Q3 Reflections
Q3 felt a bit short, but it's one of those: when I think about it, a lot happened. I like doing these reflections as a low commitment review and reflection. How do I feel after another quarter? Am I doing the things I want to be doing? Being how I want to be? And more so these years: resting enough? Letting go enough, relaxing enough?
August started with a jazz lounge, live music, and a birthday celebration with a tasty food menu, and wines. I was so grateful to continue kiteboarding in Wyoming and have company. Even made a new friend and found a different forecast. As the 4-week trip was approaching, I felt eager and also less motivated to push through at work, ready for a change. It's helpful to recognize it as a natural summer feeling, too. I did make sure to leave things in a good place and check in with work during the trip - about 2-4 hours a week.
I loved visiting Iceland, Romania, Italy and the Vatican. Each had its own unique feeling, delicious foods - like baked cod, pizzas, black truffle, must (slightly fermented grape juice), and more. Beautiful sights. Lots of walking. And feeling really good about my body - muscles, sleep, peace. I was able to let go of worries and really detach from the constant thinking about what to do next. Though that tendency was still there, I also learned that a good trip needs a multi-day (or week+, preferably) period of not doing much at all. Like chillin' on a beach. Anywho, one of the highlights for sure was my friend getting married, the amazing wedding, dancing, food, and quality time.
Still kept some habits on the road, too: consistent meditation, daily gratitudes and joys, even bodyweight workouts (ass kickers!)
Getting back, the garden was thriving: tomatoes still coming (had multiple caprese's per week!), 9 big spaghetti squash, and even a few eggplants. First week back, I was fortunate to meet a new kiter and enjoy a long, consistent day on the windy lake with a new and awesome 9m kite from a friend. As Q3 ended, I felt my motivation return and the daily workday feel more pleasant. Heading into Q4, a bit worried about our business outlook and economy overall. Mainly, I just hope we keep our core team busy, and do our best to avoid losing more people.
Revisit resolutions
Here were my topics for the year:
- Physical: Move With Ease
- Emotional: Embrace What Is
- Mental: Part of a Whole
- Spiritual: Wholehearted Collaboration
Physical: Move With Ease
Physically I feel great. My weight's been stable through Q3, rising a bit with the trip. I was proud to do bodyweight workouts on the road, and get back into the gym after the trip. Kiting continued as well and I even get to do a bit in Q4! Definitely continuing to gain strength - I was able to deadlift to 230-240lbs! Swimming's continued to get a bit easier, though I haven't really gotten back into it after the trip.
One nice change since getting back: I'm much more dilligent about taking breaks during the workday. I've changed my reminder to be every 30 minutes and allow myself to skip one. Sometimes, with meetings back to back, I've skipped two, but no more. And it's also highlighted that situation. It makes so much sense in hindsight, but thinking of it as a small step - taking a 2-5 minute break every 30, is so much easier than a 10-15m break every 60-90. I do both, but I like the ease of a 2 minute break. This has also lead to doing various stretches, since I can do a stretch for a couple of minutes.
Celebrations:
- Bodyweight workout on the road
- back into trampolining
- increased inversion table time to 6-8m, hoping to get to 10
- stretches during breaks
- none, or maybe 1 headache since I got back from the trip?
- take more breaks daily - doing!
- more rested eyes, more awareness when they get tired
- Living with the seasons, for sure! Food wise, activity wise, energy wise
Improvement:
- still no kettlebell
- bloat and gas - but started the protcol!
- get back into swimming
- longer or more walks a day - try a morning or evening one?
- ground outside
- hike once before winter
Feels very doable for last quarter.
Emotional: Embrace What Is
I've been less frustrated, more patient (though still eager at times), and more at peace overall. Much less anxious and detached from worries than before - or aware of anxiety when it's more present. As Andy said in one of his headspace lessons: more aware of when anxiety is not there, too. Turns out, it's absent a lot of the time!
I feel more freedom in my daily schedule, too. Scheduling breaks between meetings. Rescheduling or asking for a few extra minutes if I need a break. Breathing and remembering to relax my eyes and look around the room instead of just straight ahead. I still get sad about work, especially if our reputation is at stake, or we may lose someone on the team.
Celebrations:
- Still loving the post-it note on my office to reduce stress
- Empathizing continued, feeling present with clients and people in general
- Switching into sales feels uncomfortable, but slowly happening, step by step
- Continued reduced schedule. I'm really enjoying 5h workdays, more sustainable
- Gotten much better at stepping away and breaking the "One more thing and then I'm done" tendency. I still struggle with it when I'm sad, or coming out of a series of meetings.
- Doing well at supporting our team overall and finding ways to encourage them. Would like to continue improving this
Room for improvement:
- Revisit some frameworks from relationship workshop with partner
Mental: Part of a Whole
Mentally I feel more focused, and calmer. My brain's been less foggy and less obssessed with figuring things out. In fact it's been enjoying not figuring things out :)
Celebrations:
- Have created direction and able to make progress and delegate tasks more comfortable
- More big picture focus, more leadership. I'd still like to do more creative work.
- More breaks has been working! Continued to prune older reminders and reduce clutter. Feels easier now, 90% of the way for sure.
Room for improvement:
- Would like to lean on an advisor, partially for network value - someone who can make valuable business connecftions, other people, etc
- Ask great questions. Give more thought to questions I would ask.
- (carry-over) Brainstorm more of what I'm good at and do more of that. Reduce what I'm doing that is not in this area.
- More deep breaths
I feel generally healthier, more aware and less monkey-minded. Perhaps I haven't gotten as deep down the rabbit hole of thought, too - in part because I haven't been programming as much.
Spiritual: Wholehearted Collaboration
Got back into evening meditation after the trip. And sustained daily meditation during the trip - over 2 years of consistent meditation. Feeling more peace overall. I still get sad days, and learning to accept that more effortlessly would be helpful.
Getting to see and hold my 2nd nephew felt so sweet and magical :) what a little guy!
Didn't panic at some mixed feedback from a trusted referral about our team's quality. I did think about it and take it to heart, and thought I handled it well in the moment. It's never easy, and it wasn't easy to let go of the feeling, but it wasn't as painful as it used to be, either.
Visiting churches in Italy, and experiencing beautiful Iceland was also a spiritual experience. Not to mention the delicious foods :)
Room for improvement
- More homey love
- Hike 1x
- More walking - fall's been so beautiful to see, trees changing, morning sunrises
Celebrations:
- Loving home more and being more accepting of what's not done - one step at a time, it will be if it must be
- Inverting more frequently 3-4x/week
- Second daily meditation continues
- Continued kite spot. Made a new friend there. Got som enew gear.
- Garden had a great year! Tomatoes were some of the best I've ever had, better than those in Italy, even.
- Continuing to focus on big picture and delegating.
- Continuing to share feedback and collaborate with others, being very transparent about finances, projects, and more.
Present and future
Being able to take a 4 week trip and have the business continue to run has been a true gift, after 6 years of building and growing the biz, it's great to be able to enjoy these fruits of labor.
Having a chef at home has also added to quality of life in a more exciting and delicious way. It's not as fancy as it sounds, 1 day every 3 weeks! But, it's delicious and adds creativity and inspiration to my life.
What's been most stressful in Q3? Feeling demotivated before the trip, perhaps due to the change in my work responsibilities, and also because new projects didn't just "keep coming" our way. Switching to sales has been a long time coming as we grow, and it's a process. After the trip, it's still a bit of a hurdle, but taking small steps will eventually get us there. Being able to kite at home has been a nice counter balance.
Supporting one of our team through a stressful time with a client, listening and providing feedback there felt empowering and energizing. And my best friends' wedding felt like getting younger!
Looking ahead, I'm excited to get through the "sales" hurdle, set up a process, and get more projects on our plate. I know it can happen, and we'll be fine. I'm also looking forward to some downtime and inner reflections, and continued health improvements through this gut restoration protocol, weight lifting, and nutrient dense foods.
Here's to continue to achieve and support, living life with ease and (self-)compassion!