Day 3,374

Growth:

Interesting how much brighter our own lives are when we focus specifically on brightening the lives of others. By focusing outside of ourselves we bring peace to ourselves.

Appreciation:

While life will be a bit more busy due to my work schedule for a little while it was awesome to have an opportunity to hang out with Becky and the boys the majority of the day. Between taking a walk, going to church, eating lunch while watching a little football, doing housework, putting together a puzzle, eating supper, and walking through Rotary lights it has been a day of togetherness. These days and moments are amongst my all time favorites.

Presence:

Sitting and standing around a table with Becky and our sons enjoying each others company as we put a National Parks puzzle together in the sunroom, a moment of perfection. No stress, no agenda, no news, no phones, only family, a puzzle, and presence.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,373

Growth:

Similar to yesterday, we always have a choice to make… which attitude will we choose? Winter is cold, frigid, uncomfortable, has snowy and icy roads, and it gets dark so early. Winter also is crisp and refreshing, feels great in our nose, has awesome lighting due to the lower sun, has snow for so many activities, and is incredibly beautiful. Today I chose the latter and it made all the difference.

Appreciation:

Between reviewing photos from this past year and then watching a hiking video of Iceland with Dominic my heart sings for the sights I’ve been blessed to experience over the past handful of years. Iceland and Patagonia have left lasting imprints on my soul. Their peacefulness, jaggedness, innocence, and their quiet stillness sing a melody for my soul. As I think back to both I become so joy filled I am brought to the brink of tears of happiness. In moments of stress and challenge when I pause, close my eyes, and breathe, they are the views behind my eyelids.

To have experienced both places is a gift for which I will be forever appreciative!

Presence:

Ahh… the sensation of breathing fresh, clean, crisp, cold winter air in through the nose is amazing!!! There’s nothing quite like it! One of my favorite parts of winter is the first day of zero-ish degree temperatures, heading outside, and taking a nice long pull of fresh air right into my nostrils. Delightful!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,371

Growth:

“No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity for he is not permitted to prove himself.”

SENECA

Appreciation:

After a bonkers day at work bookended by slippery snowy drives a dinner and a family game night were exactly what I needed. Let the stress rinse away, be in the moment joking, laughing, and talking. Chilling as a family. A wonderful wrap up to the day!

Presence:

Sometimes I surprise myself with my blog. One of the most clear periods of presence today was while driving on icy and snow covered roads. The added challenge really pushed me to stay completely laser focused on that one task. Watching ahead, watching behind, anticipating sliding, thinking ahead to what other might do. It was a start to finish focus sandwich! What a fitting and timely reminder of the importance of my quote that started this blog!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,370

Growth:

One step at a time, bite sized next steps, atomic habits, realistic goals… However you want to put it, all huge goals are accomplished by millions of little actions. Dream big, start tiny and work up.

Appreciation:

Gotta love music that moves you, it’s even more special when it comes from a completely unexpected source. This past weekend I happened to catch the song The Roads by Jonah Kagen on our SirriusXM trial in our car. I immediately downloaded the song and it’s been playing almost nonstop in my head. Almost nonstop, as the songs Same Wind and Don’t You Give Up on Me also have found their way into my brain. Something about the music is incredibly touching, hopeful, and real. All these songs will be rolling around in my noggin for quite some time.

Presence:

Chilling alone in the living room, alone with my thoughts and music. Taking time to relax, let my brain go, and think about nothing and everything all at the same time. Time to chill, let the shoulders relax, the muscles all loosen. This quiet time is a wonderful change of pace from the past week of busy-ness. All that is good in its own way, but this time is the little bit of therapy my mind and soul need to recharge.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,369

Growth:

Take time to focus on and grow relationships. The more we invest in getting to know others the more it comes back around to us. Today I was reminded in several different situations of the importance of having trusting relationships.

Appreciation:

Gavin had an appointment with his guidance counselor and us to start prepping for his senior year as of for college after that. So tempting as a dad to want to step in and speak up for him, so rewarding when I don’t and I get to see a whole new side of him as a young adult. I am so grateful and appreciative for the person he continues to grow into! Sometimes I need a change of setting like that to see everything a little more clearly.

Presence:

Sitting in the kitchen and in the living room with Dominic and Caitlyn, talking about nothing and everything all at once. Talking with Gavin in his room walking through his day, hearing about classes and lifting and his volunteer hours. All priceless moments of clarity and presence.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,367

Growth:

Throughout the past year I’ve made a much more concerted effort to collect all the nuggets of wisdom and insightful quotes I happen to come across. As I worked my way through my photos from 2024 today (more on that in a bit) I was reminded of so many quotes I screenshotted or took pictures of. Each brought back a memory as well as got my gears turning again. No one steps in the same river twice, these quotes all had a new perspective thanks to the life experiences I’ve had since capturing them.

“You can go to hell without moving an inch, just focus on what you lack.  You can taste heaven without leaving earth, just rejoice in what you have.”

James Clear

Appreciation:

Once again I am reminded of the return on investment of taking photos while experiencing life. As Bill Perkins writes about in Die with Zero we should focus most of our energy on creating experiences we will remember forever. Those experiences pay off in the form of “memory dividends,” the ongoing joy created through remembering those experiences. The more pictures we take during those experiences the easier it is for us to go back to those moments and reap the returns of those memory dividends.

In going through all of the photos I took in 2024 my mind was blown by all of the memories we created this year! Over and over again it was a nonstop sound track of “oh my goodness, we did that THIS year too???”

Today I’m grateful for all the photos I took this past year. Even though I deleted many and have many more to clean out, the total mass of joy created from my memory dividends was priceless!

Presence:

Our afternoon hike on a trail we don’t do often was enhanced by the thick fog floating throughout the valley. The hike felt surreal in so many ways – warmer than usual for mid December, the scent of fall, restricted views due to the thick fog, and throw in some slippery and icy trails. All in all each element played so well with the others, it was an almost constant state of presence as we enjoyed another hike in the Driftless.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,366

Growth:

You never quite know where unexpected nuggets of wisdom will come from – even so bad they’re good Christmas movies. Keep an open ear and you’ll find the universe is often whispering what we need, if only we remember to listen.

Appreciation:

Knocking out the task list early in the weekend AND getting a hike in, a great start to the weekend! More to get done tomorrow, but much of it is stuff I want to get done rather than have to do. Nice to get the jump start!

Presence:

Walking in the woods, especially after having been inside for the better part of the week due to the extreme cold temperatures and life scheduling, is always the answer. Fresh air, no cellphone notifications, outdoors, wildlife, landscape, and motion. So simple, so full of joy.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,365

Growth:

Everything is figureoutable. Everything. What makes me smile is hearing that from my teammates reminding me of that very fact when we face a difficult situation.

Appreciation:

This morning we lived into our purpose. As we have for the past handful of years we’ve had an awesome opportunity to give back to our community. There is nothing more fulfilling than living into our purpose, what a gift!

Presence:

Sometimes you need to have a moment of chaotic fun with teammates to break the tension of the entire office. Sometimes that needs to happen more than once in the same day. Here’s to today being a day in which the shenanigans were much much needed and appreciated, as were the moments of bonding before, during, and after stress.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,364

Growth:

Be honest with ourselves when life is difficult. It’s okay to admit when we’re not okay. Once we acknowledge that we can start to work on it. Funny how quickly we can then shift into growth and actionable steps. Not accepting the struggles stunts our growth and delays our healing.

Appreciation:

I love that there are the “Supporting” roles Oscars. In our lives we have many starring actors, but there are exponentially more supporting bits.

This afternoon I had the opportunity – twice – to revisit individuals who made outsized positive impacts in my life as compared to their roles. They may have each only been in the film of my life for a short time, but they both taught me much about business, being a dad, being a leader, giving, hard work, and even F1 racing. Both of them – both named Tim – helped me grow into the person I am and have left a mark on me through stories I still share.

They may both be gone, but their legacies live on. I am so grateful for their positive influences!

Presence:

Sometimes the craziest moments and situations turn out to be the most memorable. Gavin and I got home at almost the exact same time tonight and were welcomed with an awful surprise, a dog who’d had a bad accident in her kennel.

After a little retching on both our parts we opted for positivity and humor to help us through a “crappy” situation.

Not an ideal scenario, but one we’ll remember for the hilarity that followed as we took care of business.

Thanks!!!