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Growing with Grace

Growing with Grace

by | May 7, 2020 | Uncategorized

One of the offshoots (no pun intended) of this pandemic has been the emergence of a volunteer tomato plant that has taken root.  Since mid-March, it has been producing tomatoes, and I noticed that one of them is almost ready to be picked.!  I wanted to pick it this morning, it feels almost ripe enough and I have already decided how I am going to enjoy it.  But I thought better of picking it, it needs a few more days of sunshine and growth, and a little bit of grace (from me).

I am not a gardener, or at least I was not a gardener pre-pandemic.  But thanks to the stay at home orders, almost everything has changed.

Spontaneous trips to the grocery store have been replaced by daily long walks with my dog.  Ordering take-out has been replaced by scouring the Joy of Cooking cookbook for new meals to cook at home.  In-person meetings have been replaced with FaceTime sessions and Zoom calls.  Hours that were spent skimming the news have been replaced by hours with my nose buried in books.

 

And then, there is growth.

 

Oh my, the growth that is happening!  Not only physically (hair, nails, waistline), but the mental growth too.  Learning something new and growing my knowledge base has become an almost daily practice.  Today, most of my conversations with clients and colleagues almost always include “I’ve never tried that before, but let’s give it a shot” and I am growing through all of it.

That is not to say that it is easy.  It is tough work.  It is uncomfortable.  There are moments that I am longing to be back to the way things used to be.  Longing to be back to normal.  But the growth is allowing me to look at what it is that I am leaving behind, and the room that I am making for new habits, new opportunities, and new skills (gardening is one of them).

A common thread through all this growth for me is the presence of grace.  Grace is the rudder that is keeping me on course when the storms of self-doubt approach, grace is the warm quilt that comforts me, grace is that tiny ray of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy day.  Is growth difficult?  Yes.  Is growth possible with a bit of grace?  Absolutely.

A New Outlook

A New Outlook

by | Jan 12, 2020 | Uncategorized

It’s a new year and with it, a slew of changes. Changes in my daily schedule, changes in my commitments, changes in relationships, and most recently, a change in outlook.

 

I signed up for an 8 week spinning® performance class. This class is in addition to my normal workouts and it is much more specific. It applies science to my workout, everything from RPM to bike positioning to heart rate to recovery periods.

 

For an overthinking test anxiety stricken person like me, this introduces a whole new set of unknowns and challenges.

 

This morning I had to retest my heart rate and threshold with my coach. My initial test was too high, I wasn’t setting myself up for success and I could feel it. As she ran through the test with me she said: “I think you’re underestimating how hard you are working.”

 

She was referring to my heart rate and the amount of exertion on the bike. But her comment struck home. How many times in our lives do we underestimate ourselves? How many times do we underestimate our worth, our effort?

 

The start to the year has been a tricky one, and if I’m being honest, I’ve been underestimating my own capabilities, doubting my ability to adjust to change, underestimating my strength.

 

Maybe you’ve been feeling this way too. And maybe you needed to hear that you’re not alone in this. And maybe (hopefully) you have someone in your life who can point out ever so gently that you don’t need to underestimate yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back, because you can do hard things.

 

Happy New Year!

Breathe

Breathe

by | Oct 26, 2019 | Uncategorized

This morning found me at the 6:00 a.m. Spinning ®️ class, silently cursing the extra scoop of ice cream I treated myself to and the extra chapter of the book that kept me up past my bedtime. So you can only imagine my reaction when the instructor said to the class “focus on your breath, not the discomfort in your legs”

 

After silently muttering to myself a few choice words that I won’t share here, the thought occurred to me…how many times in the day have I focused only on the discomfort of a situation, the discomfort of an interaction, or even looking at an opportunity with discomfort? In those moments, how many times have I stopped and taken a breath? Have I taken a breath to give myself more energy, to relax, to gain some clarity?

 

Well, I listened to my instructor, I started to breathe, really breathe, and what do you know, my legs felt better, my heart rate hit it’s threshold and stayed there, and everything became much more clear.

 

Sometimes life’s best moments of clarity can be found by simply taking a breath and enjoying the (bike) ride.

Giving Up

Giving Up

by | Oct 16, 2019 | Uncategorized

I’m taking advantage of an uninterrupted block of time to think about giving up.

Not giving up in the sense of throwing in the towel and quitting, but giving up the battle, giving up the fight.

I recently had an interaction that upset me. It challenged me in new ways and made me question a few things.  

After I had a chance to distance and digest, to rest and reflect, I was able to embrace the art of giving up. I gave up the internal and external fight I was having with this situation. I gave up the quest to be right and “win” based on principle.

I gave it all up.

But I didn’t give up on myself. The beauty in all of this is that since this happened I have gained more than I ever thought I would gain. I gained professional growth, I gained peace of mind, I gained more time to focus on communicating the experiences and stories that truly matter, and I gained an experience that has only proven to make me stronger.

 

For those of you who are thinking of giving up: my one piece of advice to you is Go For It! Just make sure you don’t give up on yourself ????#jaisycommunications #smallbusiness #marketing #hawaiimarketing 

Riding through phases

Riding through phases

by | Sep 28, 2019 | Uncategorized

I’ll be honest.

After glancing at the gym floor and seeing this at 6:00 in the morning before my spin class, my first thought was to turn around and walk out the door.

Sometimes I see things like this and I rise to the occasion. I puff my chest up and psych myself up.

Not this morning.

But, in the words of a dear friend of mine, I said to myself “I can do hard things” 

So I got on my bike, started the ride and took the entire 60 minutes of class one Phase at a time.

I was sharing with someone the other day the difference I see in being a business owner versus an employee. As a business owner not only am I working for my clients in helping them accomplish their goals, but I’m also working for my business in helping my business accomplish its goals. Setting strategy, ensuring all of the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed, keeping up with trends in the marketplace and “filling the funnel” with business opportunities. 

“Is it hard?” She asked me. “Well, it’s not easy” was my reply. But being “not easy” isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Just like today’s workout. “Not easy” can be Moderate, and I’m okay with that.

Moving through the phases of life can be Somewhat Hard sometimes. It can also be Hard. And there are days when it’s Very Hard. 

The beauty in these phases is just that. They’re PHASES. They too shall pass (sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly as was evident in today’s ride), but if I stay true to form, stay true to the effort I put in, I know I will come out of these phases stronger than if I had just turned around and walked out of class. And you know what? I did!!

So here’s to all of you who are riding through all of the phases in life, whether they be Moderate, Somewhat Hard, Hard or Very Hard. You’ve got this, and I’m glad to be along for the ride with you…

Seeking Comfort

Seeking Comfort

by | Sep 11, 2019 | Uncategorized

It’s been a week.

I was speaking with a trusted friend the other day about a situation I am grappling with professionally and how ”it’s making me uncomfortable!” I complained.

 He said “Humans are a lot like horses in that all horses want is to be comfortable, all they want is to be out in the pasture with their buddies and they know that the sooner they get their job done, they’ll be comfortable. Right now, you’re uncomfortable and you don’t like it, you want to be comfortable don’t you?”

 It got me thinking about this quote I heard about entrepreneurs “99% of what you have to do to grow your business is stuff you’ve probably never done before. Stuff that’s out of your comfort zone.”

This rings SO true for me!

 I’ve needed to stop myself multiple times over the last few months and give myself a bit of grace in that this is part of building a business, heck, this is a part of life! Part of life is being uncomfortable, recognizing it for what it is, and moving back to that sense of comfort (which in this case scenario was simply about me learning the lesson and moving on).

 So for those of you entrepreneurs in my life (you know who you are), know that you’re not alone in your uncomfortableness, and you’ve got an ally in me, cheering you on every step of the way!

 In the meantime, I think I’ll enjoy my cup of tea and a night in to celebrate being comfortable again ☕️