When we strive to make ourselves better, the world around us becomes better, too.

❤️

Last weekend, I had the privilege of leading my inaugural dad's getaway, Explore I'M IN (Inform::Move::Inspire::Nourish).

I'm filled with gratitude for the time these fellow fathers chose to spend with me and each other. I'm humbled by their trust in me to help them explore an opportunity to relax, slow down, get out of the house, enjoy the outdoors, sit by a campfire, and enjoy conversation.

👉 We identified, reconnected, and realigned with our values and what's important in our lives.

👉 We connected with the power of making choices.

👉 We explored where life may be out of balance and where we want a smoother ride.

👉 We assembled for campfire conversations - and enjoyed s'mores!

👉 We hiked in the woods.

👉 We captured ideas for what we each aspired to do next.

The overnight shindig was light on structure and full of meaningful, guided conversations.

👍 These dads were able to refocus, refine, and reset.

👍 They learned that others have the same challenges that they do.

👍 They uncovered new and different ways to think about things.

When was the last time you took a moment to realign your values with your actions?

How intentional are you with your choices?

Imagine the ripple effect this focus might have on your family, community, and world.

Reach out if you want to get on the waiting list and learn more about joining me for the next group to Explore I'M IN.

Create your life.

I'm struck by what I can receive if I just ask. I'm so used to doing things mostly alone. With an endeavor I'm creating for dad's to enjoy a getaway (more to come in the future), I decided to ask people for feedback - for help really - and bring others into my process. I have a handful of "reviewers" and LOTS of gratitude for them - and myself, for asking. That's a change for me and a very conscious choice.

It's also not escaping me that I'm asking for help to improve something that's very meaningful to me and I "think" (know!) there is a correlation there, but not a correlation I have always been open to exploring. No doubt this creative endeavor is causing me to grow. What a wonderful and unintended(?) consequence in the best way.

What's meaningful enough to you that you seek help?

What might you receive if you just ask?

Create your life.

I love the woods.

🌳

Whether camping, on a hike, a mountain bike ride, or a quick drive through, it's a happy place for me.

😊

Feel the cool breeze.

See and feel the sunshine.

Hear the wind in the trees.

Notice the birds, wildflowers and water.

Ride across the dirt.

Feel the bump of tree roots under bike tires.

🚵

Taking the opportunity to soak it all in.

Taking the opportunity to get away from concrete and brick.

Taking the opportunity to get outside and into nature.

Getting outside renews my spirit and refreshes my soul.

☀️

I've gotten into the woods three weekends in a row. I'm on track for five or more in this streak. Getting in the woods is glorious and helps to shift my perspective toward the weeks behind and ahead.

What do you enjoy doing to renew your spirit and refresh your soul?

When is the next opportunity you will take to do that?

Whether you get outside or have another favorite strategy, do it.

Create your life.

I look around me and I see it isn't so.

The word itself - chivalry - may conjure up thoughts of knighthood and days long gone.

However we label it - politeness, courtesy, courteousness, gentlemanliness, kindness, or good manners - it exists.

I was particularly encouraged to see an endearing act by my nephew toward his girlfriend last weekend.

He opened the car door for her, held the door open, and closed it after she was situated in the passenger seat.

I smiled.

🙂

In a world where so many seem focused on themselves, I saw this as a selfless act of endearment, of kindness, of love.

Witnessing this chivalrous act gives me hope.

🌻

Hope for a world where we think of others first.

Hope for a world where people exhibit care for each other.

Hope for a world where kindness can change everything.

🌷

Young love is something wonderful to observe.

It's also wonderful to behold the goodness that stays alive in our world.

Is chivalry dead?

I hope not.

Create your life.

I'm tired.

I have a pattern of over-scheduling myself.

I last visited this place roughly two months ago.

I'm there again.

😔

I need to say "no" to something(s) and say "yes" to myself.

I want to put myself first.

It's hard for me to say "no" when I'm passionate about those things to which I say "yes."

I give myself permission to say "No."

I just wrote that on a sticky note and attached it to my monitor.

Brene Brown talks about giving ourselves permission slips with their primary function to serve as explicit intention setting.

Are you also a high-achiever struggling to say "no" to things?

Consider the intention you want to set.

For what do you want to give yourself a permission slip?

Create your life.

"You learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." --Plato

👍

I "received" this on a bottle cap recently.

If you have been following along this year, you know my word for the year is playful. See the P.S. in this post: https://www.markstaelgraeve.com/inspiration/2022/1/6/possibilities.

As I check-in with myself and reflect on the first half of the year, I want more playfulness, less seriousness, and more play time.

For me, play time includes (but is not limited to):

👉 game night with the family

👉 platform tennis

👉 solving the daily Wordle puzzle

👉 putting together LEGO toys

👉 going to the ice cream shop

👉 going for a bike ride

👉 experimenting in the kitchen

👉 assembling a jigsaw puzzle

What I have learned about myself through play:

🎯 I am fond of challenges, physical and intellectual

🎯 I fancy focusing my brain on something other than a computer screen

🎯 I value time with my family, especially when we laugh together

🎯 I have a competitive streak and like to win (but not at all costs)

What does play time look like for you?

What do you learn about yourself through play? What do you learn about others?

Don't forget to have conversations. 🙂

Remember to make time for play and notice what you learn about yourself and others.

Create your life.

Mainstream media and politicians seem to want us to believe that we are more different than we are alike.

😲

Whenever I travel, especially internationally, I appreciate that the opposite is true.

There is truth that we sound different and look different.

There is also truth that we are really much more alike than different.

✈️

My family and I spent the last two weeks in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Here are a few of my observations that provide evidence that we are quite similar, regardless of speech, skin color, or where we live.

✅ We run for trains.

✅ We hold hands as a sign of affection.

✅ We appreciate art, architecture, history, and ice cream.

✅ We want the best for those in our care, as a host or a loved one.

✅ Seeing someone after time apart results in a joyous, sometimes tearful embrace.

✅ People on an over-crowded train will give up their seat for a woman with a young child.

✅ Siblings get into each other's business (some may say "fight" with each other).

✅ We use dance as a way to express our culture and heritage.

✅ We smile. And laugh.

😁

Truth is, we are all human beings at our core.

Our humanity is a bind that connects us all, forever and always.

What evidence do you see that humans are more alike than different?

Let's focus on what we have in common.

Embrace our similarities and we will witness more peace, more joy, more kindness, more getting along.

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.

Motivation comes and goes. It's great to feel motivated and be motivated. You won't always be motivated. You won't always feel energetic. You won't always feel willing to do what it takes to be successful. Fall back on your discipline.

Do what you need to do to be successful whether you feel motivated or not. Get out of bed in the morning, eat well, go for a walk, run, or workout.

Take the steps necessary to get what you want.

Create your life.

"The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion." ~ Paulo Coelho

✔️

Author Paulo Coelho reminds us that talk (and opinions) come cheap.

What's priceless is the example of human-being you are continually broadcasting, even louder than your words.

You have such power to positively affect the way things go by the example you set.

By the way you take in the complexity of the situation.

By the way you attend to the best outcome for all.

By the way you observe the dimensionality of what's really happening.

And many more ways.

Think about the world changing potential of your example.

And watch what's getting set.

Create your life.

.

(borrowed from "Inspiration for Agile Coaches")

I found out last week.

My wife had been doing something I had no idea about.

No visibility into it at all.

For roughly a year-and-a-half!

She was feeding my daughter's brain with words that start with a hard K sound - <kuh>.

Every time my wife dropped off my teenage daughter, she would say to her:

Be Kind, Courageous, Confident, and a little Krazy.

🤪

What an amazing message?! Amiright?!

I still gleam with delight to know those are the last words my daughter heard before going into school.

Almost every day for 18 months!

How brilliant is that?!

How brilliant is my wife?!

Assertions like this, whether conveyed to us or proclaimed to ourselves, remind us who we can become and who we already are.

What do you say to yourself and/or your loved ones to affirm your and their best selves?

What might you want to say?

Feel free to "steal" these words that start with a hard K sound. 👍

Say or hear these words or your chosen words long enough and you will believe and become them.

Feed your brain.

Create your life.

"Things Can Only Get Better" by Howard Jones

Do you know this '80's song?

🎶

Things can only get better.

I was having a rough "go" last Friday afternoon with a pile of life weighing me down. It felt like a big, heavy pile. 🪨 This song played on my playlist. The timing was serendipitous. I had not hit the bottom, although I had hit a pretty low point for me. I considered this song's chorus, things CAN only get better.

I took a deep breath and started the process to change perspectives. I choose to embrace the opportunity to look at my situation in a different way. The shift took time and it started with hearing this song and making a choice.

Music has an intriguing way of influencing my life.

👉 Bringing back memories

👉 Providing motivation

👉 Increasing energy

👉 Slowing me down

👉 Helping me shift my perspective

Looking at circumstances through a different lens can shine a light on possibilities you might not otherwise consider. Some possibilities are dead ends and not what resonates with you. Most often, one possibility shines more brightly than the others. That's the one worth exploring to discover something better.

Music works for me.

What is something that helps you to change perspectives? What does it take to connect with that something?

Create your life.

🌳

Do you want a guide to help you discover alternative perspectives and explore the possibilities? Schedule time with me for a complimentary chat at https://markstaelgraeve.as.me/breakthrough.

"The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Peter Drucker, business/management expert

(This quote gets attributed to Abraham Lincoln, too.)

🎱

🔮

In December, I shared thoughts about this quote: https://www.markstaelgraeve.com/inspiration/2021/12/16/predict-the-future

I'm struck by the fact that I find myself referring to it "a lot" recently.

By "a lot" I mean I shared this quote with a handful of people during the last week.

That's a handful more than any week prior!

The quote has resonated with me for years and continues to resonate with me.

How do you create the future?

I offer that it's all about being intentional.

👍 the choices you make

👍 the media you consume

👍 the small steps you take

👍 who you aspire to be

It's a never-ending journey.

What are you doing to predict your future?

Choose to create it.

Be intentional.

You cover a lot of ground by taking one step at a time.

Create your life.

"When you say 'yes' to others, make sure you aren't saying 'no' to yourself." - Paulo Coelho

👍 and 👎

I recently felt the need to step back from some of what I was doing.

It's hard to move away from things that I am passionate about, from things that help me become who I want to be, from things that help me live my purpose.

There was just waaaay too much on my plate.

I was spread too thin.

The burden impacted me and my family.

I was not as available for myself or my family. I was working too much, busy too much.

This is a pattern I have noticed in myself from time to time and one that I am getting better at recognizing so I can break away from it's pull.

I needed to say "no" and put myself first.

In one case, I found I needed to step away entirely.

In another case, I remained involved although at lower levels than my type-A, give-it-all-you-got personality originally signed up to do.

In every case, I feared I may let others down.

However, my bigger fear was that I would let myself down if I didn't step back.

I needed to say "no" to some things.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Are you spread too thin?

Where have you said "yes" and effectively said "no" to yourself?

What do you need to say "no" to doing?

By saying "no" and stepping back, you say "yes" to yourself. You say "yes" to who you want to become.

What's keeping you from saying "yes" to you?

Create your life.

🌷

During the springtime, new beginnings exist all around us with trees growing new leaves and flowers blooming.

🎓

As I reflect on my son graduating from college, I find myself thinking about new beginnings.

It all boils down to change, really.

Change happens, whether we like it or not.

One thing ends and we transition into new beginnings.

How we choose to think about the transition will impact our experience of it.

Our mindset makes a difference.

We might approach the transition reluctantly, with fear, anxiety, sadness, and perhaps anger.

Or, we might approach the transition with confidence, satisfaction, energy, and a sense of renewal.

We get to make the choice.

We get to be intentional about how we tackle the change.

A new role in the company, a new assignment, a new request to do something or do something a certain way, a new company, a new career, a new class, a new team, a new child, a new relationship.

What new beginnings do you encounter?

How do you choose to deal with the transition?

Act according to what's important to you.

Engage with the transition.

Be intentional.

Thrive.

Create your life.