencumbered by any intentional thought that the concept in the Growth section broke loose and became reality.
That moment of letting go to emotion completely led to some of the best thought processes I’ve had in quite some time. Force it and it doesn’t work, forget it and it comes alive. Such an eye opening reminder to let my brain relax and work its own way to where it needs to go.
Sometimes the most productive task we can work on is one that doesn’t feel like it is actually moving the dial. Today I paused to put time and energy into gathering all of the tasks, ideas, and projects I am working on to review and then cull the herd. Some were quick and easy ones to knock out, others were eliminated entirely, and a few were send off to a parking lot for Future Mike to take a look at down the road. What remains is a more clear path and helps me see where my energy should be spent. In working on dumping my brain like this I didn’t actually knock anything off the list, but it made all the difference in the world for me moving forward.
Appreciation:
Last week I worked with a friend on helping them find their passion. They’d felt stuck and I offered up some ideas on how to be unstuck and how to pursue their dreams.
My mind is still being twisted and bent by the Tim Ferriss podcast with Jim Collins that I shared yesterday. Several points hit on a profoundly deeper level than in the past and got my head thinking.
A project I worked on today brought me back to old notes and goals. Reviewing them brought back some pretty epic dreams and lined up very closely with some of the ideas from the podcast.
An email today shared the link to a podcast I just recorded for our Express Leadership Academy. When I watched a few moments I realized / remembered what a flow state I was in during that process.
Putting my plan together for this weekend and upcoming week really got me charged up for the project I’m taking on. There’s excitement because it is new, but also excitement because it feels so right.
Out of the blue a friend contacted me about a potential opportunity that still has me shaking my head in disbelief. The backbone is completely in line with each of the previous points.
Tonight I’m thankful for the repeated nudges I’m getting from The Big Dude Upstairs. They are all pointing me towards a dream and I will follow. Here’s to those nudges, the hard work and reps put in, and to each of the wonderful people who helped to create this opportunity!
Presence:
Throughout the day I had the opportunity to reconnect with a dear friend and mentor. Catching up with them was fabulous, it had been too long since we last spoke. Their high energy rubbed off and I’m still smiling after our conversation. Additionally, they offered up some mind rocking dream fuel which helped ignite a firestorm of dreams and ideas in me! Our conversation this evening will stick with me for a long time for a variety of reasons.
I’ve written about the power of clarity often. What really sunk in for me today was the power of the combination of clarity AND written follow up. While sometimes we think we have clarity we maybe don’t understand each other quite as well as we thought we did. By taking the time to put our conversations into written format we have the opportunity to get one step closer to knowing we are all on the same page. Talk openly and ask questions until there is clarity, then write it all down and share so that way the message is truly heard all around.
Appreciation:
This morning I had a call with a business partner to share what’s happened over the past couple of weeks since we’d last spoken. Due to scheduling I had exactly 27 minutes to talk with him and I utilized each and every single second! By the time I’d run through everything I felt like the squirrel from Over the Hedge, running a million miles an hour and just spewing everything that had been building in my brain. It was therapeutic in so many ways!
Honestly, it was interesting just how much more clearly I could see the world after dumping all those thoughts, ideas, frustrations, celebrations, and memories out of my head. Everything seemed to slow down a bit afterwards and it was like I’d taken an overfull trunk, dumped it on the ground around me, and then started to sort through what was really important and needed to go back in the box, tkaing time to pack the biggest parts first.
So grateful for the opportunity to release all my pent up brainwaves, it helped me see more clearly!
Presence:
This morning I started listening to an old Tim Ferriss podcast of Jim Collins, one of my favorite thought leaders. I’ve listened to this episode more times than I care to admit, but in spite of the repeated listens I was able to glean so much insight! From the point I hit play until the time I shut it off I was completely enthralled by the thought processes of Collins, by the questions he asked, and the actions he’s taken. Each time I listen I swear that the world around me pauses and allows me to put 100% of my focus into that podcast.
We really get to know a lot about ourselves and other people when we are under pressure. When the stakes go up it becomes more difficult for us to contain emotions – for better or worse. Today was a reminder that while I can easily see that in others they (and I) can see it in myself as well. Be a better me all the time, then my reaction under pressure will be the me I am all the time anyways.
Appreciation:
I’ve written about this general concept often, but it bears repeating today. I am grateful for remembering that I can only control what I can control – and this includes controlling where I focus my energy and emotion. While I was all kinds of frustrated over a specific event I reminded myself to let it go and move on… after wallowing in it for a while. As the moments (hours) ticked away I realized more and more clearly that I was allowing my emotional response dictate the lens through which I was seeing the day rather than acknowledging the emotion, granting myself grace, and moving on right away. My response was far from ideal, it took me longer than I would like to have arrived at the right place, but I’m grateful for finally arriving at the right place nonetheless.
I cannot control what happens to me, how others respond, or what unexpected challenges I will face in the day. I can choose how I respond, how I have awareness of the situation and my emotion, and how quickly I move forward.
Today I am grateful for the opportunity to put in more reps, to keep putting in the practice, and for the awareness to pause and clearly see the gap between who I am and who I am called to be.
Presence:
Okay, easy winner today! Becky and I saw an astoundingly long shooting star this morning glide across the sky right under Orion’s feet while we were out for our run this morning! Such a welcome surprise while we were outside with Leia before the rest of the world was waking up. Becky saw a second one as well a little while later. The unceasing beauty of Creation!
Situational Leadership continues to be one of the most positively impactful trainings I’ve ever had. Today we coached Gavin through driving on the interstate for the first time. Talk about a very focused training! Based on where his brain was I started with S1 (highly directive, low coaching) and quickly modified to S2 (highly directive, high coaching) to help him through some nerves that appeared as he hit 70mph for the first time in his life. Throughout other portions of his driving I flexed back and forth between S1, S2, S3, & S4 based on where Gavin was in the learning process for each situation. While it was a very focused training it reminded me of how important it is to utilize this process more often in many more scenarios.
Appreciation:
Today has felt like a deep breath, an opportunity hit the pause button and relax. There were multiple times when my head went back to a concept from Awareness. “Things don’t have to always be done well, many times they should be done enjoyably instead.” Today I did things enjoyably and my soul was warmed as a result. Hmm, there is a lot more to unpack there in a future blog, I’m just going to leave it there for now.
Presence:
Holy outside time! There was a lot of time spent enjoying being outside while November shared one of its most epically nice warm days. The sun was out most of the day and we enjoyed a couple of hikes and some yard work. The weather will likely be changing soon and it was a treat to enjoy the unseasonably warm temperatures.
So thankful for starting a project long in advance and giving myself a very lengthy timeline! By starting early I’ve provided myself the opportunity to get ahead of the game and work through issues with plenty of time to correct them. Talk about starting with a lower stress level! Definitely something to remember for future projects.
Appreciation:
Hanging out with good friends is always a blast – even if I have done a lot of people-ing recently! This evening we had a delicious dinner with friends at our house and had a wonderful time sharing stories. Great food, great friends, great times!
Presence:
OMG – laughing while being nervous and teaching Gavin how to drive led to some big laughs, new stories, and excellent learning moments! On two short drives we ended up on a couple of wild adventures!
I’m re-reading Awareness by Anthony de Mello and yet again I’m enthralled with how much new insight I’m able to take away even after reading it so many times. The “I” who is reading it is never the same and thus different portions make different impacts each time through. Super glad I picked it up again!
Appreciation:
Not gonna lie, I’m really grateful that it is now the weekend! It’s been a long few weeks and I’ve got another busy one lined up on Monday, but from now until 6am Monday there will be zero focus on work. My brain needs a rest, I’m ecstatic to crush the pause button and take some time off.
Presence:
Had a very enjoyable time with one of my teams this evening! Steve and his wife opened up their home to us for a Friendsgiving dinner. So much fun spending time shooting the bull outside of work!!!
Thankful for Forty 