I’m not usually into jigsaw puzzles. But on a recent family trip to the mountains, my 6 year-old niece wanted to do a puzzle we found in the closet. Pretty soon, it became overwhelming. 

Has this ever happened to you? 

That day, I had a decision to make. 

When I go for a walk, I have few decisions to make - one loop or more, short loop or long. It’s pretty easy, comfortable. I know what I’m getting into. But that particular day, as I approached a parking lot by the far side of the lake, I noticed it.

Should I keep doing what I’ve always done, or try something different?

I decided to go for it. It was going to be an experiment, but how bad could it be? Turns out, pretty bad. Even though I did some research and felt reasonably optimistic about the outcome, my experiment went awry. 

Has this ever happened to you?

They seemed perfect when I bought them.

I was looking for new shoes. And I thought I had found them.

Has this ever happened to you?

“Have you grieved yet?” I asked. 

“No, I don’t need to. I want to go. It will be fine.” 

Has this ever happened to you?

What do you know when someone has their turn signal on? They have their turn signal on. Sure, you can combine that fact with other insights to have a strong hypothesis about the other driver, but at the end of the day, that’s all you really know. They have their turn signal on. 

How often do we forget this lesson? 

“You need to make a decision.” 

My car had been deemed a total loss, and I needed a new car. But I was overwhelmed. I hadn’t planned on buying a new car anytime soon, and I had other things in my life consuming my attention. It was just too much. 

Have you ever felt this way?

I just wanted to get my car washed. We had had back-to-back snow storms and my car was filthy. You couldn’t really tell what color it was, and you could barely read my license plate number. It was bad. So I just wanted to get my car washed.

What should have taken 5 minutes took me over an hour and $40, and I still don’t have the pass I wanted. 

Has this ever happened to you?

“I’ve never been a planner. So over the years I’ve gotten very good at winging it, figuring things out on the spot. However, once I started my own business, my family was now more vulnerable to the swings of my work. This was finally the kick I needed to do something about making a plan.”

Directions won’t help if you don’t know where you or and where you want to go

“Let’s go to the game!” It was a surprising suggestion. We had just started our freshman year of high school, and wanted to really live the experience. “It’s what high school students do, right? Go to the game?” So we decided to go to our school’s football game. When we got to the school, no one was there.

Where is everyone?

They tore it down. Piece by piece. A couple of weeks ago, I started hearing the noises.I looked out and saw the big excavator. It was slowly destroying the walls of the building, then pushing the rubble back inside, under the roof. Eventually, the roof collapsed over the rubble, like a blanket. Then the excavator began the slow process of picking up the rubble so it could be moved off the worksite. 

Do you sometimes feel like you need this same kind of fresh start?

“Just reach up with your hand and your foot will follow.” A newbie rock climber, I was a little nervous about the last part of our adventure. We were expected to rock climb up a wall to get back to basecamp. “You’ll do fine”, our guides told us. And you know what, they were right!

Is there anything in your life that guarantees your success like this?

“The dogs are getting tangled again!” 

This phrase was uttered often on our recent family trip to the mountains, accompanied by an interesting dance of going over or under leashes, twirling around, or trying to guide a dog through the human/canine maze.

How can two dogs approach things so differently?

It just fell off. It started with some minor adjustments. I went to adjust the mirror for what felt like the 50th time that drive, but this time it fell off in my hand. Hanging by a literal electronic thread, it was no longer a helpful tool, it was a hazard. As I drove home, I felt like I was missing important information to be able to safely navigate the busy road.

I felt like something was missing. Do you ever feel this way?

Flock after flock. Some small, only a dozen or two. Some large, in the hundreds. They each flew, at varied intervals, from the lake to the field. This particular winter day, I was walking on a trail in the open space by my house. As I approached a field along the higher part of the trail, I noticed that it was covered with geese. There were already thousands on the field, but every few minutes, another flock or two would arrive, the signature honking noise increasing.

How do they know how to do that? 

Laura had been in this kind of role for years, and often got rave reviews from teammates and stakeholders. She delivered successful outcomes, built healthy teams, and was well respected. On the outside, it looked like she was thriving.  

But by the time she started coaching with me, she wanted out. Like, yesterday. 

How had things gotten this bad?

Everyone’s sitting in a circle, with a pile of gifts in the middle. Some are opened, the surprises exposed. Others are still wrapped (some with beautiful paper and ribbon, some…well, let’s just say it’s the thought that counts). 

It’s your turn…which gift do you want?

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” - Melody Beattie

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States. Many of us, as we gather around to enjoy a feast with friends and family, will take turns sharing what we’re grateful for. 

How will you express your gratitude?

It was our second or third run of the day. A group of us were at a local ski resort, enjoying a bluebird day. My friend was an incredible skier. He used telemark skis (think cross-country skis, where the heel isn’t attached like a typical downhill ski) and his “warm up run” included moguls. This guy was at a whole other level. 

“Could I give you some advice?”

It was one of my first nights in Bilbao, and our group was going out for tapas. This was my chance! 

We split up, and a few of us went to a different restaurant. The man behind the counter only spoke a bit of English. It was now or never. 

What if I can’t do it?