Month: December 2024

Thankful for the Choice We Always Have to Make

Day 3,372

We always have a choice to make.

We cannot choose the challenges we will face. We cannot choose which surprises we want and don’t want. We cannot choose how others react. These are all out of our control.

Yet, we always have a choice to make.

We can choose how we will respond. We can choose where we put our focus. We can choose our attitude, our mindset, and our reaction. We can choose to live into our values, to live towards our purpose. We can choose positivity. We can choose growth. We can choose appreciation. We can choose to be present – especially when it is difficult. We can choose to face the brutal facts and we can choose how to work through them. We always have the ability to choose these.

We always have a choice to make.

Today I had the opportunity to work through a handful of almost consecutive challenges which I would not have chosen. But I chose to focus on what was important. I chose positivity. I chose growth. I chose to live my values and grow closer to my purpose.

We always have a choice to make. Choose wisely.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Being Tested, Family Chill Time, & Difficult Driving

Day 3,371

Growth:

“No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity for he is not permitted to prove himself.”

SENECA

Appreciation:

After a bonkers day at work bookended by slippery snowy drives a dinner and a family game night were exactly what I needed. Let the stress rinse away, be in the moment joking, laughing, and talking. Chilling as a family. A wonderful wrap up to the day!

Presence:

Sometimes I surprise myself with my blog. One of the most clear periods of presence today was while driving on icy and snow covered roads. The added challenge really pushed me to stay completely laser focused on that one task. Watching ahead, watching behind, anticipating sliding, thinking ahead to what other might do. It was a start to finish focus sandwich! What a fitting and timely reminder of the importance of my quote that started this blog!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Start Small, Excellent Music, & Quiet Calm Recharging

Day 3,370

Growth:

One step at a time, bite sized next steps, atomic habits, realistic goals… However you want to put it, all huge goals are accomplished by millions of little actions. Dream big, start tiny and work up.

Appreciation:

Gotta love music that moves you, it’s even more special when it comes from a completely unexpected source. This past weekend I happened to catch the song The Roads by Jonah Kagen on our SirriusXM trial in our car. I immediately downloaded the song and it’s been playing almost nonstop in my head. Almost nonstop, as the songs Same Wind and Don’t You Give Up on Me also have found their way into my brain. Something about the music is incredibly touching, hopeful, and real. All these songs will be rolling around in my noggin for quite some time.

Presence:

Chilling alone in the living room, alone with my thoughts and music. Taking time to relax, let my brain go, and think about nothing and everything all at the same time. Time to chill, let the shoulders relax, the muscles all loosen. This quiet time is a wonderful change of pace from the past week of busy-ness. All that is good in its own way, but this time is the little bit of therapy my mind and soul need to recharge.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Cultivating Relationships, Seeing Gavin in a Different Setting, & Family Time

Day 3,369

Growth:

Take time to focus on and grow relationships. The more we invest in getting to know others the more it comes back around to us. Today I was reminded in several different situations of the importance of having trusting relationships.

Appreciation:

Gavin had an appointment with his guidance counselor and us to start prepping for his senior year as of for college after that. So tempting as a dad to want to step in and speak up for him, so rewarding when I don’t and I get to see a whole new side of him as a young adult. I am so grateful and appreciative for the person he continues to grow into! Sometimes I need a change of setting like that to see everything a little more clearly.

Presence:

Sitting in the kitchen and in the living room with Dominic and Caitlyn, talking about nothing and everything all at once. Talking with Gavin in his room walking through his day, hearing about classes and lifting and his volunteer hours. All priceless moments of clarity and presence.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Jotting Down Yoga Thoughts, Being Tested, & Deep Yoga Squats

Day 3,368

Growth:

Listen to and write down the random yoga thoughts that appear in the midst of the calm after the storm. So many wonderful nuggets of wisdom when the brain is completely open and present like that.

See the next section for my yoga thoughts from this evening… I’m grateful for taking the time to jot them down rather than let them slowly flutter and drift away.

Appreciation:

This evening what kept going through my brain in Final Rest was – be grateful for the test. The opportunity to be tested is an opportunity to grow, to find our strengths, and to make the most difficult of decisions… will we learn from the experiences which put us into the test in the first place and make a change or will we default to what we have always done, the same thing which has gotten us in this position in the first place. The test is an opportunity to prove our growth, to learn and adapt, and to better close the gap between who we are and who we should be.

Being tested is a gift, something we can be grateful for.

Presence:

One of the most presence filled moments today was also in yoga (hmm… kind of a Monday night trend). During our class we were moved into a deep squat with our feet out wide and toes pointed out. We were challenged to get as low as we could while holding our arms out in front of us. As we held that position for what felt like an eternity I dove deeper and deeper into my breath. I felt the ongoing trembles of my legs. As each breath came and went I focused more and more on the burn in my legs, my toes gripping my mat, the sweat running down my face, and my breath, my breath, and my breath. Honestly, I have no idea how long we held that for, but it felt like forever. When we then stood up the release was glorious – until we were told to drop right back down into the deep squat for another couple of breaths. Nonstop presence, felt amazing!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Collecting Wisdom, Photos Aiding Memory Dividends, & a Surreal Hike

Day 3,367

Growth:

Throughout the past year I’ve made a much more concerted effort to collect all the nuggets of wisdom and insightful quotes I happen to come across. As I worked my way through my photos from 2024 today (more on that in a bit) I was reminded of so many quotes I screenshotted or took pictures of. Each brought back a memory as well as got my gears turning again. No one steps in the same river twice, these quotes all had a new perspective thanks to the life experiences I’ve had since capturing them.


“You can go to hell without moving an inch, just focus on what you lack.  You can taste heaven without leaving earth, just rejoice in what you have.”

James Clear

Appreciation:

Once again I am reminded of the return on investment of taking photos while experiencing life. As Bill Perkins writes about in Die with Zero we should focus most of our energy on creating experiences we will remember forever. Those experiences pay off in the form of “memory dividends,” the ongoing joy created through remembering those experiences. The more pictures we take during those experiences the easier it is for us to go back to those moments and reap the returns of those memory dividends.

In going through all of the photos I took in 2024 my mind was blown by all of the memories we created this year! Over and over again it was a nonstop sound track of “oh my goodness, we did that THIS year too???”

Today I’m grateful for all the photos I took this past year. Even though I deleted many and have many more to clean out, the total mass of joy created from my memory dividends was priceless!

Presence:

Our afternoon hike on a trail we don’t do often was enhanced by the thick fog floating throughout the valley. The hike felt surreal in so many ways – warmer than usual for mid December, the scent of fall, restricted views due to the thick fog, and throw in some slippery and icy trails. All in all each element played so well with the others, it was an almost constant state of presence as we enjoyed another hike in the Driftless.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Listening, Knocking Out the Task List, & Walking Outside

Day 3,366

Growth:

You never quite know where unexpected nuggets of wisdom will come from – even so bad they’re good Christmas movies. Keep an open ear and you’ll find the universe is often whispering what we need, if only we remember to listen.

Appreciation:

Knocking out the task list early in the weekend AND getting a hike in, a great start to the weekend! More to get done tomorrow, but much of it is stuff I want to get done rather than have to do. Nice to get the jump start!

Presence:

Walking in the woods, especially after having been inside for the better part of the week due to the extreme cold temperatures and life scheduling, is always the answer. Fresh air, no cellphone notifications, outdoors, wildlife, landscape, and motion. So simple, so full of joy.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Everything Being Figureoutable, Living Into Purpose, & Much Needed Moments of Chaotic Fun

Day 3,365

Growth:

Everything is figureoutable. Everything. What makes me smile is hearing that from my teammates reminding me of that very fact when we face a difficult situation.

Appreciation:

This morning we lived into our purpose. As we have for the past handful of years we’ve had an awesome opportunity to give back to our community. There is nothing more fulfilling than living into our purpose, what a gift!

Presence:

Sometimes you need to have a moment of chaotic fun with teammates to break the tension of the entire office. Sometimes that needs to happen more than once in the same day. Here’s to today being a day in which the shenanigans were much much needed and appreciated, as were the moments of bonding before, during, and after stress.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Admitting Difficulty, Supporting Roles, & a Crappy Situation 😉

Day 3,364

Growth:

Be honest with ourselves when life is difficult. It’s okay to admit when we’re not okay. Once we acknowledge that we can start to work on it. Funny how quickly we can then shift into growth and actionable steps. Not accepting the struggles stunts our growth and delays our healing.

Appreciation:

I love that there are the “Supporting” roles Oscars. In our lives we have many starring actors, but there are exponentially more supporting bits.

This afternoon I had the opportunity – twice – to revisit individuals who made outsized positive impacts in my life as compared to their roles. They may have each only been in the film of my life for a short time, but they both taught me much about business, being a dad, being a leader, giving, hard work, and even F1 racing. Both of them – both named Tim – helped me grow into the person I am and have left a mark on me through stories I still share.

They may both be gone, but their legacies live on. I am so grateful for their positive influences!

Presence:

Sometimes the craziest moments and situations turn out to be the most memorable. Gavin and I got home at almost the exact same time tonight and were welcomed with an awful surprise, a dog who’d had a bad accident in her kennel.

After a little retching on both our parts we opted for positivity and humor to help us through a “crappy” situation.

Not an ideal scenario, but one we’ll remember for the hilarity that followed as we took care of business.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Moments of Clarity, Strong Support Networks, & Savoring All Moments

Day 3,363

Growth;

Moments of awareness and clarity are opportunities to change, sometimes drastically, as they help us see the world as it truly is. Savor those, but more importantly, heed them before they fade from memory.

Appreciation:

Having a profoundly strong support network provides significantly more opportunities for well being. The more people who surround you and are willing to help allow us to grow so much more freely and completely, they will help pick us up when we stumble.

Presence:

The calm quiet of pausing to soak in the world around us. Moments of joy, moments of stress, then all deserve the full focus of our being. Here’s to remembering that they all help us grow into the people we are meant to be, especially when we pause to fully drink them in.

Thanks!!!