Category Archives: Challenges

How are you challenging and stretching your capabilities

Posted on by

How are you challenging and stretching your capabilities? Put yourself to the test to expand your growth potential.

—Calm App Reflection

Barry and Ella

Our granddaughter Ella is an exuberant and expressive little girl.

She looks up to her six-year-old brother and wants to do whatever he’s doing, and more. She has little or no fear and abruptly objects whenever anyone tries doing things for her.

When it comes to buckling her car seat, peeling a mandarin orange, going on an amusement ride, or eating with chopsticks, she’s always up for the challenge.

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways are you challenging and stretching your capabilities?

Where can and will you put yourself to the test with greater exuberance and realize more of your growth potential?

 

“Life is like an onion; you peel off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep.”

Posted on by

“Life is like an onion; you peel off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep.”

—Carl Sandberg, 20th Century Pulitzer Prize winning poet and journalist

Image from Unsplash by Lars Blankers

Do you do much cooking? If so, how often do you use onions in your recipes?

If you use them often you know that they are most often sliced and diced rather than peeled layer by layer.

Life can be like that too, when its difficulties and challenges seem to slice through our existing plans and expectations.

Getting back to cooking, what happens when our layered friends are sautéed and browned?

Yep! the caramelization process brings out natural sugars to enhance their subtle sweetness!

EXERCISE:

Like an onion, how can you bring out more of life’s sweetness into your days and accept the tears that often come as we slice, dices and layer?

What helps you take the challenging aspect of life in stride

Posted on by

What helps you take the challenging aspect of life in stride?

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Copper and Wild

FULL QUOTE: “What helps you take the challenging aspect of life in stride? What lollipops of love do you give yourself and others to make the world a little sweeter?”

Wendy and I recently spent several days with the family of a very close friend who passed away suddenly.

During this time, family and friends from near and far gathered to acknowledge and celebrate this wonderful man.

Along with the tremendous outpouring of love and support, many of the people in attendance brought all types of treats for everyone to share as we offered sweet stories from the life of this very special soul.

EXERCISE:

How do you serve and support others in your communities facing challenging times?

What gestures and offerings ease the pain to help make life a bit sweeter?

Embrace all of your wins no matter their size

Posted on by

Embrace all of your wins no matter their size.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by National Cancer Institute

As we begin a new year it is a common practice to reflect on the year gone by to see how it compared to our expectations.

Far too many of us experience regret and even shame for coming up short of our grandiose plans. With the wind knocked out of our sails, it’s increasingly difficult to shoot for the stars again in the year ahead.

Instead of looking through these lenses, consider the phrase What I got done today is what I got done today.

Acknowledge all your wins, in which you met the many challenges that landed in your lap the past 365 days.

EXERCISE:

Display the phrase What I got done today is what I got done today on your bathroom mirror.

Reflect on its simple wisdom each morning and night as you brush your teeth for at least two minutes.

Better dental checkups will be an added bonus!

Muddy water is best cleaned by leaving it alone

Posted on by

“Muddy water is best cleaned by leaving it alone.”

—Alan Watts, English writer who interpreted Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophy for a Western audience

Image from Unsplash by Josh Calabrese

Where in your life are you experiencing muddy waters and can’t see your way forward?

Where have things become turbulent with diverse issues and heated emotions where things are murky and messy?

If you were a scuba diver, heading to the surface to see the light of day and gain some perspective would be a reasonable first step.

Pausing and letting things settle before diving back in seems wise as well.

When you and others finally do dive back in, how would slower and more thoughtful efforts help you see more clearly to swim to the other side of your issues?

EXERCISE:

Where in your life would leaving things alone help clear things up to see a new way forward?

“The path of least resistance is a terrible teacher.”

Posted on by

“The path of least resistance is a terrible teacher.”

—Ryan Holiday, American author and host of the podcast The Daily Stoic

Image from Unsplash by Taylor Flow

Look back on your life and consider your most impactful teachers.

Which of them left a lasting impression where — even today — you still refer to their lessons?

How often do you recall wanting to be challenged and stretched versus going for that easy “A”?

In today’s convenience-centric world, the goal most often seems to focus on maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.

What has this approach taught us and how has it weakened our spirits and resolve?

EXERCISE:

Consider reading Robert Fritz’s book, The Path of Least Resistance to see what it has to offer.

Feel free to let me know your top take-aways as you wrestle with this concept.

See the humanity in others. We are all wrestling with our own stuff

Posted on by

See the humanity in others. We are all wrestling with our own stuff that is making life messy and difficult.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Bud Helisson

To a certain degree we are all narcissists. We can’t help but look through the lenses of our own trials and challenges each day. Doing this can often create a separation between ourselves and others in our communities. We can come to think that the burdens we carry are somehow unique to us and are of far greater magnitude.

I recently watched the National Geographic series 9/11 One Day in America. and got a big wake up call at how our troubles pale in comparison. I’ve also realized in the past few years since Covid the wrestling done by most people is far more than I ever imagined.

EXERCISE:

To what degree do you take the time to fully embrace the humanity in others? Take a few extra moments today to be interested rather than interesting and see what you discover.

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor

Posted on by

“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”

—Truman Capote, 20th Century American novelist, playwright and actor

Image from Unsplash by the blowup

Wendy and I recently spent a week in Florida to help celebrate one of our dear friend’s 90th birthday. This special lady is only four feet eight inches tall and probably weighs only a bit more than my five-year-old grandson.

During our time together, I had numerous chances to discuss some of her challenging life events and pivotal moments that helped shape who she is.

It is often said that good things come in small packages—in her case, I’m sure that her keen wit, energy and enthusiastic love of life had folks come from near and far to celebrate her flavorful life!

EXERCISE:

How would a shift from seeing failure as a bitter pill to a tasty condiment give your life more flavor to savor in the years ahead?

 

Deep roots are not reached by the frost

Posted on by

“Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of The Rings

Image from Unsplash by Ross Stone

Over the last month, much attention has focused on the many wildfires in Canada and their significant impact on the air quality in many North American cities.

Canada has 28% of the world’s Boreal Zones, which represents 552 million hectares (a hectare is about 2.5 acres or 10,000 square meters). About 75% of this area is forest and woodlands.

Forest fires have a renewal capacity to keep these relatively young forests spanning the earth in other countries including the United States, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and China.

Some additional good news to counter the carbon releasing aspects of these fires is that their roots go deep enough to keep these trees alive through the often-bitter cold winters experienced in these regions. Many bird species and animals—such as caribou—count on this deeply rooted ecosystem to thrive.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life are you deeply rooted?

How does this capacity help you survive and thrive during the burning and frigid aspects of life?

“When elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers.”

Posted on by

“When elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers.”

—African proverb

Image from Unsplash by Jonathan Plugaru

Who are the elephants in your world? Take a look through your personal and professional communities. Look also beyond your immediate communities to national and global elephants that are throwing their weight around.

How are their skirmishes and all-out brawls impacting the grass and smaller, less powerful creatures beneath their feet? How much disruption, destruction, and scars are left that may never fully heal?

EXERCISE:

Where and how can you use the sunnier, milder days of the coming spring to calm the elephants in your world?

What actions can you take to reseed your world for all creatures to graze in peace?