Day 3,568

Growth:

The best time to start a healthy habit was yesterday. The second best time is today. Choose the one we have control over.

Appreciation:

Going to bed exhausted from a week day started with hiking with Becky, followed by watching Gavin pole vault, then a lunch with Dominic and Caitlyn, chased by a small dash of downtime, then finished by hanging out with friends – I’m exhausted and ready to crash in a very awesome way!

Presence:

Spending time with friends, talking about nothing important, laughing, and just enjoying each others company – priceless!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,567

Growth:

Take the time to knock out the project completely, just get it done and feel the stress melt away. Tonight that project was packing for backpacking, almost complete and so much less stress!

Appreciation:

So glad Dominic mentioned this book again, such an incredible read!!!

https://www.audible.com/pd/0593557069?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=player_overflow

This is my second reading of it and I can’t begin to share how powerful, dream provoking, and emotion invoking this book is. Highly recommended!!!

Presence:

Meeting two people in real life for the first time, the two of them meeting each other for the first time as well, and it feels like old friends having lunch after not seeing each other for a while. Cannot begin to express just how excited I am for the future after that conversation!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,566

Growth:

Simple is better. Follow the process. Remember the intent of the purpose. Stay focused. All lessons I was reminded of today.

Appreciation:

Today I was reminded of the power of turning off the phones, locking the doors, and taking time to pause and think – without distraction. So much of our work lives are harried, we need to pause to process all that has happened around us. This was a very different halftime than in all of my years with Express, and dare I say one of the most successful. Solid on so many levels, great steps for growing forward. None of it would have happened had we stayed rooted in the busyness of the daily routine.

Presence:

Taking a moment at the start of my day to watch this little dude outside my window!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,565

Growth:

The trip itself is always great, but the preparation can be such an under appreciated part of the journey. As Gavin and I prep for our backpacking trip we’ve been spending more time together, having more opportunities to talk, and more topics to talk about. I’m sure the trip will be awesome, the prep has been as well!

Appreciation:

This is truly silly, but makes me smile every year like clockwork. A handful of different friends across a smattering of friends groups all bombard each other with texts each July 1st of “Happy Bobby Bonilla Day”

You can learn more about it here

Every July 1st starts with smiles, laughs, and accounting jokes. Nice to have such a simple yet entertaining day to have each year!

Presence:

Sneaking in a moment to close my eyes, take a deep breath, and clean out the filter in my brain. Two minutes of calm within the storm leading to hours of peaceful busyness.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,564

Growth:

Three for three on physical activity today! Is there any better way to start a work week than by waking up and hitting the street by 5am for a run? If I have the motivation and discipline to do that at the beginning of the week I know I’ve got the week covered!

Appreciation:

I had to take the campervan in for an oil change today, crazy to think we’ve already put almost 11,000 miles on it! Normally I’d catch a ride back but today I realized there was a much better option, I walked the mile back to my office. To pick it up I did the same thing over lunch. It felt great getting some fresh air and activity in the middle of the day like that, a perfect change of pace!

Presence:

Yoga for the win! For reals, what a perfect way to take a deep breath and chill (even though it was in the heat)! On a regular basis I am reminded of the mental healing power of yoga.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,561

Growth:

Don’t waste time and emotional energy on the wrong people.  Save that energy for those who will utilize it AND recharge you!

Appreciation:

Spending time with people with similar energy and motivations is so invigorating!  My work day started off with one of the more productive, efficient, and engaging conversations of my week.  We eventually both had to wrap it up to move on in our day.  Sharing new ideas, collaborating, and learning from each other, all at a very rapid pace!

Presence:

Laughing with family over dinner, reminiscing, sharing stories, celebrating.  Good times!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,562

Growth:

“Harshaw had the arrogant humility of a man who has learned so much that he is aware of his own ignorance.”  Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

Appreciation:

Great day, struggling with this section for some reason.  Much to be grateful for, but there isn’t one specific thing coming to mind.  I’ve been walking through my day from start to finish and have a quite lengthy list of what I’m grateful for – moments, conversations, thoughts, lessons, and so on – but there isn’t one in particular that really jumps out.  That said, my heart is full of joy as I’ve considered so many of those minor gratitudes.

Now I see it clearly – I’m grateful for this process.  It would have been so easy to go to bed and not reflect on the day.  To skip past all those things I am grateful for.  By spending time writing I’m creating space to reflect and process, to feel joy through what I have already had.

Another day of gratitude, another day enhanced by pausing to write.

Presence:

Quiet time in between events, relaxing and getting ice cream.  Reading a book and chilling, enjoying time between fun times.  Pulling the car over to take in the sight of eight sandhill cranes in a field.  Random yet engaging conversations.  Shared smiles and jokes.  So many moments of presence, so much joy.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,563

Growth:

It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves. I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear, that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.

Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Appreciation:

While the day has been busy it’s also been deeply gratifying on a few levels. Time with family in conversation. Time spent reading a deeply thought provoking book. Time listening to a podcast with Becky and Gavin about a wilderness survival story. Time with Becky making small talk while at the grocery store. Time with Gavin running errands and prepping for our trip. Time of calm with my AirPods in while making my lunches for the week. Time chilling while I blog. Soon to be time reading in bed before drifting off to sleep. A day full of nothing out of the ordinary, but a perfectly normal and productive day to be thankful for.

Presence:

Spending time with Gavin getting our backpacking meals prepped was a blast! We had a great time picking up some of the supplies we needed and then assembling our backpacking suppers for our upcoming trip. Many laughs!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,560

Growth:

Watch for moments to live into purpose, taking time to be present, to share a moment with others, to be attentive, and to have a positive influence. While those moments may not always seem most urgent they are often most important.

Appreciation:

This afternoon my day was interrupted in an awesomely positive way by one of our clients coming in to deliver coffee gift cards to us as a thank you for helping her out! What an awesome surprise! Having a moment of appreciation lavished upon was exactly what the doctor ordered, such a perfectly timed treat!

Presence:

A quiet walk in the morning before the world wakes up. Getting the legs moving, enjoying an audiobook. Breathing in fresh air while getting some very light physical activity. A wonderful start to the day!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,559

Growth:

Sometimes the best answer is the one that’s not obvious, the one that only appears while brainstorming, the one that seems like a best case scenario. Watch for it, be intentional on finding it, and it will appear.

Appreciation:

Taking a moment to remember what is really the most important thing to be focused on in a particular moment. Sometimes it’s not a thing, or money, it’s often a taking a moment to be present with a person. The biggest gift we can sometimes offer others is pausing to be fully present with them. This often turns right back around and becomes a gift to us!

Presence:

Sharing a moment of dreaming big, of seeing how things can work out, of experiencing a shared journey about to embark – such a beautiful moment!

Thanks!!!