In re-reading Getting to Yes with Yourself by Willam Ury I can’t help but see some very interesting similarities to Awareness by Anthony de Mello. In both books there’s a focus on utilizing self awareness and observation as a tool for both growth AND creating emotional distance for ourselves from our initial reactions.
Pause, breathe, and be aware of my thoughts and emotions. Don’t change or attempt to fix them, just observe.
Appreciation:
Both of the boys had done pretty big sports days! Dominic got his first rugby starts and scored for the first time in a 7’s match. Gavin did very well in his 4x400m relay and set a new personal best in the pole vault. So rewarding to see and hear about them doing well in things they love!
Presence:
Starting my day with yoga and getting a nice hike in midway through the day was amazing! My mindset was started in a wonderful place and then I had a calm respite from work around the house on the hike. Such chill moments of presence shared with Becky.
Quite often there is the feeling that there is not enough time to do so many things in life I would like to. This morning was a beautiful reminder of how carving out space specifically to take on two of those activities at once can have a profoundly positive impact on my day – even though it may cost me some underutilized downtime. Waking up to run with Becky before 5am provides the opportunity to get exercise in AND have some quality time alone with Becky a few times each week. Sure, I have to go to bed a little earlier to get my 7+ hours of sleep, but all I’m really sacrificing for it is some screen time. I’d much rather make the most of the time I have, intentionally live my life in a way in which I do more of what I love, and only lose meaningless time.
Appreciation:
The more time I spend in thought, writing, and reading the more and more easy it is to see what I really want out of the life I have. As I reflect on my purpose and where I feel the most joy I find certain trends and common threads. The more I identify those themes the more I see how I can live more intentionally into them. In many cases it is a little difficult as I am fighting my own status quo to adjust my life towards where I want to grow. That said, the path continues to become more and more clear. For a handful of reasons I am so thankful for that level of self awareness as it is helping me live more into the person I would like to be and helping me work towards closing the gap between who I am and who I want to be.
Presence:
This afternoon I had the opportunity to have a conversation that reminded me very much of conversations I have had with my mentors in the past. Having the opportunity to share bits of their wisdom was very fulfilling as was having the conversation with my teammates. Nothing like an exhilarating and thought provoking conversation to start to wrap up the work week!
Gavin’s pole vaulting coach shared a video quote that’s stuck with me for the past couple of days.
Let’s not forget who wins every single pole vault competition… The bar.
Be resilient. Learn to fail, or fail to learn.
@logan_vaultcrew
Every single pole vaulter ends their day when they fail to clear the bar at a certain height for three straight attempts. Technically, the bar always wins eventually and the vaulter always loses. What a wonderfully succinct way to learn that failure is okay so long as we learn from it AND get back up and try it again.
Appreciation:
Clothes shopping is not necessarily what I would include in my list of fun things to do on a Thursday night, but that’s exactly what Gavin and I did AND I actually had fun doing it with him. We joked around, enjoyed some chill conversation, somehow got the mission accomplished without frustration, and then knocked out some grocery shopping just for giggles!
There’s always something to get done that’s not the most exciting activity ever, but there’s still always a choice to make – what mindset will I do it in. I easily could have been frustrated and crabby, instead I chose to have fun and enjoy the bonus quality time with Gavin. 🙂
Presence:
LOL – I have to admit that one of the best moments of presence came this evening as I started typing my blog when a cute and adorable puppy kept whining and insisting that I rub her belly. She even went so far as to try tapping my hand away from the keyboard to get me to move my hand from my laptop to her belly. She was ultimately successful in her endeavor and I enjoyed the snuggle time.
Continue to invest in experiences to create “memory dividends” over buying “stuff!” My buddy, Mike, turned me on to Bill Perkins and his concept of investing in experiences which create meaningful memories which pay dividends many times over throughout our lives. So many additional smiles and so much bonus joy came from savoring memories today! Experiences like travel are truly the gifts that keep on giving!
Appreciation:
In going along with the above, I’m beyond appreciative of the trips we’ve made to Iceland. The topic of Iceland came up on a few separate occasions today and the last inspired a trip down memory lane through photos from our times there. I can’t begin to put into words what a beautiful country it is, and I’ve only seen less than a third of it!
Iceland appears in my dreams so frequently – both while I’m asleep and awake. So grateful for the experiences I have shared there and looking forward to going back in the not too distant future.
Presence:
This morning’s run had a special guest star, a gigantic and spectacularly dark orange moon slowly sinking into the bluffs. On our way out we got to watch it slowly drift down to the horizon as it continued to grow in size. Almost every breath taken on the first half of our run was pointed towards the majestic sight on my left. As we neared our turn around point it slipped behind a group of trees and looked like a supernatural fire glowing in the distance. Such wondrous beauty to start the day!
There’s always a choice to make. While there may be more than one “right” answer, there’s always one that is “more right” than the other. One may be more profitable, but the other is right for the soul. Here’s to choosing the right one.
Appreciation:
Not gonna lie, the moments when I realize that I’ve lived into my purpose if even for a brief time… true joy. Today one of those moments appeared seemingly out of nowhere, such fuel for the soul. #brighteninglivesthrusharedexperiences
Presence:
Even in moments of stress we can choose to pause, breathe in fresh air, listen to the sound of birds in the sky, and feel the sunlight and breeze on our face. We can choose stillness in spite of stress, even if only for a moment.
So much of life goes better with a plan. For sure, spontaneity has its place too, but intentionality can set up so many profound moments of spontaneity by virtue of putting us in the right place at the right time.
Take time to set the strategy, prepare to be completely flexible, take advantage of the prevailing winds, and enjoy the ride in whatever direction you end up choosing and facing.
Appreciation:
The running conditions at 5am were less than ideal this morning. I’d much rather run in less than 15 mph cold winds.
Due to Gavin’s driving lesson I had get my weightlifting in at a less than ideal time later in the evening. I’d much rather be winding down at 7:30pm rather than getting my lift on.
Though both were less than ideal, I still did them. Not only that, but there was a bonus sense of fulfillment in doing both specifically because of the less than favorable conditions! Rather than making either activity impossible the conditions kind of compelled me to get after it to prove to myself how badly I want to reach my goals.
Here’s to the obstacles life throws at us. They can either stop us or inspire us, it is up to us to choose how we will react to them.
Presence:
On my drive to work this morning I could feel myself getting a little tightly wound and realized I needed a moment to pause. I turned on my Epic Vacation playlist, took a few deep breaths to center myself, and focused on enjoying my coffee. When I got to Winona I rolled into the cemetery, turned on Wheels by The Foo Fighters, and took in the view around me. My gaze settled upon the market below sharing the the birth of Greenleaf Woods and their death approximately 42 years later. This reminded me to be grateful as I’m already on borrowed time and to keep in mind what’s truly important in life. At that my tightness subsided and a sense of joy and appreciation overtook me.
What a gift the reminders of the impermanence of life can be!
Okay, I’m totally breaking from the normal script today. Instead of focusing on Growth, Appreciation, and Presence I’m focused on the awesome yoga practice Becky and I went to at Root Down Yoga. Due to Gavin’s driving lesson tomorrow night we moved our Monday Yoga Date Night to Sunday. Getting that time away for the two of us to share something we love was an incredible way to wrap up the weekend.
All of the teachers at Root Down are outstanding and all have their “normal-ish” practice that they take us through. I appreciate how each one throws out slightly different twists to keep us on our toes from practice to practice. With Jessie leading the class today I had a pretty solid idea of what I was in for, but I was totally mistaken in a really positive way.
When we walked into the studio we had fun talking with Jessie about my trip to Patagonia, something that will be more relevant in a moment. It kicked in some fun travel memories before I got to my mat.
Jessie’s class was totally NOT what I expected at all! She had a different rhythm and cadence that helped me stay focused. There were different poses strung together and my mind had zero chance to wander as all my attention stayed on my breathing and making the appropriate movements. Part way through she switched from leading a series of poses with our left legs after we’d started with the normal right leg starts earlier. Towards the end there was a new position I’d never tried before. By the end I caught myself smiling as I could only imagine what lay ahead!
Throughout the entire class she was her awesomely normal super positive, upbeat, high energy, humorous, and epically supportive self! It was the Jessie who always causes us to enter the studio with a smile of anticipation and leave with an even bigger smile of a great workout and more positive outlook.
That trail had so many similar twists and turns! It started in a cattle pasture, goes up a rocky hill, dips into a freaking rain forest, crosses over blue rivers whenever it feels like it, twists into an old growth forest, kicks into a rocky and almost Hixon Forest in La Crosse feel, turns into a borderline bouldering session, and then switches between sand, rock, and boulders until you make the final climb of well over 1,000′ of elevation gain in less than three quarters of a mile. Did I mention the views of a river valley, massive glaciers, and unreal rock formations throughout? By the end you are rewarded with one of the most spectacular views, a lake separating you from massive 8,000’+ tall sheer granite cliffs. The beginning of the hike gets you smiling at the prospect of the sights in front of you. The next six and a half miles keep you guessing about what is around each corner while you’re level of joy continues to increase. The final view leaves you speechless and in a state of awe. It’s an epic wild ride of joy and awe!
Today’s yoga session led by Jessie was so much like that! We started with smiles, worked along the path and enjoyed all the twists and turns and never knew what would come next, and were then rewarded with an awesome yoga session that increased our already high levels of joy.
Jessie Patagonia – Dude… for reals. That was EPIC today!!! Thank you for not only leading an awesome session, but for bringing back some incredible travel memories!!! You’ve got to start planning your trip to the other side of the world to experience why I’m only calling you Jessie Patagonia moving forward 😉 Thanks for sharing your awesomeness with us today!!!
Nothing like knocking out most the work right away Saturday! Becky and I hit the task list hard and got much further than expected which set us up for a relaxing Sunday.
Appreciation:
Bring home for the weekend has been greatly appreciated! Getting almost nine hours of sleep in my own bed, bring in my normal home rhythm, and just bring home had felt amazing after all the recent travel. I’m soaking up and enjoying each routine moment!
Presence:
Funny how something as non exciting as cleaning the garage can lead to intense moments of presence should we choose to focus.
Taking time in stillness and solitude to be honestly self aware is amongst the best uses of our time, though difficult and uncomfortable to do. If I can push past the discomfort the silence can be profoundly compelling.
Appreciation:
This evening Becky and I snuck in a date! We hit an early dinner, had time to chill and relax, and were back home by 7pm. Perfect for us! After a busy week and vacation it was an awesome to chill together. Wonderful start to the weekend!
Presence:
Throughout life many of our paths cross. Today had the mixed blessings of paths splitting off towards new adventures while paths of old friends also reconnect. Here’s to all those we’re blessed to walk with, to those we will meet in the future, and those we’ll meet again.
Today was another insightful reminder of how important sleep is to our life! In my doc appointment today he spent some time sharing why high quality sleep is so important. To think that we can reduce our odds of heart issues, Alzheimer’s, and a bevy of other disorders simply by sleeping well was all the motivation I need to help me stay focused on the importance of sleep. Bring on the zzz’s!
With my recent vacation my schedule was off a little longer than expected as I caught back up on work. Today was the first day I hit the gym for weightlifting in exactly two weeks. I was a little nervous about how much I had regressed in the time off. Imagine my surprise when I found that I was able to lift MORE than I was before vacation! Turns out the time away was the perfect balance of not being gone too long AND getting enough rest to fully recover.
Thankful for Forty 