Day 2,329

Growth:

How easy it is to crave more rather than focus on what I really want to accomplish. If a little is good more must be better, right? No!

I need to remember to pause and run new opportunities through the filter of my purpose. My ego is often what wants more, but that’s not always what my soul wants.

Pause, consider the opportunity, and choose to live into purpose.

Appreciation:

So many options for this one today!!! Maybe the best way to be inclusive of most the ideas is this. I’m grateful for the way the universe always seems to know what we need – both delightful and challenging moments and events.

My day has included surprise packages, new opportunities, wonderful emails, excellent insights, opportunities to grow, chances to test my patience, ways to share my passions, time to think, space to breathe, humbling times, reconnecting of friendships, and the opportunity to laugh at the challenges. It has been so full it almost feels like The Big Dude Upstairs knew exactly what I needed today!

Presence:

My morning runs with Becky are much more than just a workout. It is our space to pause the rest of the world and only focus on communicating with each other. There are no screens, no deadlines, and no one else around. This morning as we had a short break in our conversation I realized how much I appreciate that quiet time the two of us share. What a gift to have an opportunity for presence with each other to start off the day!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,328

Growth:

The mental debrief immediately after an event is powerful. Going back through the mental notes made while speaking to get them down and start revising for the next time while it’s all fresh in the brain is the best timing. I’ll take it all with a grain of salt and wait to make any major changes prior to seeing the reviews, but this is a great start.

Appreciation:

I am so grateful for the willingness of others to share their story. When we put ourselves out there it can be daunting and nerve wracking, but so often it is an opportunity to help others. It takes courage to open up and share and many showed that strength tonight. What an inspiration to keep brightening lives through sharing experiences!

Presence:

Our session tonight was a wonderful group of people. So many inspiring stories, great insights from each other, and a ton of positive energy and love while sharing. Times like this are so easy to get lost in the moment with. What a blessing to have this opportunity with awesome people tonight!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,327

Growth:

So much progress is made when we are still with our thoughts. Taking time to pause and reflect each day in my blog offers me time to process the events of the day, to put context to them, and to file them away for future use. Today I learned how some of those thoughts really grow and flourish in the background and when it is time for them to reemerge they’re like caterpillars changed into butterflies.

More stillness, more thought, less distraction, less hurry, better growth.

Appreciation:

Over the course of the day there were a couple of conversations brought to me about books – one of my favorite topics! Not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome being on the receiving end of book recommendations. Got one in hand and another couple in mind to take on soon. Love, love, love sharing book lists like today!

Presence:

Funny how specific moments can be so deeply embedded in memory. There were a couple of different vacation moments I thought of today and each was so vivid in my mind. I took a moment for each to close my eyes and bask in the moment again. what a blessing to do a mini time travel because of the presence in the moment when it happened.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,326

Growth:

Remember to recognize the positives, not just the negatives. More often than I care to admit I focus too much on the downside rather than the upside.

I’m also grateful for teammates who are willing to remind of this when I’m guilty of it. 👍

Appreciation:

Last year I was enthralled by the second book of the Ender series by Orson Scott Card. The most recent book I’ve finished was the next in that series and I loved it! I’m really grooving on the combo of sci fi, philosophy, and the depth of characters. So psyched for another three books in the series!

Presence:

On a similar note from yesterday I’m grateful for finding pockets of time with my sons. With all the directions we’ve been going in lately it was awesome to squeeze in some father son time with both boys over a gourmet meal of Jersey Mike’s Subs. Nothing crazy, lots of joking around, gotta love those moments!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,325

Growth:

Nothing like finding pockets of productivity within the busyness of life! Today I was able to utilize time between Gavin’s wrestling matches by working on my laptop in the gym. Not the most peaceful but certainly helped to fit more into the day!

Appreciation:

Gavin’s first wrestling season wrapped up in a high note as he went 2-1 tonight. After each match he was in good spirits and obviously enjoying the event.

Dominic had a full day off of school specifically for preparation with his team the state snowboarding competition. When we got home he was all smiles and loved the time at the hill.

Their sports may make life busier than I’d like but the smiles make it all worthwhile. So glad they have extracurricular activities that bring them joy.

Presence:

After being in Belize it has taken me a few days to get back into my daily routine. When my alarm went off I grabbed my 2023 goals sheet and read through it as I’d done each day before Belize. What a perfect way to start the day with intention!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,324

Growth:

Later this week I’ve got my first actual workshop on Minding the GAP: Choosing Growth, Appreciation, & Presence at the Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse. Today I spent quite a few hours honing it down to what will be very close to the final product. So many hours of prep out into this labor of love and purpose, I’m excited to see how it is received.

I’m grateful for all the life I’ve lived to get me to this point. As I worked on building this I’ve felt a state of flow many times and it’s almost out itself together in the back of my consciousness. The profoundly positive impact of journaling daily continues to astound me. Taking time to process each day in stillness has helped me in so many ways.

Appreciation:

Sunny day hiking in the winter in shorts – what a perfect way to spend the afternoon! Fresh air, time outside, a little physical activity heading up and down the bluff, and time with family with no distractions. Felt like heaven to me today!

Presence:

Did you see the full moon rise this evening??? Wowza!!! The pics don’t do it justice. So beautiful to watch the colors slowly shift over a matter of minutes.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,323

Growth:

When something happens it is up to us to define if it is good or bad, the event itself isn’t either or on its own, it is us who give it a definition. We have the opportunity to create beauty in any situation, no matter how ugly it may initially seem. So many reminders of that concept today all around.

Here’s to remembering we always have a choice to make.

Appreciation:

Whew – this could be a really long post if I dove into all the details. That said, some of them aren’t for me to share. I’ll go with the short version for now and will save the long version in my heart.

Today I have a talk on my book at Root Down Yoga as a part of their Karma class to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Greater La Crosse. The class was outstanding, so many wonderfully active listeners, and so many shared moments of emotion. So much love and support from all there, I’m so thankful for the opportunity.

What really jumps out to me was the depth of relationships built and strengthened throughout. We all experience difficult times, knowing we’re not alone can be such a blessing.

Thank you so much to all the attendees for opening their hearts today! Thank you to Root Down Yoga for allowing me this opportunity! Thank you to Becky for supporting me, encouraging me, and for talking me into going to yoga several years ago.

Presence:

There were a handful of profoundly poignant emotional moments today at the presentation at Root Down. Out of respect for all involved I’ll leave out the details save one – so many hugs. So much love in each of those connections.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,322

Growth:

My months always go better when I remember to pause and plan in advance. I can 100% tell the difference between a well planned month and one that I let evolve in the moment. February is going to be a crazy busy month but I’ve got everything in place to be successful specifically because I’ve paused to plan it.

Planning two months in advance is even better but requires a lot more flexibility in order to roll with any changes from the prior month.

Appreciation:

One of the things I was most excited about today was all of the talk in our office of dreams created from our recent trip to Belize. I couldn’t help but smile when there were several teammates who were all having conversations at home about traveling more or looking at moving. While I would hate to lose any of them I’m so excited to see them dreaming bigger – how awesome is that!

It also brought back so many excellent memories of my first trip to Hawaii when I came home and announced that I would be moving to Hawaii. Sure, Becky and common sense won out in the long run, but it inspired me to dig deeper into the reasons I wanted to live there which helped me find ways to live more into that dream without actually moving. In the long run I’ve lived a happier life as a result of dreaming those sweet Hawaii dreams. So much fun hearing others have their own dreams as a result of the trip!

Presence:

After about a week without audiobooks I felt like I was really home when I drove to work this morning and fired up Homo Deus on Audible. Funny how I have started to miss not listening to a book while driving alone. The time focused on the words on my speaker were calming in addition to being enlightening!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,321

Growth:

Sometimes the right answer is to pause, breathe, and grab a book for a few moments of relaxation time. Rest up and recharge or risk falling apart somewhere along the road. Just like with cars, preventative maintenance is always preferred.

Appreciation:

While Becky and I were gone for the past week a couple of our friends stayed over at our house to help out with the boys. Honestly, they boys would’ve likely been fine on their own, but we all felt better knowing someone was there with them.

Imagine our surprise last night when we came home exhausted after 15 hours of travel and saw a note and two chocolates on our bed. The note was from our friend Steve who wrote that he’d washed the bedding to welcome us home. How awesome is that??? As an added touch there were even a couple of chocolates on the bed for us too!

Presence:

Eating dinner as a family feels even better when it’s been a while. So appreciative for the opportunity to spend time with Becky & the boys around the dining room table this evening!

Thanks!!!

Here’s the post I typed last night on my flight. Finally getting it posted 😁

Day 2,320

Growth:

Through my blogging and writing practice I’ve created an opportunity to pause and think quietly each day. With all the chaos, craziness, busyness, and whatnot in my daily life I’ve got a buffer of 15 to 60 minutes of thoughtful reflection already built in.

The benefits of this time in thought cannot be overstated. My level of joy and peace have been increased to a new level as a result of taking time for some mental self care each day. Sometimes it takes days like this of working on thought related projects to help me step back and see just how much this has helped.

Appreciation:

For some crazy reason I’m really grooving on using a flight as a mobile thought laboratory. The vast majority of my flight time has been focused on creating content for upcoming presentations while the rest was used for reading a fiction with a wonderfully thought provoking plot. For some unknown reason it feels really gratifying to work on projects like this while flying. Maybe it’s the lack of distraction? Regardless, I’m thankful for this odd new-ish habit I’ve been working on forming.

Presence:

Sitting on our plane I had a peaceful moment of calm. As I was looking up my next song choice for the soundtrack to writing I stumbled upon a video by The Strumbellas. I paused and immediately saw a connection to the topic I was working on and the song itself. Without even thinking about it much I just kept going with music from one of my favorite bands.

Next thing I knew I had my eyes closed and I was jamming out to their song Wild Sun and thinking back to their concert in 2019. During that song the crowd erupted with energy and was stomping and clapping in unison along with the song. It was such a surreal moment of awesomeness that still makes me smile when I think about it. Spending a couple of minutes on our flight going back in time a few years was truly excellent.

Thanks!!!