There are so many reasons I enjoy yoga tremendously. Throughout the day many of those benefits were in my thoughts. My body was very loose even though I was in the car a lot today. I felt incredibly well rested when I woke up this morning, the workout last night helped my drift off to sleep quickly and deeply. The calm and stillness from the focus of the practice last night rolled right into this morning and has stuck around all day. Those benefits were awesome, but there was another reason I was thankful for yoga last night.
Five simple words which have been turning in my head since the last third of last night’s practice…
Nick, our instructor, was pushing us hard yesterday in a very good way. He kept encouraging us to go just a little further, to hold our breath a little longer, to move into a slightly more difficult position than the one we’d chosen. Long story short, he was helping us find our edge and push right up against it in a highly supportive environment.
At one point after we finished a difficult pose he shared five words he’d learned from a past teacher. When Nick shared the coaching I was completely present, my breathing focused, my mind cleared of any thought other than my breath. He spoke and I listened intently. The words struck me powerfully, such a juxtaposition to the deeply quiet calm I’d slipped into throughout yoga.
Since sharing the words of wisdom they’ve been reverberating in my mind for so many reasons. They seemed to unlock something I’ve been unknowingly struggling with. With those five words in mind I handled several things differently today than I ever would have.
Yoga helped me get to a quiet place in which I was ready to truly hear the coaching and let it sink in completely. One more reasons to love yoga, it helps me quiet my brain and my soul so I can listen completely.
Two wonderful reasons to remember to listen today, both for very different reasons.
The first was remembering to listen rather than react. My mind quickly races to an answer, long before a question is asked. If I react too quickly I miss hearing the correct question and answer incorrectly. Pause, listen, think, and then respond if necessary. Too often I’ve responded when response was needed. Today reminded me of the power of listening completely and then responding in due time. Remember to listen rather than react.
The second was remembering to listen closely and attentively in the stillness. The voice can be heard anytime, but I must find stillness to hear it. Create space, eliminate noise, and listen with more than my ears. In that space if I listen closely with my soul I will hear the call. Remember to listen closely in the stillness.
Two simple lessons, both profound. Remember to listen, the reward is so much greater than talking and responding.
Two wonderful reasons to remember to listen today, both for very different reasons.
The first was remembering to listen rather than react. My mind quickly races to an answer, long before a question is asked. If I react too quickly I miss hearing the correct question and answer incorrectly. Pause, listen, think, and then respond if necessary. Too often I’ve responded when response was needed. Today reminded me of the power of listening completely and then responding in due time. Remember to listen rather than react.
The second was remembering to listen closely and attentively in the stillness. The voice can be heard anytime, but I must find stillness to hear it. Create space, eliminate noise, and listen with more than my ears. In that space if I listen closely with my soul I will hear the call. Remember to listen closely in the stillness.
Two simple lessons, both profound. Remember to listen, the reward is so much greater than talking and responding.
Pause. Breathe. Relax. Zoom out. Prioritize. Focus. One step. Another step. Breathe in. Action. Breathe out. Action. Repeat. Intentionally present. Enter flow.
What a powerful tool the mind is. Used intentionally the focus is unstoppable. Pause, focus, enter a state of flow. This can be done at literally anytime. Yet I do it far more rarely than I should.
When left reacting to emotion each wave becomes like another would be rescued hoping to save a drowning person by jumping in with them only to be drug down to the depths while adding another victim to the situation. Emotional response to emotional response only compounds and exacerbates the challenge.
Pause to focus, to breathe, and to grasp what can be controlled. Set emotion aside for its proper time and take logical and intentional action to solve the scenario first. Enter a state of flow through focused effort and complete the goal.
Today I was the calm in the center of the storm. I paused. I breathed. I focused. I took logical and intentional action. Emotions were set aside, my presence was targeted at the right task with no distraction. I was in a state of flow until the task was completed.
I realized that I have the opportunity to do this at anytime. I need only choose it. So easy to say and see, so difficult to do. Practice, practice, and more practice.
Today I saw a glimpse of the other side of the gap. The beauty on the other side so close at hand and so difficult to attain. The memory of today will steel my will to practice to work towards it more.
Rather than boarding a flight to an ocean beach I was wandering the woods in the snow. Quite the contrast, right? I was exactly where I should be.
Becky and I spent most of our morning at Pike’s Peak outside of MacGregor, Iowa. Due to the cold weather and snowfall we were amongst the few in the entire park. Once we were more than 100 yards from the observation area we never saw another soul.
I drew in breaths of fresh autumn air through my nose and concentrated on soaking in each exquisite little detail of the sights and sensations around me. The bright red leaves and even more scarlet berries of one type of plant. The drops of water resting on the waxy underside of oak leaves. Each little “brick” in the elaborate lattice work of the limestone rock outcroppings. The sensation of the cool winter-ish breeze and snow rushing against my face and tickling the hairs of my beard. The lighting of the woods shifting and transforming as the sun danced amongst the clouds. The music of Becky’s voice as we shared our joys of the wilderness. Each step. Each breath. Each individual second. Pure magic, pure joy.
Our morning was spent in a walking meditation in the stillness of the woods. Exactly where I was called to be in those moments.
If this were my last day I would go peacefully, full of joy, fully satisfied, and with a heart full of love. Today I have lived.
I often pause in amazement of the universe’s ability to provide seemingly exactly what is needed at exactly the right time. What I realized today is that it was less of the universe creating a specific opportunity as it is my eyes being opened to the possibility.
This morning I spent time with some teammates walking through the goal setting framework I created for myself for 2021. As I shared with them, I wanted to impose my will upon 2021 rather than vice versa. 2020 was a wonderful year for testing and growing resilience and adaptability, but it was largely reactive. My goal in 2021 was to live the year proactively while still exercising adaptability and resilience as the year threw challenges and blessings at me which were out of my control.
My goal was to live more intentionally, to focus on specific goals and dreams, to remember past lessons, to stop behaviors and habits which got in the way, and to create new thought processes and responses. I took time to focus on what I wanted to get out of 2021 to make progress towards or to reach some of my dreams. If I took time to focus my energy and mindset in the right directions I would have a better opportunity to accomplish what I wanted. If I did the same as usual I would have the best of intentions but would drift with the tides of life rather than propel myself towards specific dreams.
When putting the presentation together for my teammates over the past couple of weeks I had time to reflect on the first three quarters of the year. What an incredible nine months it has been! It has been far from perfect, yet it was lived so much closer to the year I’d imagined than I ever would have thought possible. Much progress was made towards each of my three key goals. Behavior was shifted towards the better. So many lessons learned through both failure and success. More living of values, more opportunities to understand why each value is important. Working towards dreams while also seeing both where I need to continue growing and where I need to move on to the next dreams.
As I started tonight’s blog with, my initial thought was intense gratitude for all of the amazing opportunities and chance meetings the universe offered up. A perfectly timed email from an author friend which led to the progress my book. The podcast I listened to at exactly the right time to help me start the year with intention. The reading of a short quote which opened my eyes to different thought processes on mortality, impermanence, and presence. A passing thought coupled with a short term business goal transforming into a speaking opportunity. Treasure troves of serendipity surrounding me throughout the past year… right?
And then I started to realize how shallow my view was. The universe didn’t just suddenly manifest these opportunities. They have always been there! What changed was me. I started to watch for opportunities and I saw them. They’ve all been all around me, surrounding me, screaming at me for attention, and I was too aloof to pay attention. Once my eyes were opened I could finally see what has been surrounding me this entire time.
The universe, The Big Dude Upstairs, God, or whatever name you want to call it, doesn’t just create opportunities for us at the moment we feel is the right time. They’ve created those opportunities in extreme abundance and have seeded our lives with them. The trick is that we must open our eyes, our minds, and our souls enough to see them.
Of all of the lessons I have learned this year, this one will remain as one to remember for life. Opportunity is there. The exact thing I need is already waiting for me. It is up to me to keep my soul open to finding it, and my eyes will not be opened until I understand and focus on what I am truly looking for.
Today I am thankful for the abundance of opportunity surrounding us each and every single day – all of it just waiting for us to realize we are looking for it.
A frozen waterfall in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in January of 2021
Today was a day full of action and activity. Progress was made on many projects, there was a lot of forward motion, and even the things that didn’t work out actually kind of worked out. Everything seemed to go in the right direction, even if it was initially off a little.
There was one specific moment in the morning when I realized my head was spinning. It was difficult to keep a single thought in mind for a second, let alone through completion. I realized the spinning and stopped.
I put on my headphones. I moved away from my computer. I turned on a specific song and then set my phone down on the other side of my office. I sat in my chair and got into a comfortable position. I put my hands behind my head. I closed my eyes. I focused on my breath. I focused on each lyric of the song. I paused my brain and put myself 100% into the moment.
When the song finished I took in one last deep and focused breath. I held it for a moment, and then exhaled. I opened my eyes and smiled.
My world was at peace and I was able to focus on one task after another. Three minutes and forty five seconds which made all the difference today.
At Dominic’s soccer banquet tonight he received an All Conference award for Sportsmanship:
I am so proud of him! His coach recognized and nominated him for this award for the way he plays, owns his mistakes, celebrates others, shows kindness to opponents, and for his attitude. All comments that make me one heck of a proud parent. Congrats dude!!!
During a break in our monthly “Think Day” my phone showed a notification of my WeCroak app. It was time for one of my daily quotes. I opened it up to find the following quote:
Life is short and unpredictable. Eat dessert first.
Helen Keller
I smiled, thought about the quote more deeply, smiled wider, and then took a screenshot to save it for later. The quote was in the back of my mind for the rest of the meeting.
On my drive home from Winona I was mesmerized by the way the the last rays of sunlight were hitting the bluffs. The contrast of the cloud shaded bottom of the bluff and the orange lit top of the bluff was striking. It reminded me of a place in Death Valley named The Beacon due to the way the very top lit up in the sunrise.
The quote from earlier in the day rang through my soul. I grinned, turned on my blinker, and whipped a U turn into a scenic pullout area. This was my dessert. I was going to take a few minutes to enjoy it more deeply.
Life is short and tomorrow is promised to no one. Enjoy the moment. Eat dessert first.
Becky had a brilliant idea for our trip to Madison this morning. She grabbed her Wisconsin State Parks map and found a couple parks we’ve never explored just off the beaten path we were traveling.
Talk about enjoying the journey and not just the destination!
Nothing like almost empty state parks early on a fall morning shortly after the sunrise. Fresh and crisp autumn air, a cool breeze, and the smell of forests and leaves were all around us as we saw beautiful vistas and fantastic rock formations.
The drive up the Mississippi River Valley was so stunning I felt compelled to pull over and grab a picture. The steam was again rising from the river into the cool air while the sky was positively pink and purple in one direction and blue and orange in the other.
When a day starts like this there is no doubt it will be a great one should I choose to carry the stillness of that moment into my day.
Later in the afternoon I was looking for a book on my shelf. In the process of looking I moved a couple of books around. For some reason my eyes were drawn to the back of How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins. Most books have a summary on the back, but this one had a quote instead:
Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die, depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you.
Jim Collins
Sometimes the world is trying to help us hear the message we really need at a specific time. Other times it goes so far as to tie it to another message – in this case the irony of the title in the context of a recent challenge. Regardless, I am very thankful for the serendipitous shuffling of books on my shelf today!
Thankful for Forty 