Author: Michael Kreiling

Day 1,978 – Thankful for Learning to Condense and Execute

Way back in the day I would head to the Express International Leadership Conference and walk out with pages upon pages of notes and would then attempt to implement all of the good ideas immediately upon arrival… unless, of course, I attempted to implement them before I even got back. All of the possibilities seemed so awesome it was only fitting to execute all of them.

Slowly, I’ve learned a valuable lesson. There will always be more great ideas than there is time to implement all of them.

Just as I drive Gavin nuts by reminding him that restrictions are what make games truly fun I’ve got to drive myself a little bonkers by knowing I can really implement only a small handful of ideas. Like three at max. This means there will be a ton of great ideas I need to set aside until we get the first few up and running.

Today my brain is feeling very full. Over the past 36 hours or so it’s been loaded up with so many best practices, I’ve got at least eight pages of notes. Probably a few more will be added tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will begin to cull the herd to figure out which are the top 2-3 ideas to take action on. I’ll walk through all of them, let them ferment and settle, see which ones are going to make the biggest impact, and then figure out how to get them rolling. I’ll save the long list of other great ideas for another day.

Even that condensed list will then be set aside for one week. The ideas will need a little bit of time to age to perfection.

Sure, I’d love to implement all off the great ideas, but I know I’ll be able to follow through on the small handful successfully more so than a huge pile.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,977 – Thankful for Motivation, Training, Re-Connecting with Friends, and Rollercoasters… aka a Typical Day at Express International Leadership Conference

I think I’m going to let the title do the majority of the talking tonight. The day was so much fun that I’m totally exhausted and ready to crash for the night.

Long story short, the day had been jammed with great times with long time friends. Each and every step of the way were people I’ve worked with for years, many of whom I haven’t seen in a couple of years. Together we had great training, experienced an awesome motivational speaker, and even rode on rollercoasters.

So many smiles!

Thanks!!!

Day 1,976 – Thankful for Choosing the Right Mindset, Even When a Flight is Delayed

Attitude is everything and has such incredible power over how we see the world. When I take the time to choose the right mindset the world is a profoundly wonderful place, even when life is a little difficult. When I choose a poor mindset, especially over something minor, the world feels a little colder and I’m left feeling empty.

I’m currently chilling at the Charlotte airport, sitting at a countertop with my phone plugged in. I was supposed to be on my next flight by now, but that’s not how things worked out. Instead I’ve got a couple of hour delay before my last flight of the day.

It would be so easy to be frustrated over the added inconvenience, but that’s not the right choice. The better mindset is to see this as a blessing, some bonus time I’ve been gifted in order to work on a couple of projects. Over the past several hours I’ve both started constructing my presentation for the upcoming CVSHRM conference AND started working on an idea which could end up being my next book. The creative juices are flowing and I’ve now been given extra time to roll with it.

Time to get back at it!

Thanks!!!

Day 1,975 – Thankful for Driving On Snowy Roads

This may sound crazy, but I’m thankful for snowy roads today. My commute to Eau Claire was a bit longer than usual due to the road conditions. Between snow, ice, & wind the speeds in all directions were significantly slower than usual. This led to a couple of unexpected benefits.

Thanks to the slickness of the roads I knew I’d be in for a long ride. With that mindset I calmed way down, accepted whatever was thrown my way, and I could feel my blood pressure drop. It was so much more relaxing when I knew I was in no hurry. Instead I leaned into the slower pace and totally chilled while driving.

The extra time in the car also helped me make some serious progress on the next book I’ve been reading. With the added calmness I felt as if I were able to retain significantly more than usual which was great! There was also time to pause, reflect, plan, and then get back to the book itself. Bonus reading time!

Sure, it’s not ideal, but if I choose the right mindset there’s even something to be thankful for on snowy roads.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,974 – Thankful for Consistency, Collaboration, Calm, & Kindness

It’s been a great day, so many moments of joy, so much to be grateful for!

The morning started off as almost all Monday mornings do, an early morning run with Becky. Sure, I’d love to just roll back over and go back to sleep, but I’d miss the bonus “date time” we have with each other. The craziness of the week begins with consistency.

Seeing people collaborating to help each other grow makes me smile big. For so much of my life I’ve let my ego get in the way and try to stay in control. How dumb. How shortsighted. Helping people collaborate with others and then stepping back to let them work together within their strengths create so many more moments of joy for all. Today I got to see that on multiple occasions and each time I smiled.

Yoga. Ahh… yoga. Even on the best of work days there is a calm which yoga so readily provides. The focus on presence, the complete stillness, the peace, & the calm. Perfect!

At the end of yoga someone nearby asked if they could put my block away. Having someone offer a moment of kindness like that was perfect. It reminded me of how I should be more like that more often. It reminded me that an action like that creates two smiles – one for the giver and one for the receiver – and it takes both to make the moment joyful.

Consistency, collaboration, calm, & kindness… what a beautiful day!

Thanks!!!

Day 1,973 – Thankful for Hiking Previously Undiscovered Trails on an Unseasonably Warm Day

On any given Sunday we can usually be found hiking in one of our four or five favorite state parks or hiking areas. Even though there are so many trails to choose from we seem to have hiked them all several times. As luck would have it, we’ve obviously missed a trail or two along the way!

Today the parking lot for our normal hike in Twin Bluffs State Park was full so we figured we’d drive to the end of the road and take a different route. At the end of the road our jaws kind of dropped a bit as we realized that there were more trails back here than we knew, and most of them had some spectacular views of the Mississippi River Valley much of the way.

We spent the next couple of hours making our way through trails we’d never been on before and enjoyed some epic driftless area scenery we hadn’t seen before. It was like we had found a whole new park to hike in – and we didn’t even get through all of it! Now we’ve got a good 10+ miles of future hiking and running trails to enjoy only 10 minutes or so from our house. Not too shabby!

Throw in some sun and extra warm weather and we had an awesome time hiking as a family – minus one Dominic who was attending a Scout function. Gotta love getting these hikes in when it is almost 50 in the winter, they remind me that Spring is just around the corner!

Thanks!!!

Day 1,972 – Thankful for Dominic’s State Snowboarding Competition, Sun in the Cold Weather, and Bonus Couch Time

Dominic competed in the Wisconsin high school state tournament today in La Crosse and did a very good job. It’s always fun watching him compete, being able to see him in an event like this with three different events was pretty awesome. The improvement he made year over year was obvious, he was pretty happy with his growth. Most importantly, Dominic was smiling the entire time.

The temperature was a bit on the chilly side, but the sun was out the entire time… and it felt amazing! Funny how clear blue skies and sunshine can warm me up in almost any weather. Sure, tomorrow’s temperature should be absolutely gorgeous for this time of year, but it actually felt pretty dang good to get some sun today. Had we not had Dominic’s competition I might have stayed inside much of the day, I’m glad I had a reason to get outside today.

Now that we’re all wore out and chilled (pun totally intended) we’re just chilling on the couches. We busted out Dominic’s videos from today and Becky just fired up some popcorn. No screens are on other than my laptop right now, though we’ll most likely fire up a movie to all slowly drift off to sleep watching. Who knows, maybe we’ll end just talking until we all crash. Either way it’s pretty sweet wrapping up a busy and full day on the couches as a family, shooting the bull, catching up, and enjoying each other’s company. Bonus family time, always one of my favorites.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,971 – Thankful for Grappling with Control

There are sometimes when I just need to stand back and chuckle. Throughout the day there were a handful of moments in which I could sense my blood pressure rising a little bit. Something would happen which was totally out of my control. In nanoseconds I felt frustration building a bit and shortly there after I would almost have to laugh at myself. My brain would quickly realize that I had no control over the situation which I was grappling to take control of, but I had complete control over my response to the situation which I was letting run rampant with emotion rather than logic. How ridiculous!!!

What made it all the more crazy was the fact that the bigger the issue the more controlled I was while the smaller the issue the more I was letting emotion take control of the wheel. For instance, when my niece’s game was cancelled after we’d driven 75% of the way through crazy wind, snow, and ice I laughed it off and quickly let it go. Something infinitely smaller and less important – I got all bent out of shape and worked up. Again, how ridiculous!

While of course I’d like to have each day go perfectly smooth and without issue, days like today are where some of the most growth happen. I had several opportunities to grapple with my lack of control over events while also remembering to choose the correct response in knowing what I had control over. The Big Teacher Upstairs obviously saw the gap was a little too wide for me today and decided it was time for some lessons. I may have not done my best on the pop quizzes today, but I have learned many lessons which will help me out in my next round of exams. Not a perfect day of responses from me, but it was a wonderful day of practice, reflection, and growth.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,970 – Thankful for the Serenity of Sorting the Gratitudes of the Day

LOL – so I started on my title and ended up writing and re-writing it several times. None of the revisions had quite the right vibe so I’m blowing them all up, deleting the title, and starting with the body. Yes, this is the exact opposite of how writer Carmine Gallo teaches us to start writing a TED talk… thank goodness this is a blog and Carmine won’t be reading this 😉 Forget starting with the point, I’m letting my brain run wild and will come back to the point at the end. {fingers crossed}

Funny, I think I just landed on the topic, it wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but it is spot on. I’m grateful for creating the habit of writing about my gratitude each day. In the past I’ve written similar posts, but it just feels right to focus on it again this evening. As someone once wisely said, “we never step in the same river twice.” Though the topic may have similarities to what I’ve written in the past I am seeing it through a slightly different lens, changed by the perspective of time and experience.

In the past I’ve written about the beauty of having a journal of sorts to go back and rekindle old memories. I’ve also blogged about the peace of having time alone to wrap up the day. This is slightly different, tonight I’m thankful for the ability of writing a daily blog to allow me to sort out my thoughts, emotions, and experiences from throughout the day.

By pausing and reflecting on the day I create an opportunity to let the solids slowly precipitate out of suspension. This is my time to allow my brain to put together the 5,000 piece puzzle of experiences from the day. By writing I’m forced to process the day, think on it, and then translate it into written word. Writing in of itself is difficult, putting words to so many thoughts and ideas can be exhausting. Similar to distance running or weight lifting the exercise strengthens me though it may be uncomfortable at times.

This evening my brain was going to go down so many different paths, but after taking time to pause and reflect there are really only a couple of themes… rekindling and strengthening relationships, creating, moving in the direction of dreams, and pausing to appreciate all the gifts surrounding me – especially life itself. In taking time to process it all today I will be going to bed with a smile and a full heart. My gratitude becomes the lullaby which carries me off to peaceful rest. I sleep with the joy which can only come from thankfulness and stillness.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,969 – Thankful for a Well Stocked Tool Belt and Many Hours of Practice

I am continually reminded of the power of intentionality. By taking time to figure out what I really want in life I’ve been very blessed to see so many opportunities to live into my dreams and goals. Whether it is just my mind seeing more of what I want to look for or if there are truly more opportunities I really don’t know and I don’t really care which is right. Life is better when I spend time focused on what I would really like to focus on and accomplish.

Recently I was selected to give a keynote address at a conference I’d applied to. The funny thing is that I actually put in two applications. The first was with my business owner hat on, focused on recruiting, retention, and the importance of communication between leadership levels during a workforce shortage. I was positive this would be the one selected, it fits the theme of the event and is right in my normal wheelhouse. The second was a bit of a flier. Living into one of my goals for the year I went out on a limb and took a risk. It was something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time but I was nervous about being rejected, I felt very vulnerable. It was on a different topic I am very passionate about, one that I’ve worked on, and one I’ve written about often.

I only convinced myself to do it by convincing myself that it would be okay because the work based proposal would be the only one to be selected. LOL – and now look at how the tables have turned!

While that was fantastic news there’s something I’m much more thankful for today.

After finding out I was selected yesterday I panicked for exactly one breath and immediately moved into confidence. After the initial shock passed over I went into creative mode. I smiled and knew I would be successful in this.

I went back to my tool belt and selected the resources I would nee to start building. There were a couple of books I remembered reading which would help me out. I reached out to a mentor right away to give her a heads up of what was on the horizon. I started jotting notes to myself. I dug into my manuscript and old blogs and started pulling material forward.

Each of these tools were available so readily as I’d worked on preparing them long before they were needed. All the books I’ve read, the coaching I’ve received, the writing I’ve done – they all were at the ready. My confidence soared as I realized I had everything I need to be successful.

Additionally, my confidence was growing stronger as I have practiced for this many, many times. I’ve put in so many reps, so many hours. Between trainings, speeches, meetings, and the like I’ve honed my craft for hours and hours. All that practice will come in to help spring me forward into this project. Without all those hours and all that practice I would have so much further to go, so much more work to do.

In many ways it is the confidence I’ve felt when running a marathon. I’ve put my practice miles in and now it is time to perform. Knowing I’ve put in the work needed to get to the starting line helps my mind see that this is doable, a project I’m excited to dive into.

I am so thankful for prepping my tool belt early, for putting in the hours. Time to put them all to work to create something awesome!

Thanks!!!