There are few things more enjoyable than accomplishing a dream. One of the most enjoyable and rewarding is helping someone else accomplish theirs.
Appreciation:
Today I’m grateful for a process I’ve been leaning into more and more lately. It started as a way to bring a little structure to my year, but over time it’s become something much bigger, a framework that keeps me intentionally focused on my dreams and purpose.
The simple act of writing things down, checking back in, and re-aligning when I drift has been powerful. It’s helped me catch myself when I’m on autopilot and instead steer back toward the life I actually want to build.
I appreciate not just the process itself, but what it represents – clarity, consistency, and a reminder that growth doesn’t happen by accident. And as much as it’s already helping me, I can’t help but feel excited about re-working it into something I can share with others. If it’s making this much of a difference for me, maybe it could spark something for someone else too.
Presence:
This evening my summer project became one of my happy places. Sitting outside on the deck, relaxing and listening to music, reading, soaking in the slowly shifting sunset, enjoying stillness. This has felt amazing! The weather is perfect, the old school filament lights are on, and I’m enjoying the calm. Not sure why, but the fresh air just feels so much better than being inside all day. What a perfect place to spend most of my evening!
Sometimes the best thing to do is lay flat on our backs in the shade, put our feet up on a big tree, and rest. After eight hours of hiking in the heat and sun I did just that for just under 10 minutes and it made all the difference in helping me finish my goal.
Appreciation:
Today I knocked out a version of a dream I’ve had on my dream list for 15 years, finishing a 50k (31.07 miles). Initially the dream was to run my first ultra marathon (anything over 26.2 miles), but over time it has morphed to hiking the distance in a single go. Today I can cross that one off the list!
What I’m most thankful for today is that I wrote the goal down in the first place. Many ideas fly in and out of my head, some find purchase. When they are written down they are so much more likely to happen, even if they end up being slightly modified like this one. By writing the dreams down the odds of future success skyrocket as they stay more top of mind.
Presence:
I saw and heard so many things on the nine plus hours on the trail today! From a herd of deer (including a few fawns), to an owl screeching, to a couple of sandhill cranes walking just ahead of me on the trail, to watching a woodchuck climb a tree, to hundreds of leopard frogs, to so many beautiful flowers in the marsh, there were sights to behold all around me. Nothing quite like time in nature!
Such an exquisite pre sunrise moment in the marsh!
Life is so much easier when I pause and remember that I do not have the time or capacity needed to tackle all of the crazy ideas and dreams and projects I would like to take on. I will forever have a surplus of goals and plans and a deficit of the time I wish I had to accomplish everything, and that is okay. This makes it all the more important for me to focus on intentionally spending my precious time on those dreams which are of the utmost importance rather than on matters which are not of consequence.
When I am feeling overwhelmed and as if I don’t have enough time I need to remember to pause, review what is truly most important, focus on that in that moment, and be grateful for the opportunity to have that moment of life to use.
Appreciation:
When I wrapped up my day yesterday I had a very clear list of what needed to get done today. I didn’t get it all done, but I didn’t waste any time or energy. My focus was exactly where it needed to be. There were several moments in which my brain started to wander to other things and just as I was about go in a wrong direction I had awareness and went right back to focus mode. The results was an awesomely productive day that I am very pleased with.
As I analyze why it was successful I pinpointed a few notes to save for Future Mike:
Review what is truly important, slice it into what is most important today, and then focus there
Have a very clear list of what needs to get done and in order of how it needs to happen
Maintain awareness of where my mind should be focused and catch myself when it wanders
Give myself grace to take a pause or a break – not unintentionally and time wasting, rather, focused on re-charging my brain
Close the door and turn on the right music when needed
The overwhelming majority of phone calls, emails, and messages can wait until a future time
If the day flew by I am doing it right
Over 25 years of working in the professional world and I’m still reminded of how much there is to learn and how much more discipline there is to build.
Presence:
Lifting today was pretty brutal. I wasn’t even close to lifting the weights I should be lifting. It was all aboard the struggle bus time. By the last reps of the last set of each exercise my muscles were shaking. I didn’t even get to the number of reps I was shooting for in each set. t hurt. It was mentally taxing. My ego got the shit kicked out of it. In so many ways I could look at today’s lifting as a complete failure and disappointment…
…but I experienced and view it as an overwhelming SUCCESS.
This was my first time lifting in about four weeks due to travel and crazy pre-travel schedule. I was going in completely rusty and rather than not showing up or quitting early I chose to finish the workout. I struggled but I pushed. I gave myself the grace to drop the weight in-between sets so I could keep the right form. I didn’t stop until my muscles did. I took the step of re-starting, I took action.
The next round will be similar, but each subsequent session will feel better and better. Today I took the first step. It hurt, but I felt great.
Thankful for Forty 