Did you spot them?!

There was excitement in the air (literally) as we wandered from one "less light pollution" place to another.

We were fortunate to be in a part of the world where we got to see the aurora borealis.

Thanks to a strong solar flare exploding from the sun, our experience of the northern lights was much further south than usual. We were so grateful!

The clear night sky certainly helped. (You would never know how dark the sky was from the camera’s picture!)

When looking up at the sky, we saw gray streaks that resembled clouds.

When looking through a camera lens, the colors came alive!

[geek out moment] Since that night, I learned that the aurora or northern lights often appear to us in shades of gray because the light is too faint to be sensed by our color-detecting cone cells in the retina of our eye. The human eye views the northern lights generally in faint colors and as shades of grey and white. However, camera sensors don’t have the same limitation as our eyes and have a much higher dynamic range of vision in the dark than humans do. Thank goodness!

I wanted to see the northern lights for a very long time.

I admit that seeing them in gray was a bit anti-climatic.

I appreciate that smartphone cameras picked up the colors that my eye could not.

I also appreciate that this activity forced my family and I to slow down and pause while looking up into the sky. This was not something to "catch" while going 100.

Did you have a clear night sky? Where you able to pause and enjoy this natural phenomenon?

Next week (teaser), I will share the other natural wonder we experienced the same weekend as the northern lights.

Create your life.

🍨

Last week I wrote about choosing to do something for you.

What choices have you made since reading that post?

Are your choices focused on what matters to you?

I went on a retreat last weekend with a group of roughly 20 men most of whom I had never met. Time to get away, relax, explore new ground around me and within me. An adventure all the way around.

The choice to attend was easy because it aligned quite well with what matters in my world.

Among my top personal values are learning, fun, and freedom.

And I love personal growth.

I made the choice months ago to do this for me.

We explored topics like being fully present and choosing what matters as well as the many dimensions that make up our lives (e.g., personal, physical, professional, recreational).

Plenty of time to rest, relax, and connect with each other and ourselves. A handful of us took up the physical challenge to hike and climb a nearby mountain and enjoy earth's beauty and a sunrise. We also hit some golf balls at a nearby driving range and hung out in the pool.

This was a "big" choice to spend a weekend away from my family. During the course of the weekend, many small choices were made and over time, these smaller choices will grow to become big.

Have you decided what you want to do for yourself?

I'm pulling for you!

Create your life.

🍨

When you choose to do something for you, how does that make you feel?

I've been trying to create a meditation habit for weeks. Each time I meditate, I feel fantastic! I believe it's a combination of the meditation and knowing that I made a choice to do something for me.

I get to spend 10 minutes (usually) connecting with my breath.

It happens in fits and starts. Some weeks better than others in terms of the number of days I meditate.

Even something as simple as three deep breaths, 15 seconds total time.

What a gift!

And what a choice to make!

A seemingly small act with such potential for BIG impact. My coaching clients regularly express their gratitude when we intentionally breathe together.

What choices are you making?

When was the last time you decided to do something for you?

Start "small" and grow from there.

Create your life.

🍨

That should probably be a sign we all wear on our foreheads.

We are all under construction. Who we are and who we are becoming is a work in progress. No matter our age.

The important thing is to keep improving. Continue to build on our foundation. Work hard. Learn new things. Try new things. Practice. Get back up when we fall.

Keep the construction going.

Create your life.

🍨

Holy cow!

My weekly Thursday Thoughts turns five this week!

That is 260 weekly musings covering thoughts I have about life’s blessings, challenges, and everything in between. Inspired by what I read, listen to, observe, or somehow experience. Published on Thursdays! (usually)

I started with sending text messages to my family. God bless them for their support! I wanted to get my voice out into the world and they were “willing” participants. 😁

A friend said, “I want ‘my’ Thursday Thoughts, too!” and my mother (yay for our moms!) wanted to receive “hers” as well.

I eventually expanded my "audience" beyond text messages and started publishing on my website, sending via email, and posting on LinkedIn.

I offer my Thursday Thoughts as a bit of #Inspiration. Perhaps one of my notes will arouse you, motivate you to leap forward, help you find your way, or just make you smile. 😊

I appreciate you for reading today and every week.

These weekly reflections serve as validation that when we decide to do something and fuel it with intention, we can extend our comfort zones.

What are you waiting to start?

What's holding you back?

Take a small step. Ignore the fear (it's a liar).

With each little step, you get closer to your own milestones and will eventually recognize something that's five years old.

Know that the best is yet to come.

Just get started.

Create your life.

🍨

Oh, those four-letter words!

How often do you find yourself saying "I need to . . . ." in the course of a day?

Where does that come from?

Similar to saying "I should . . .", I propose that when we say "I need" we are expressing either a voice inside our head or a voice from others.

Rarely is it the voice of our inner authority and strength.

I also propose that this is the language of a victim. A "need" is something that's happening "to" us, something over which we do not have control.

Notice when you use that four-letter word, need.

When it shows up (you know it will and does!), I encourage you to use a different four-letter word, want. 💡

I want.

What do you notice when you replace need with want?

How does that feel in your core?

I've noticed my bias recently, especially with my coaching clients, toward conversations about using "want" more often instead of "need."

Want indicates your intention.

Want signifies your choice.

Want commits you to action.

Want is the language of empowerment. 💪

I invite you to want more.

Create your life.

🍨

Yup, a butter lamb.

As a child, I remember my mother making a butter lamb for the Easter holiday, honoring an old Polish Catholic tradition.

That is one of the traditions I kept going as I got older and had children of my own. I was even able to amaze my in-laws who would scratch their head, "Mark made that?!"

This year, my wife suggested I teach our kids how to make a butter lamb so they could carry on the tradition when their time comes.

So it happened! No mold, only a stick of butter, plate, and butter knife.

We improvised with the eyes. Without raisins to slice, we chose to use a segment from a blackberry (called a druplet - who knew?). The blackberry segments give this creation what look like "bug eyes" from my perspective. And yet they served the purpose.

I'm excited for my kids to have an opportunity to make their first butter lamb. Maybe next year!

What traditions exist in your world?

What do you want to pass along to future generations?

What traditions to you want to start?

Create your life.

🍨

Ah, Springtime! 🌷

The daffodils in my yard recently bloomed, perhaps a little confused by the warmer than average temperatures.

I notice many flowers around my neighborhood are showing signs of the new beginnings coming our way as spring gets sprung.

As the seasons transition around us, I find it an encouraging time to consider our own transitions and what's waiting to spring up in our lives.

I invite you to take a moment to connect with the power inside of you, your inner strength, your leader within that knows you at your core.

What new beginnings do you anticipate?

Look around and take inspiration from nature, the flowers and trees.

What idea, hope, or dream has been lying dormant that is waiting to bloom?

What little step can you take toward your own blossoming?

Create your life.

🍨

My son and I competed in a Platform Tennis tournament over St. Paddy's weekend. ☘️

Commonly known as Paddle, this doubles sport is a cross between racquetball and regular tennis and gets played outdoors, mostly in the winter months. (Search for American Platform Tennis Association and discover more about The Most Addictive Sport You've Never Heard Of.)

This was the second year my son and I played together in this tournament.

We had SO much fun!

It helped that we won more matches than we lost. We started out losing our first two matches and ended up winning our next three. The "champs" of the loser's bracket. 👍

There were many proud moments while we played. I got to see some of the traits my son acquired from me. I also got to see how he is growing into his own person.

And how much he has improved over the last year.

He played as well as I have ever seen him play. He was on fire, especially in our fifth and final match. 🔥

Even with an injury in his hip area, my son persevered and stayed "in" the game mentally and physically.

He learns quickly and has racquet skills from years of playing regular tennis. He's only going to get better and I suspect the day will come when he passes me by.

I look forward to many more proud moments in the future.

All proud moments to remember.

Create your life.

🍨

I have much for which to be thankful! I find gratitude for my life, my health, my wife, my son, my daughter, my friends, flowers beginning to bloom, rain, sunshine, being able to go outside for a walk, having food to eat, ice cream, and so much more.

I'm especially grateful for ice cream. 🍦

For what are you grateful? We wrestle with challenges, loss, and pain almost every day. What possibilities arise when you start with gratitude?

Create your life.

🍨

Big actions show quick results that often fade over time.

Sometimes they become completely forgotten.

Little things done over and over, day after day, add up and become big things over time.

It takes time to make a change, to transition from one juncture to another.

Whether it's your diet, working out, running, drinking more water, or smiling more.

Focus on doing the little things consistently over time to produce meaningful results.

Keep track, even, and notice when you "catch" yourself doing the little things.

Pay attention as the little things become big.

Create your life.

🍨

This week I get to enjoy in-person visits with family!

It began with visiting my daughter and enjoying her mid-week band concert (she plays trumpet in her school's wind ensemble).

There's a certain amount of excitement when stepping foot on a college campus. It's a vibrant atmosphere with youthful energy.

Her music ensemble sounded wonderful.

The best part? The HUGE hugs she gave my wife and I after her performance! Big, strong, energetic, bear hugs. 🐻 Those hugs made it all worthwhile to take the day off and drive almost eight hours to see and hear her play.

In a couple of days, we will spend time visiting family as we make our way back home.

Yep, more hugs! 🤗

These are all moments to cherish.

Opportunities to reconnect, share stories from the past, and create new stories to tell in the future.

Hugs are a magnificent way to give and receive. You cannot give a hug without receiving one and the reverse is also true.

Visiting family is also about giving and receiving.

I feel blessed to have family that we like to spend time with and who presumably like to spend time with us, too!

And I feel immense gratitude to have a daughter who's eager to give us hugs.

Big hugs.

Create your life.

🍨

Music provides SO many inspirational moments for me.

Continuing with musical connections and last week's theme about dreams, this week's inspiration comes from a song by Emerson Drive.

They sing, "Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there's footprints on the moon" (from the song "Footprints On The Moon" by Emerson Drive).

To me, this speaks to bypassing barriers or perhaps what we "perceive" as barriers.

These lyrics speak to recognizing the factors that limit us from making progress toward our dreams and pushing beyond those limits of what is considered possible.

It might require a willingness to push beyond your comfort zone and embrace a growth mindset.

A mindset that sees challenges as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable obstacles (is the sky really the limit?).

It might also help to clearly define what you want to achieve and why it's important to you.

What are your values?

Set ambitious yet realistic goals that stretch your capabilities and inspire you to push beyond your current limits.

How do your goals align with your values?

Bypassing barriers might also involve a commitment to lifelong learning and skill development.

A commitment to expanding your knowledge, expertise, and capabilities.

Do this by staying curious, seeking out new experiences, and being open to exploring unfamiliar territory.

Break through the sky and reach for the moon.

Increase your comfort level with bypassing barriers.

Push beyond your limits and realize your dreams.

Create your life.

🍨

Today's inspiration comes from ELO.

In their 1981 hit song, Electric Light Orchestra sings about holding on tight to your dream.

"When you see your ship go sailing. When you feel your heart is breaking. Hold on tight to your dream."

A little later, they continue:

"When you need a shoulder to cry on. When you get so sick of trying. Just hold on tight to your dream."

"And you want so much, but you're all out of luck. When you're so downhearted and misunderstood. Yeah, hold on tight to your dream, yeah."

When this song streamed as part of a recent daily mix, it resonated with me and served as a good reminder to indeed hold on tight to my dream(s).

Do the lyrics resonate with you, too?

I'm also reminded of a quote from Lou Holtz, former head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, "A dream is only impossible if all you do about it is dream."

The connection in my mind is to hold on tight AND take action to make the dream become reality.

💡

What is your dream?

What action are you taking to make it come true?

In my experience, our dreams often take time for us to realize them. They require patience and persistence.

We need to keep taking small steps and making progress.

Hold on tight to your dream.

Create your life.

🍨

Ask questions.

Show people you care about them.

Don't worry about sharing a "better" story or "better" experience.

Be you.

Create your life.