Practice, practice, practice. I recently asked people on LinkedIn how they’ve built confidence and one of the most consistent answers was “putting in the reps.”
Gavin had a much better second set of wrestling matches today. After his second pin of the day his coach came up to him and proceeded to tell him that the reason for his success today was his hard work during his practices this week. Gavin put in the reps, his confidence went up, and his performance showed it. Neat to see it in action!
Appreciation:
Our Christmas party for my Winona work family was AMAZING!!! So many laughs, stories, and so much good food. So thankful for the incredible team I’m blessed to work with each day!
Presence:
Gavin’s wrestling meet today was pretty intense. So much noise and emotion from the stands through the mats. At one point while I was waiting for Gavin’s match I put in my AirPods with the noise cancellation feature on and played Social Distortion’s album White Light White Heat.
Such a surreal experience to have all the visuals of the intensity but with only the sounds of Mike Ness and his guitar. In that moment I paused, took in all the stimuli around me and smiled. In so many ways I’d created a small island of me in the sea of people all around.
Remember to allow space for others to live into their strengths. My way isn’t always the right way. Provide a clear vision and define the values to live into in the movement towards the vision. Step aside, allow space, and be available for support. If done well everyone’s life is more joyful.
Appreciation:
Time seems to warp around time with friends differently than usual. It never feels like as much time has passed as really has while simultaneously seeming as if time goes by so much more quickly when we’re together than it seems it should. Here’s to those moments in which the distance is minimized and our time together flies by.
Presence:
Two songs took me back when I listened to them today. Had a Lover by For Love Not Lisa came up in my shuffle feature and had me thinking back to lifting weights in the basement of my dorm at Michigan Tech. Reincarnation Song by Toad the Wet Sprocket always sends a chill down my spine as I sing along. Two songs, wildly different, yet both deeply enthralling.
One thing I’ve really learned over the last year is to trust my – as Patrick Lencioni would put it – working genius of Wonder. I often catch myself asking “Why…?” In the past I used to write it off and consider it a little bit of a crazy behavior, but now as I view it as something to lean into I’m amazed at the results.
Today that mindset led me to ask a question on LinkedIn and via text to some friends. How did you build your confidence as a young professional? The number of insightful and profound answers has been mind blowing! So many great stories shared already.
Remember to trust my guy and pay attention when my brain asks “why…?”
Appreciation:
When you set high expectations for someone and they then go way above and beyond how can you not be grateful? Such a rewarding sensation of seeing someone grow by leaps and bounds and then grow again right in front of your eyes. My mind was blown today even though I had already mentally raised the bar tremendously high – what an awesome surprise!
Presence:
Gavin’s first wrestling matches ever were tonight and talk about being hyper focused! I was so amped up before, during, and after – so exciting throughout! While there were many memories rushing back before and after his matches there was nothing in the universe besides this matches. Such a wonderful moment of concentrated focus!
Even though it sounds cold and miserable outside I’ll never regret getting out for a run. Great reminder for me this morning to embrace the suck and get after it rather than staying comfortable. The run was awful chilly but even more rewarding.
Appreciation:
Taking time to pause, reset, and plan out next steps is a wonderful thing. When I think about when I was lost in flow today it was during times when I had a very clear and defined goal that I was able to make progress on quickly. In order to achieve that state on more complex projects I need to pause and break it into smaller pieces. Each of those smaller pieces have capacity for flow – so long as I keep them in smaller chunks. Zoom out, set the plan, break it into parts, and then tackle each little bit step by step. Today was a phenomenal reminder of that lesson.
Presence:
The weather was cold this morning but talk about bringing me very much into the moment! The briskness of the air really got my attention and had me 100% in the moment when I started running this morning. Good stuff!
Our successes are a result of our systems, not our goals. The processes we put in place to be who we want to be are so much more effective than setting goals we would like to reach.
I’ve just started re-reading Atomic Habits and am reminded of why it is one of my annual must reads!
Appreciation:
Seeing the growth of teammates and their increasing successes is one of the most rewarding parts of my career path. Throughout the work day there were examples of this and each left me smiling. What’s most interesting is how much more growth happens when I let go rather than over manage. Slowly I’m learning to see my role in the right way.
Presence:
When life hands you lemons… share vacation pictures and stories! In all seriousness, sometimes things don’t go as planned. The options are to freak out, to be stubborn and force action that was pre-planned but no longer the right option, or to find the bright side. I chose the bright side and possibly helped grow Iceland’s tourism industry 😉
Practice, practice, & more practice. What’s interesting is that the more reps I’ve put in the longer the positive impact lasts. Putting in 15+ reps of a presentation means still having it all memorized almost six months later. So glad I put the work in early!
Appreciation:
Having the opportunity to have a positive impact in the lives of others is amongst the best feelings in life. No more details needed than that tonight.
Presence:
Sharing laughs with teammates is one of the many reasons I am happy to head back to the office after time away. The laughs shared with my teammates today were amazing!
When my mind decides it is time to wake up I should really trust it. With jumping time zones everything feels just a little off and my mind woke up and started racing early in the morning. By 5am – on a Sunday – I was out of bed and headed out for a run!
Honestly, it felt incredible. The nice cool air, the quiet and still of being alone on the road, and the exercise were exactly what my body needed after traveling back. It helped to get my body back on the right cycle.
Rather than trying to eke out a few more zzz’s it is better to trust my body and mind and get out of bed and get moving.
Appreciation:
Not too long ago I was thankful for taking a day to ease back into real life after a vacation. This time around I have myself two days and it has made all the difference. Yesterday I was able to get a lot of my home stuff done. Today I had the space to start knocking out my tasks for this week at work. I know, it sounds crazy to enjoy work, but it really felt good to get ready. Tonight I’ll sleep like a champ knowing I’m already prepped for tomorrow. That’s an awesome way to start the week!
Presence:
Soaking up the cold and dark were amazing. The time spent in Iceland really got me into the mindset of happening to winter this year than letting winter happen to me. I’ve already been used to longer periods of darkness, the sun not rising very high, and the cool weather – might as well lean into it. Having that quiet helped me get me head moving in the right direction and allowed me time to be by myself. What a perfect start to the day today!
The differences in culture from country to country intrigue me. Everything in Iceland moves at a different pace than here. While one might thing it has more to do with my perception from being on vacation there’ve been a handful of conversations that helped me see the differences are certainly more substantial than can be ruled out from “vacation brain.”
One of the reasons I love travel so much is the opportunity to learn from each culture, find the positives, and do my best to bring them home with me. Mission accomplished this time!
Appreciation:
We’re all home again! So pumped to have all four of us back home together. Traveling is great, but time with family is even better.
Presence:
Spending time focused on cleaning was therapeutic today. To have routine, quiet, and a task list to complete helped me ease back into reality. In each task there was only the task. The simplicity of cleaning a stovetop and the glass panels of the oven brought a deep seated sense of calm and purpose.
I’m a slow but sure learner sometimes. Over the past handful of vacations I always plan on organizing my photos and videos but it often doesn’t happen. This means that while there’s a pile of memory starters there is also a big pile of near duplicate photos to be deleted.
On our flight back today I focused on cleaning up my photos. They’re all sorted by day, in chronological order, and with the near duplicates and photo fails deleted. Took some songs today but will save a ton of time in the future.
Appreciation:
One of the biggest reasons for heading to Iceland was to see the Northern Lights. The odds of doing so are spotty at best, even in the best of conditions. The clouds fought us the majority of the nights and when it was clear the Aurora Borealis was too shy and stayed away.
Last night while sitting in the hot tub I pulled up the forecast as we looked up at the stars. According to the Aurora app we had an exactly 1% chance of seeing them. Steve laughed and quoted the line from Dumb & Dumber, “so you’re saying there’s a chance!”
After some games we all started to close out our nights. On a whim I decided to walk outside and check one more time. As I turned to the north I was rewarded with a ribbon of light rippling across the sky. I ran inside, grabbed Gavin & Steve, and headed out to enjoy the show.
The really big lights didn’t last very long and some clouds moved in, but we’d accomplished our goal and beaten the 1 in 100 odds.
My dreams were very intense afterwards. Much of it was a reminder to me of the dangers of taking on too much. It reminded me of the importance of saying no more often, of slowing down, and remembering to stay focused on what’s really important to me. It was so intense I woke up in a sweat at 4:41 am.
When I got up I looked out my window and was so shocked at what I saw I didn’t trust myself to wake everyone right away. I quietly snuck out of the house and saw tendrils of light stretching through the night!
I woke everyone up and we spent well over an hour in astonishment and joy watching the lights. We took photos, we just looked up in awe, and enjoyed every single minute until it started to dwindle. I’m still awestruck at what we witnessed.
I am so grateful for our luck and our timing.
Presence:
Last night and again early this morning as we watched the Northern Lights there was a very specific moment I’ll remember forever. Amongst the spectacular light show Gavin put an arm around me and pulled me in close. “We did it! Thanks for bringing me to Iceland!” You betcha buddy, happy to have created these memories with you.
Remembering to be smart and plan ahead paid off very well today. We opted to skip on crossing a small river that we unexpectedly happened upon yesterday en route to Icleand’s tallest waterfall. Today we came prepared and crossed it easily.
While we were getting our shoes back on someone saw us and decided to attempt to cross and they were not prepared. They ended up wet to the waist and lost a shoe in the process.
Be smart, be safe, and be prepared.
Appreciation:
We may be many miles away but I could still feel the love from so many today. The number of Thanksgiving wishes shared warmed my heart many times over.
Today I’m grateful for thanks being shared from countries and oceans away. The fact the we can connect from so far brings bonus joy and in so ways even means more than normal.
Presence:
While starting to wrap up our night we relaxed on the hot tub. The clouds had cleared and we had an outstanding view of the stars. It was so clear we saw the line of the Milky Way. Throw in a handful of shooting stars and it was amazing! Just sitting there and looking up at the stars was so serene. The song The Nights by Avicii kept playing in my head while Gavin and I talked. What an wonderful moment!
Thankful for Forty 