Day 4,047

Whew – this was a day for sure. Nonstop from the alarm through getting home. Similar to last night, I’m not quite sure where this one is going to end up, should be interesting!

Growth:

We all have our challenges. Our frustrations. Our setbacks. Our fears. Our backstories. None of us has ever experienced the exact same things as another person. Throughout history there have been approximately 117 BILLION people, not a one has ever had the exact same experiences as another.

While we experience the world through our one life, we understand the world through those experiences. We frame the actions of others through our past experiences and assume the intent, yet we get frustrate when others don’t assume our intent correctly.

How do I remind myself to consider the other person’s unique experiences? How do I remember to be kind to everyone when I don’t understand their perspective? Rather than frustration how do I choose to pause, acknowledge my complete ignorance of their personal story, and listen and love? So easy for me to get frustrated, or to assume, or to paint an incomplete / incorrect picture. Pause and choose love and kindness, those will always be the right answers.

Appreciation:

Over the past week or so the concept of the Stockdale Paradox has come up well over a half dozen times in a variety of situations. When Jim Collins studied Admiral Stockdale he realized Stockdale had a very interesting insight from his time in the POW camps of Viet Nam. Stockdale said you always had to confront the brutal facts while simultaneously maintaining unwavering faith that everything will work out in the end.

This balance of accepting reality and optimism in the long run is a difficult act to be sure. Personally, I find that I’m more likely to lean more one way than the other based on the situation. I can vacillate between the two, sometimes quickly, but I find it tough to maintain the balance of the two.

What I’m grateful for today is this concept as a diagnostic tool. Seeing it as a highway I can remember to pause and see which lane I’m in, hopefully using the rumble strips to quickly wake me up and bring me back to center. It’s been especially helpful over the past week!

Presence:

The moment in a storm when someone gains awareness, seeing the why behind the action, changing their mindset in a clear way, realizing how they should re-frame a situation as a result of walking a mile in the other’s shoes, suddenly sighting a way to live more into the person they are meant to be. A moment of grace, a moment of presence, all of the feels.

Thanks!!!