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Week 40: Mother's Day Cookies, a Leadership Reset & Why the Path of Least Resistance is Actually Killing Us
Philosophical Dad Stuff
This past week was my wife and I’s 11th wedding anniversary. Last year, we celebrated in Switzerland and France, this year it was al fresco dining in Ohio.
I guess 11 just doesn’t have the same ring as 10.
So it goes.
We ate spicy feta with herbed lavash and discussed all the usual stuff people who have been married with kids for a while talk about.
We talked of triumphs and frustrations at work, funny moments with the kids, and how tired we are since the youngest hasn’t been sleeping well.
On Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day with brunch and yard work, followed by dinner and cookies on the patio in the afternoon sunshine.
At times like this, I feel like Candide, where this must surely be the best of all possible worlds.
And it’s not lost on me how lucky I am.
Leadership
I think it’s about time to admit it.
The sudden death of a friend on my work team knocked me off my game.
While it’s understandable for questions to come after such an event, I’ve not gotten back into things with the same fire as before.
I’ve been more distant. More transactional. Distracted.
Which as a leader is inexcusable.
I can’t let the team find their way. I can’t afford to let the chips fall where they may. I can’t afford to leave things to chance.
I have to lead from the front.
It’s easy to call yourself a leader when things are going well. Everybody (read as your boss) likes you. The world is in order.
What about when the inevitable hard times come that we didn’t ask for?
Over the last few years, I’ve written ad nauseum about overcoming challenges, mitigating personal shortcomings and circumscribing harmful passions.
Why does this one feel any different?
I asked for this.
Now is the time, more than ever, to prove it.
Couch to Ultramarathon…and Beyond
With 6 weeks now gone in the training cycle, things are starting to take shape. Strength and speed metrics are up. Injuries and burnout are still low.
The race is also becoming less abstract.
When we’ve got six months to get ready, it feels like you’ve got time.
When you’ve got about four months to go, things start getting more serious.
I say it often, but we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a single day, while we can vastly underestimate what can be done in a hundred days. I want to be ready for the longest race of my lifetime when it’s only been barely over 40 days of focused preparation.
Patience has always been a challenge for me.
Shifting focus a bit, I’ve got quite a bit of footage from running around town. One of the side projects I envisioned when starting this was trying to put together a video of sorts. After all it was one video that ended up inspiring me to begin this journey.
I wanted to inspire others in a similar way.
Because there have to be others like me out there. People who are waiting to be told they needn’t wait for permission any longer to pursue their most ambitious and audacious goals.
We live in a world that is now far too comfortable.
We seek comfort desperately. We will put up with some absolutely crazy bullshit to remain comfortable, and then we wonder why we don’t see any growth in our lives.
The path of least resistance in our lives; in our health, in our diets, in our entertainment, in our long-term goals, in the things we tolerate in ourselves and others; is not doing us ANY favors.
Reject the “comfort at all costs” attitude that is making us and our children sick.
I am not saying we all need to go out there and take up ultrarunning. But I’m starting to get a real feeling that “Neflix & Chill” type stuff is actually making us unhappy.
We are free the moment we wish to be.
“The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true.” –James Branch Cabell
Thanks for reading.
Live triumphantly. See you next week.