Trail Tips – Page 6 – Al Andersen

What’s your next step…. A trail tip

It’s the one in front of you. But yet so often we find ourselves dwelling in the past; with its failures or the future; with its fears. Dr. Caroline Leaf, in her book, “Think Learn Succeed” writes: “We need to learn to savor the pleasure of the now and not just marinate in the misery of the past or imagine the grass will be greener in the future [but are never willing to step into it]. When we choose to truly tune in to the now -to see, listen, feel, move, taste, and inhale the present, using all our senses to soak up the minute beauty of the moment- we enhance our thinking and thereby enhance our ability to learn and succeed in life.”

Thinking about this quote in context of hiking; the applicability of it; hits home in the longer hikes I’ve done over the past year, especially with my Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim hike. It’s starts with a nice 14 mile trail that drops 5800 feet. Getting to the bottom, you start to see the top of the south rim 9 mile away with its 4800 feet of gain. And there is no other magic carpet to get you there. At this point, I was only thinking about getting to the top and not taking in the beauty of the moment. Looking back now, I wasn’t savoring the pleasure of the moment, as I did do on the way down, but not at all on the way up. So many moments I missed because of my sole focus on getting out of the canyon. And it was the same for other longer hikes I did over the year; spending more time checking out my time instead of checking in with my surroundings. How I want to get back to “being in the moment” instead of just “doing the moment” with my hikes.

In our personal life, we also have those mountains that look too dauting to climb. For me it’s a house remodeling project that has become a mountain that I’m afraid to start climbing. Do I simply restore a water damaged office and laundry room back to its’ original condition or do I use this opportunity to create something much greater by knocking out some load bearing walls with a kitchen expansion and laundry room remodeling? The latter giving me the opportunity to “enhance my thinking and thereby enhance my ability to learn” [with also giving my sons practical home remodeling skills].

At work, the mountains are everywhere and so often we don’t “tune in to the now -to see, listen, feel, move, taste, and inhale the present”. Rather it becomes all about getting the “next thing done”, as we hurry to finish the present task. It needs to become a daily/hourly focus of staying present and “soaking up the minute beauty of the moment.”

How many of us have found ourselves waking up at 3 in the morning thinking about those mountains staring us in the face? Our minds are filled with the stress, fear, and anxiety of not knowing if we are going to be able to successful or what will happen if we fail. It’s like that baseball player coming to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning; down by one run with a team member on 2^nd base. We can have that fear of never winning the game or we can step into the moment, inhale all that life has to give us and win the game in the moment. It all starts with savoring the pleasure of the moment and taking the next steps one step at a time. What moments are you going to savor and soak up today?

Creating Community…. A trail tip

Community. It’s something that is getting discovered all over again. Face Book, Meet-up, and other social media outlets are all now pushing community as a way to get back to adding the more personal aspects of how do we life together. Yet, I think we all struggle with what does community really look like and how do we actually create community and more importantly, LASTING community (the picture here is community that started 35 years ago in a young couple’s class). My word picture for community is one of having your hands touch at the finger tips with the five points of contacts (activities). Each one of the contact points being one of the touch points within a given community; so, if one or even two points (activities) are no longer connected, the other touch points still keep the community together. And within these activities, there needs to be the: intentionality, commitment, availability, confidentiality, openness, etc.

Hiking is a form of community that draws us together. 14ers.com, The Manitou Incline Everything’s Better on the Incline, and other Face Book sites allow us to become part of communities where we can connect. But within these sites, it can become easy to let others do all the work; with us just gleaming the information, but not doing any of the initiation needed to connect and create community. I know at times, I don’t post or invite others to hike with me because I think “It’s a hassle to hike with others that may be faster or slower than me.” In those times, I need to remind myself of what Pastor Boyd said: “You may go faster by yourself, but you will go further with others.” Thus reminding me that it’s not about how fast I’m going, but the community I’m creating by hiking with others. And like the five points of contact with finger tips; it’s a variety of hiking distances with others; which for me this past year was everything from local 4-mile short hikes to Balanced Rock to a 3-day road trip to hike 27 miles across the Grand Canyon.

In my personal life, community can take place with my neighbors, associations, and those on the outer perimeter in my life. Having become a “dog” family, I’ve found that our dog has gotten us to interact with our neighbors faster than anything else, because he is always getting out and wanting to play with the other dogs that live around us. Thus, getting us to go find him and interact with others. Birthday parties, summer BBQs, playing “Hand and Foot” are just some ways we can do life together. Within each of our community groups, it’s important to have a variety of activities that keep us connected. In one case, a community for us started as five couples getting together for a meal and discussion twice a month. Additional touch points then came to life as the guys started a monthly movie night and the gals would get together for lunch.

At work, community comes with the one-on-one interactions and finding common areas of interest. I’ve been in several “team” meetings, where we have exchanged pleasantries, but with no real connections taking place. However, when I moved those interactions to a one-on-one lunch discussion or a hike/walk; a whole new world opened up as questions are asked to start conversations. And I really think it’s the asking of questions that cracks open the door for community to start taking place as we show genuine interest in others. I remember at different times, where I started with simple questions like: “I noticed you haven’t been at work lately?” or “I see you went from a supervisory role to a contributor role, how did that make you feel?” While both are more personal type questions; when asked in the context of being one-on-one with intentionality, the openness is there a majority of the time. In both cases, the responses were very lengthy; and at the end, both people basically said “Wow, I’ve never shared that with anyone at work, but then, you are the first one to ever ask that question.”

Community: we all want it, but so often we don’t know how to start creating it. I’m reminded of when we had a Russian translator visiting us here in America and after a few weeks with him being here, I asked him, “What do you like and dislike about America so far?” His response was: “I like it when people ask me how are you doing? But I don’t like it when I start to take 5 minutes to tell them and they are already walking away.” Let’s become intentional about taking the time to listen to the responses from others and build on that with follow-up questions. Community; it can start with simply being available and just asking one question at a time.

Using your pipes…. A trail tip

Recently my wife and I had the opportunity to attend a Steven Curtis Chapman Solo Concert. There he talked about growing up with an older brother who was also into music and as Steven admitted “he has much better Pipes (singing voice) then I do. And in an attempt to be better (more like his brother), he focused on trying to imitate his brother’s singing style, resulting in the harder he tried, the less success he had. During that time, he was taken aside by influencers in his life, who told him that he needs to play to his strengths, which centered around his song writing skills and playing those songs from his heart. Now at the age of 56, he is still writing, singing, and performing to his strengths having written 302 songs and releasing 24 albums. http://stevencurtischapman.com/

Which raises the questions of, “Am I playing to my strengths in my hiking, personal, and work life? Or do I know what my strengths are?” In case you don’t here are a few ways to find out your strengths. One is to get the book “StrengthsFinders 2.0” which will take you through an assessment to get to your top 5 strengths and then gives examples on how to build on them. For me, my strengths showed up as: Maximizer, Winning Others Over (Woo), Communication, Positivity, and Includer. Another way is to ask your close friends: “Hey if you were attending my funeral day, what would you say about me?”

In hiking, because of social media; i.e. Face Book, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to imitate others and chase after their achievements; 14ers.com, The Manitou Incline Everything’s Better on the Incline, and other Face Book sites all allow us to post our hiking exploits. I’m not saying it’s wrong to post them and admire others, but we need to beware and check ourselves to make sure we are not chasing after hikes that don’t play to our strengths. As an example, my hiking strengths are centered around maximizing my hiking routine and health by getting out 3 times per week with a goal of 15 miles and 4,000 feet elevation gain total. And with that; including others who want to get to know about these local trails aka, taking 21 guys up the incline. While I admire, and like to read about everyone who wants to bag all the 14ers, that is not on my radar.

In my personal life, Face Book can also become a place where we can chase after the lives of others. And I think it becomes harder as we get older and start hitting those milestone decade birthdays. We start to compare ourselves to our peers on Face Book and can go down paths that are not healthy for us. I believe God calls us to “run the race that is set before us” with the strengths we have been; which gives us what we need to accept the challenges/adversities to grow to the next level.

At work, the spotlight shines on our strengths and weakness; especially during the dreaded performance review; where we are often given great details on what we need to improve on, aka; our weaknesses. Yet in reality, it’s our strengths we need to focus on and exploit. Focusing on our weaknesses (the potential strengths of others) will only get us to “average” at best; but focusing on our strengths, can excel us to new heights we never thought possible.

Getting back to story of Steven Curtis Chapman; it was the influencers and mentors in his life who were able to help him realize his strengths and be able to exploit them. Instead of waiting for those people to come into our lives, we need to be proactive and actively seek out others who can give us feedback on our strengths. As we start to close out this year, take some time to ask a few friends in your hiking, personal, and work circles; “What do you think I should be doing to build on my strengths in these different areas of my life as we move into 2019?”

Emotional Memory…. A trail tip

emotional memory boys Recently I attended a day long Mental Health seminar, where in one breakout session “emotional memory” was discussed in relationship to trauma brain. It’s when we connect strong emotions to memories, which cause them to stay with us and be able to recall. And the emotions don’t distinguish between good or bad events. It’s why we can remember great details on specific events in our life, for me examples include: my wedding on 7/3/82, what I was doing on 9/11 (but not on 10/11 or 12/11), the evening I broke my leg, going to Russia in July/August 2004 for our adoption, etc. It’s why some events are hard to talk about in our lives because of all the “emotions” we have attached to them. As I pondered this whole idea of emotional memories, it got me thinking about the emotional memories I’m attaching to my hiking, personal, and work life; along with how I can better manage them in a positive way.

In hiking there are a number of “different events” that can create and trigger emotional memories. On the negative side; it can be dogs that attack you, people leaving trash, disrespect of trails, tragic events (Tim Watkins) etc. Our decision with “what I can control” can determine how I move forward; past these negative created emotions. Do I let them ruin my hikes or do I realize I cannot control the behavior of others out on a trail; so, I work to disregard them. On the positive side of emotional memory, what I am doing to create positive emotional remembered hikes. And it not like every hike will be an emotional remembered hike. For me it’s those special ones that trigger emotions that cause the memories to flood in: hiking the Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim, seeing the Captain Sydney Harrison crash site or more recently the B-17 crash site.

In my personal life, I’ve already mentioned some key emotional memories, so here I’m thinking about how can I affect the emotional memories with family members. Recently my wife, Arlene was gone for five days to attend a wedding in North Carolina, leaving me home with my two sons. Before she left, I got thinking about what kind of emotional memories do I want to create with my sons while she is gone; and how do I want my sons to remember times like these. Will it be dad engaging with them or will it be dad with harshness, anger, etc. because they are not meeting my every request right away. And what are the emotional memories I’m creating with my wife. Do my words (and tone) create positive responses or negative ones which can create wounds hard to heal.

At work I have lots of positive emotional memories from when I often traveled and able to take Arlene with me. But then there was also the emotional memory of getting the phone call telling me I was getting laid off. I’ve realized that many of my negative emotional memories are tied to difficult co-workers and managers. Getting called into an office or assigned to work with a certain person can trigger a knot in my stomach (from a previous bad encounter); even though this could be a positive opportunity in the current situation.

It’s really a matter of choice; am I going to let those past negative emotional memories hold me back from experiencing new positive opportunities or do I allow myself to move forward. Yes, we all have painful memories, but to what extent do I allow them to control my future. It’s time for us to intentionally start planning and creating those positive memories. What can we do in the next week, month, and year to create positive emotional memories in our hiking, personal, and work life.

The Cost of Anger…. A trail tip

Russland, Sturmgeschütz und Panzer III im Schnee

Let’s admit it; we all get angry and most of us have an anger problem to one degree or another. And while we self-analyze to see what is causing the anger; how often do we look at what our “anger is costing us” as a way to get us to reduce our anger. This idea hit home to me as I was reading “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”, by William L. Shirer. In it, there is the story of Yugoslavia’s internal upheavals which changed their alliance from being with Germany to being against Germany. This angered Hitler, which caused him to delay his invasion of Russia and spend April of 1941 invading and occupying Yugoslavia. Hitler’s invasion of Russia thus began later in June of 1941, and not getting his army to the outskirts of Moscow until December of 1941 because of early snow in Russia. Thus, giving time for the Russian army to regroup and push back the German attack. William Shirer make the case that to some extent, Hitler loss of Russia was because of the cost of his anger toward Yugoslavia creating the delay of the invasion of Russia. Which gets me to this Trail Tip of thinking about what my anger “costing me” when I let it get out of hand with my actions.

In Hiking, there are a lot things that can get me angry. And we all experience them at some time: dog poop bags left on trails, trash discarded, people cutting across switchbacks, agreeing to hike with others who say they are in the same shape as you, but have a completely different mindset on what is a fast pace, etc. In the past, I’ve tended to let this anger “cost and rob” me of the joy of the hike I’m on. Now when I see one of these things that anger me; I’m starting to ask myself “Just because this person is a jerk leaving trash/poop bags on the trail; is it worth focusing on them and ruining the mindset of why I’m on this hike in the first place?” “Or isn’t getting to know this person more important than “saving the 15 minutes I would get by hiking faster and leaving them behind?”

In my personal life, my anger tends to be around other car drivers and (unfortunately) family members closest to me. It’s amazing how often we hear stories of road rage and the deadly results that come from things as simple as just getting cut off in traffic by another person. Here I’ve come to have the mindset that the “nut” behind the wheel is the loosest thing in the car (including mine), so let go of it. In my home, I’ve found I can get angry over the simplest of things. For example; last night I asked my son to wrap up the last two pieces of his pizza and put them into the refrigerator for another meal. Five minutes later I saw him throw it away, which got me thinking about how I’m going to teach him a lesson; next time he wants some pizza, I’ll give him a few less pieces and say, look I’m just eating the pizza you were going to throw away… Are the few dollars I lost on the pizza he tossed more important than the relationship I need to build with my son? And this is just one of many examples of anger that gets played out in our home, where my self righteousness and pride become more important than the relationships around me.

At work, our anger often comes from: not getting the promotion, people not responding promptly to our requests, not getting the “choice” assignment, etc. Here we need to be very careful with what we do with this anger, as the cost of our anger is often the thing we were angry with in the first place; no promotion, not getting the special assignment or worse; termination. For me I’ve found the best outlet and release of work anger is to develop confidential relationships with peers and managers, who I can use as a sounding board to express my frustrations. I start most of these conversations with something like: “Can I meet with you for a few minutes to allow me to express my anger/frustration/etc. about _____? I’m not necessarily asking for a solution, but rather an understanding ear, who knows the work environment and situation I’m dealing with.”

Anger; we all have it at times and we can learn feel the signs when it’s getting out of control. For me, it’s the raised voice and tension that I feel in my neck, shoulders, and back. I’m trying to pay more attention to these signs and mentally ask myself; “What is this anger episode going to cost me if I act on it?”. We can also intercept our anger by proactively thinking about what are the likely things that may make me angry this week and what are the least costly ways of addressing it. And asking “What is this anger action going to cost me in the long run?”

Keeping It Fresh…. A trail tip

Welcome to my 50th Trail Tip. A journey I started almost a year and a half ago. As I pondered ideas for this Trail Tip; the word and challenge I kept thinking about was how to keep it fresh, which in turn helps keep it consistent. Keeping our hiking, personal, and work life fresh; creates consistency and allows for growth and new insight.
In hiking, there are a number of ways to help keep the hikes fresh and new. Start by moving out of your comfort zone to look for new trails and wonder how they are connected when viewing them from overlooks. Another way I’ve found is to mix up the standard trails by combining a few of them together and create a new route. Then there is the sharing of your trail knowledge with others and seeing the excitement as others see a new trail for the first time. I recently did this by combining the routes of “Sundance Loop” and “Ice Cave Cliffs” into an 8-mile hike with 2300 feet of gain. It was refreshing to see the wonder on the faces of the two people I took with me as it was completely new to one person, half new to the other person, and even I saw it in a new way. I often get asked “How do I know the trails so well by where we live?” My response is, “When you hike these trails 3 times a week or about 120 times a year, you can create a very vivid map picture in your mind.” Any yet, with always finding new trails and guiding others, the hiking stays fresh.
In our personal life, we can keep things fresh by being intentional about wanting to learn new things and create new habits. Since the beginning of year, I’ve started committing to reading for about an hour each day by giving up TV time. With a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, I’m finding my mind is much more engaging and fresh as I see the world that fills my mind from the book I’m reading at the time. Writing these Trail Tips, has also helped to keep my mind fresh, because as soon as one is done, I need to start thinking about what to write next and that thought becomes a mediation for about a week as I put together the thoughts to put on paper.
At work, it can be easy to lose the freshness of the daily grind. Having a servants’ heart and being willing to help others is one way to keep things fresh. When we have the opportunity to invest in others, we grow ourselves as we discover new insights when we share information we already know. Then there is the learning we gain as we take on new projects, use new tools, and work with different people. It’s having the attitude of wanting to be a consistent learner; that will help keep our minds fresh for years to come.
Keeping It Fresh can be a weekly/daily/hourly challenge as we go through the routines in our hiking, personal, and work lives. And it is also one of the most important things to do to keep us healthy. My goal is to keep hiking into my 90’s, start taking piano lessons again in my 60’s, publish these Trail Tips in a book in a few years, and have a 50-year wedding anniversary down the road. But none of these things will happen if I’m not keeping them fresh. Just like the picture in this post has a new day beginning above the clouds; what new beginning are you doing and going to do to keep the areas of your life fresh and alive.

For the JOY of it…. A trail tip

Since I started working in an office in downtown Colorado Springs, I’ve had to adjust my weekly hiking routine and look for trails close to the office. One of those areas is Bear Creek Park, and asking a “seasoned” hiker in the office what they knew about the: distances, elevation gain, loops to do, and how much time does it take to do them, etc.; he responded: “I don’t know any of these answers, because now I don’t wear a watch, carry a map, have a GPS, or even know where I’m going till I hit the trail: cause I’m now running for the joy and pleasure I get from getting out.” My response was “no, really, I need to know these answers” and I got the same response from him; which after I thought about it for a few minutes, got me asking myself, when was the last time I hiked without an electronic measuring device. And I didn’t have an answer….
In hiking, while I say I’m out there for the enjoyment of it, I’m ALWAYS tracking my time, distance, elevation, route, and looking at my phone app to track my pace. I can’t remember a time when I just went for a hike for the pure JOY of it; leaving all my tracking devices at home. As I’ve been processing this idea, I thought, maybe I could try it for a month, (no that’s too long, cause I’m tracking year over year), how about a week, (no that would mess up my monthly goals), could I do it for a single hike (well maybe). But not on the incline, cause there’s never a joy in doing the incline (that only comes when you reach the top). This reflection has made me realize, that even though I say I’m out for the pleasure of it, I am tied to my performance tracking.
In my personal life, my “numbers” are: how many friends do I have on Facebook, how many likes did I get with my last Trail Tip, did you see all 100 of the pictures I posted from my last trip? Look at all the wonderful projects I just finished on my house. And how much Joy and Pleasure am I getting from checking Facebook every 10 minutes? Plus, are all these friends on Facebook; really my friends? What have I done to connect with them on a more personal level? When was the last time I went out for breakfast, coffee, or lunch with any of them? Or even just called them to catch up on a phone call. Just like in ditching the electronics in hiking; on a personal level, I need to get back to the one-on-one personal contact and relationship building. As it’s been said; “We need to have more Face Time and less Face Book.”
In my work life, my “numbers” are how many contacts do I have on LinkedIn; how many views did I get on my last Trail Tip, how many people have viewed my profile in the last 90 days, how many new people have asked to connect with me? Yes, I know that LinkedIn is a very important part of business; but has it become just a “numbers” game to me? Have I made any effort to get to know my local LinkedIn contacts? When was the last time I ever had breakfast, coffee, or lunch with any of them? Or worse, maybe I’ve yet to meet them in person for the first time. Is my joy in the numbers or the actual relationships I need to nurture? As the title of the book from Keith Ferrazzi says “Never Eat Alone and other secrets to success, one relationship at a time”
It’s time to take a step back and look at all the numbers we are chasing and why we do the things we do. Have I (you) lost the joy and pleasure in what I’m doing? What will it take for me to go on a hike for the pure joy of it, without all the measuring devices I carry with me? Who do I need to reconnect with on a personal level over a meal or coffee? What will it take to break out of the “eat lunch at your office desk” mentality and make some new in person connections.

Appreciating History…. A trail tip

old incline 1

It’s been said there are three phases to interactions with those around us. We start in the PRESENT, go into the FUTURE, and learn/create a HISTORY as we do life together. And there is a lot to be learned about history when we consider our hiking, personal, and work lives. And knowing that History adds richness to our interactions and creates better connections.

In hiking, I’m always seeking to find more information about the history and significance of the trails I hike. In the Monument/Palmer Lake area, the main mountains are: Herman, Raspberry, Chautauqua, and Sundance. Yet only on Raspberry will you find remains of small exploratory mining pits with trails names of Mule Trail and Ore bucket. And getting out on the Sidney Harrison Trail, you can find the remains of the Captain Sidney Harrison airplane crash site from 1952. At the top of the Manitou incline, you can see the concrete foundations of the station house from about 100 years ago. Completed in 1907 the Manitou Incline was a 1 mile cable tram built to support the construction of a hydroelectric plant and its water pipe line. It was then bought by private owners and became a tourist attraction. Closed in 1990 because of rock slide damage, over time it became the incline we have come to know and love today. Then there is Jones Park area (located above the Seven Bridges trail), it was a way station on one of the original trails to the top of Pikes Peak. This is just a few examples of some of the “history” that is right in our back yard; and once we know about it, it adds context and color to the hiking trails we do all the time. What is the history in your “back yard” you can learn about?

In my personal life, my family has been able to create a history and move into the future with friends we known since being in “young couples” classes at our church. Friendships that are still going strong after 35 years. Taking the time to ask others about interests, hobbies, and history creates connections for meaningful relationship and a healthier future. Or as our Pastor Brady Boyd has said “You may go faster by yourself, but you will go further with others.” Things can also serve as history to give us a glimpse into the past of those around us. In our front yard, we have a “lawn decoration”, which is a one row corn planter pulled by horses that my grandfather-in-law used 100 years ago to farm with. This has been used to start numerous conversation about how my wife grew up on a farm in central Nebraska.

In work, knowing the history of others gives a window to get to know each other better as well. I have worked; and work today with several people who have immigrated from other countries. Some have come on their own as adults, others came as teenagers with their families. And hearing their history, I reply with: “The only difference between us is about 100 years.” As both my grandparents came here from Denmark and Germany about 1905 through Ellis Island. The different being, it took months to let family back home know they made it, verses today where you could make a call or Skype the moment you landed here. This leads to greater mutual appreciation of our cultures and history, with the result being a more untied work force.

History, it’s out there in our friends, places we have seen, and things around us. I would encourage you to take some time this year -wherever you are- to learn some history about the trails, people, and things in your life. Knowing this history provides a better appreciate of everything around us and how we can better relate to the world we live in.

Putting the pieces together…. A trail tip

On a day in 2010 the residents in the Red Rocks area of Monument CO., were startled by a loud crashing sound that shook the ground in their neighborhood. Everyone heard and felt it. People looked west to Mt. Herman and Raspberry Mountain, expecting to see the smoke of large airplane that went down; but saw nothing. Calls were made to 911 and the police drove around the area, but couldn’t find anything. The local residents forgot about it over time and it became a distant memory until early 2018. That’s when the Ore Bucket trail opened-up on the west side of Raspberry Mountain and while hiking this trail with a friend who lives in the Red Rocks area, we came across a boulder the size of a two-story house that came down the mountain side and took out a long swath of trees. [Yes, it’s visible from Google Satellite Maps, see attached picture]. Staring at the boulder, the swath it took out, and where it landed, my friend realized that this is what they felt and heard eight years ago. This was the missing piece of the puzzle that put the story all together of what happened back then. And it got me wondering about what pieces of the puzzles am I missing from the areas in my hiking, personal, and work life.
In hiking, how many trails do you pass by that you don’t know where they go? It’s easy to get comfortable do the same trails all the time because they are predictable. I know, I do it all the time. At the Manitou incline there is a trail that starts right next to the incline; I see it but have never taken it. Then at the top of the incline, there are close by remains of build structures that I’ve never taken the time to explore and just beyond the incline is Rocky Mountain that I’ve never gone to the top of. All pieces of the local hiking area that I’ve never taken the time to explore and put together to create a more complete picture of what is available in the area. I think it’s my “busyness” that prevents me from taking time to slow down and explore new trails.
In our personal life, we say we want to know people, but do we really take the time to get to know them and the stories of their life? Or as Sherlock Holmes says in the TV show Elementary, “My success is not because of whom I am, but because of whom I’ve come to know.” What are the life lessons of others around me, that can help fill in parts of the puzzle in my life? My father and two of my uncles were World War II era veterans who have passed away. Oh, what I would give now to be able to sit down with them and hear their stories of that time frame. It reminds me that everyone’s life is a puzzle, full of pieces from their past, present and future. And to get to know a person and see their life clearly, we need to invest time with them to see more of the pieces of their lives and have a better overall view of who they are.
Work is a puzzle as well. There are written rules, un-written rules, organizational habits, personalities, backgrounds, a culture, a history, mentors; all pieces of the puzzle that show the overall picture of an organization. Do I take time to know how the pieces all fit together? Do I look for connections?
Puzzles are hard work. They require: attention to detail, time, thought and wonder; as we look to see how pieces fit together. We need to rekindle that approach to the puzzles in our lives; paying attention to the details of people and events around us, so we start to see the bigger and more complete picture of how things are interconnected with each other in our lives. What things are you wondering about? What are the missing pieces that would allow you to see the whole story? What actions are you going to take to fill in more of the puzzles in your life? We treat most of our lives as random, non-connected events. Yet in reality things are more connected than we can ever image. It’s time to start looking at events and things taking place in the context of how they are connected -like pieces of a puzzle. And when we do, we will start to see stories and our world in a whole new way.

Adjusting to a New Season in Life… a trail tip

Farmer_and_tractor_planting

I admit it. I don’t like change at times. I like the way things are and I’m comfortable in them [to an extent anyway]. But to grow, we need to enter in and embrace the new seasons that come our way. And thus, after working virtual office for the past 8 years, I’ve entered into a new growing season of working 8 to 5 in a corporate office. Thus, impacting my schedule across my hiking, personal, and work life. I think success in any new season starts with attacking the challenges and exploring the opportunities that will be presented to us. And just because things are now different, it doesn’t mean we stop doing things in our hiking, personal, and work life; it just means we need to CHANGE to adjust to them. It’s important to remember that while making these changes, we still align with our core beliefs, values, and guiding principles.

After we moved to Colorado in 2010, I was told that to stay in shape for hiking, you need to have a foundation of hiking 3 times a week getting in a total of 15 miles and 4000 feet elevation gain. This was “easier” to do while working from home without having the driving commute time and having schedule flexibility. But in an 8 to 5 set work schedule, how would I adjust? It started with looking at the opportunities presented in the office I’m now working in; where I found they have shower facilities, are only a few miles from the Manitou Incline and Section 16 trail, and is very close to the Santa Fe trail. So, my adjustment will become hiking at 5:30 am or doing some daily shorter hikes (3 miles) over lunch hour on Santa Fe.

In my personal part of life, it becomes looking at how to make adjustments around the 8 to 5 work schedule and still fit in the family commitments. It’s looking at the opportunities and seeing where to make those changes. In the mornings, I’m now leaving a little earlier so I can take my son to school. And if there are evening events to go to, I’m finding that I’m meeting my family there instead of thinking I need to drive home and then backtrack with them. This new season is making me look at where my time is being spent as well and what is important. I’m finding I’m already watching less TV during the weekdays and “projects” are becoming a lot more prioritized with me starting to say NO to more things.

In work the challenges are all over the place with new: people, processes, cultures, and systems to learn. And it can be hard at times; just like a farmer during the planting season. The ground (my habits) must be broken up so the seed (new work ideas) can be planted. Crops are rotated with different ones being planted in the same ground area each year. This prevents the ground from becoming stagnant because different crops affect the soil in their own way. Just like different ideas keep us fresh. Another key to success in work with a new season is to also get to know the people and asking them to be a mentor for you. There can be things to learn from them in both their work life and related outside professional interest, which you will only find out if you ask questions. Here I found that a co-worker is involved with a local chapter of the Project Management Institute and is going to be a coach to me as I work on my Project Management Profession certification.

Where are you in your current season of life or are you stating to move into a different season? If you are in a current season and starting to get burned out, do you need to make some adjustments by “rotating the crops” or making other changes. If you are moving to a new season, do you know the challenges and opportunities that you will be facing in it? In either scenario, what changes do you need to be making in your hiking, personal, and work life; so, you not only live in the season, but thrive and grow in it as well. Or as Timothy Ferriss says in his book, the 4-Hour Workweek, “Ninety-nine percent of the people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for the mediocre.” I challenge you (and myself) to become that “one-percent” in the season of life you are living in today.