April 16, 2013

It’s funny, just last night I was saying that I feel like I’m getting my bearings in my new job and can see how it all works out where I have a nice work/life balance. And then 24 hours later I feel overwhelmed with new information, more responsibilities and additional challenges. Am I back at square one? No, not at all, but I do lose that sense I’m getting to the edge of the pool or back to shore.

I’m not sure this is a bad thing though. I’ve never been great at “the journey” and tended to focus on “the destination”. Perhaps now with this new job that, especially at the beginning as I examine the trees and occasionally see the forest they create, I can learn to embrace the process rather than just the end result. I guess we shall see, but in the meantime I am learning so much, experiencing a satisfied exhaustion.

*Image courtesy of Happily Ever After Now. Tumblr blog.

(via positivelypresent)

Filed under words of wisdom Treading Water Hard Work Keep the Faith

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March 22, 2013

Today on Facebook this image was posted on the page for The Color Run. As I am about to finish my first week of a new job it is time to really think about how to manage the hours in the day, the priorities in life, the stress that comes with it all and remaining both mentally and physically healthy. Running seems like the obvious solution so I am working to get back into it after a two week hiatus. I’ve got my first 10k race in more than a year on the books for May. Here’s to running off the Friday donuts and insanity!

Filed under running The Color Run words of wisdom 10k fun!

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February 15, 2013

It’s Exciting aka Wisdom from Neil

Plans are very orderly. They are logical and perfect. Straight as an arrow. Flawless. As human beings, we like to make plans, and then follow them to reach a goal or a destination.

Nature, however, is not so orderly. It is chaotic and unpredictable. Sometimes it is calm; other times it is wild. Sometimes it’s safe; other times it’s dangerous.

Plans take place in our heads, but nature is the law of the world outside our thinking.

And so, I realized then, that there is no point in getting upset when something doesn’t go according to plan. Because for a plan to unfold, it has to take place in nature. And nature, to twist a familiar saying, abhors a good plan.

Thus, my lesson that afternoon was to never curse or be frustrated
by obstacles that appear out of nowhere and block my path, but to
expect them. Because the obstacles are part of the journey.

Whatever you do or plan, there will be obstacles that you won’t be able to predict. And the bigger and more important the undertaking, the more likely the odds of encountering them will be. However, every obstacle is not actually an impediment, nuisance, or disaster: it is an opportunity for success.

Because it is by overcoming those obstacles that you learn and grow, and even find a sense of meaning and accomplishment. Clearing the path in front of us, building bridges to get somewhere, moving the seemingly unmoveable—that is what we’re here for. And rather than feeling stress or getting anxiety or saying “why me” when things get in your way or don’t go your way, you can think instead, “This is great. I’m going to get to learn something and grow from this.”

It’s exciting.

- Neil Strauss

Filed under Neil Strauss words of wisdom Latin School of Chicago author The Game Everyone Loves You When You're Dead Emergency books