Tag: Thankful

Day 1,872 – Thankful for Inspiration from the Insight of Incredible Teammates and Re-Reading an All Time Favorite

I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many incredible teammates. Not a day goes by in which I’m not thankful for the plethora of strengths they gift to our teams. Their hard work, high energy, and proactive action within our values is impressive. The momentum they’re building is a force to be reckoned with.

Today a few of us paused reality for a handful of hours. Select the office, went to a quiet place, and spent time discussing the future. We shared ideas for potential challenges and their corresponding opportunities. My teammates sharing fantastic insight into how we can continue to grow through the next year – both in business and as a team. The ideas they shared were awesome and the way they worked together to help position the team in a place to really utilize their unique talents was impressive. My mind has been racing with possibilities since we started our conversation.

My incredible teammates inspired me to dream even bigger dreams for next year. Their passion, energy, and awesomeness will no doubt propel us to a wildly successful future.

After spending a lot of quiet time processing so much of our conversation I fire up an audiobook for the rest of my drive home. It’s been a little while since I fired up one of my all time favorite and most impactful books so I figured it was a perfect time to load it up. For the however many-eth time The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday is reminding me of the importance of my perceptions, my actions, and my will. For reals, this is one of the most insightful and useful books you will ever read.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,868 – Thankful for Taking Advantage of the Unseasonably Warm November Weather

Wow!!! How awesome is this weather??? Comfortably hiking in a t-shirt and shorts at the end of the first week of November? This is amazing!

Throughout the day we’ve been working on maximizing our time outside. As I blog I’m sitting on our deck and enjoying the smells of fall leaves. Earlier we took the dogs for a walk in the sun. Lunch was grilled and eaten outside. We hit Perrot State Park to enjoy the perfect hiking weather. This has been AMAZING!!!

One of my biggest goals this year was to maximize my time spent outdoors. Unseasonably warm weather like this makes it all the easier to follow through on that goal.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,865 – Thankful for Being Rewarded for Rolling With It and Taking My Advice

Yesterday was a day focused on nonstop Zoom calls. I’m still amazed that I didn’t have teleconferencing nightmares last night!

Today was lined up very differently with a focus on a couple of face to face meetings in different markets. Out the door and on my way to Eau Claire before 5:30am, it was an early start. At the office my email pinged and I received a notification that the meeting I had left early for would be much more heavily attended via Zoom. I smiled to myself, rolled with it, and jumped on via Zoom instead. A little after 9:30 I received a text from my afternoon appointment. Due to the COVID news from OSHA he asked to re-schedule. I completely understood and we are meeting next week instead. No worries, that’s life sometimes.

In the span of a few hours my day had been completely changed. Rather than getting hung up on how it was supposed to have gone I went with the tide. I think of it kind of like my minimalist running shoes. When my foot strike lands directly on a rock I don’t tense up, that would hurt big time. Instead I let my foot continue its course but I relax and let me foot wrap itself around the rock. This simple move removes any pain and discomfort and allows me to keep my stride. Today I followed that lead and wrapped myself around the day rather than try to force my will upon the day.

I also caught myself getting frustrated with a very different challenge while I was driving up this morning. Fortunately my brain knew what I needed and out of nowhere a thought appeared… “how can I be grateful for this?” This is one of the two questions I focus on often in my book. I chuckled to myself and then flipped my mindset. Within minutes I was scripting out ideas for my next book! I got so pumped up that I had to pull over to jot down notes to myself to make sure they were saved. It was awesome and one of the most rewarding productive bursts I’ve had in a long time.

So what were the results of rolling with it and taking my own advice? One of the most wildly productive days I’ve had! The results spoke for themselves as I made significant progress towards a handful of goals. The day left me with a strong sense of accomplishment on a few different levels towards my purpose.

Life doesn’t always follow the trajectory I want it to. If I remember to roll with what happens, go with it rather than against it, and listen to my own advice from past experience I can easily adapt and thrive. Days like this are neither good nor bad, they are an opportunity for me to live into my best self. Today I was successful.

Thanks!

Day 1,864 – Thankful for a Gratitude Inversion on an Eight Zooms Day

Today was an inversion day for me. Often the gratitude I share is direct and straightforward. _________ happened and I’m am thankful for it. Fairly easy formula, right? Today I paused and thought about it from a different perspective and took some of my own advice from my upcoming book (making serious headway – only a little bit to go before I share more on that one 😉) and following that lesson made all the difference.

Pretty sure this was how I looked by the end 😉

My workday included a total of EIGHT Zoom meetings. Yup, eight of them. Almost six hours of video conferencing. By the end my brain was wore out and I couldn’t bear to look at a screen. By the end I was asking myself why on Earth I would schedule a day like that.

That’s when it hit me. I paused and asked myself, “How can I be thankful for this?”

The answer was obvious. Today, through the power of Zoom and videoconferencing, I was able to be in four different cities in one day with no drive time. Rather than scheduling a handful of days utilizing more time due to driving I was able to get everything done in one day. That’s truly amazing! Thanks to this technology I was able to find a way to create more usable time.

The results of all of the conversations were profoundly inspiring and motivating on many different levels. I was able to live closer into my purpose as a result of each conversation. Had I met only in person I would not have had the same sense of completion nor the opportunity to see how many different conversations molded together. My day was better as a result of having all those conversations in one day.

What’s interesting is that my day tomorrow will be a polar opposite. I have two important meetings, both in person, and I will travel a total of three and a half hours for the two hours of conversation. For both the opportunity to meet in person will make all the difference.

Days like today remind me to pause in the middle of frustration to actively seek out a reason to be thankful. The eight Zooms today led to remarkable progress – much more positive than a minor case of Zoom exhaustion.

Thanks!!!