Tag: encouragement

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How Gardening Teaches People to be Resilient

Take a look at this miraculous fourth round of lettuce that I planted last March!

After I harvested the first bunches early last summer, I was delighted when about half of the lettuce seeds that I planted in March of 2020 sprouted a second time later that season. By late fall, I brought in some straggling leaves… maybe enough for one, good, family-sized salad. Christmas came and went, and then came the rain, the hard freezes, the sleet and frigid air. I didn’t even walk out to the greenhouse for over a month. When I went out today to begin preparing the soil in the raised beds, this perfect head of Burpee buttercrunch lettuce was there to meet me. I was floored!

It was such an encouraging reminder to me that living things are more resilient than we can logically account for. Where there is a willingness to grow, you can’t keep a hearty plant with deep roots from doing what it is compelled to do. People aren’t so different. Gardening is really a leap of faith that always yields far more than we anticipate. You plant some seeds. You expect to eat fruits and vegetables, or cut flowers. But in gardening, we also reap the benefits of working the soil, absorbing minerals, and breaking a sweat. It brings our awareness to the microscopic ecosystems of living things that harmoniously exist outside of four walls. It also gives us a chance to clear our minds, unload our burdens, and notice how we are feeling or what we are thinking.

Through Crosswork mindfulness, you can learn to pay attention to your life and invest in your health by setting boundaries and prioritizing time for the things you enjoy most– including hobbies. Through Crosswork yoga, you can learn to move toward gratitude, a more optimistic outlook, or consideration and empathy toward others. This will help you to become a healthier individual, partner, friend, or employee. Healthy employees are more productive and more likely to contribute to positive peer relationships in the workplace.

Do you have a hobby that allows you to step away from the daily grind and be restored? Maybe you used to; maybe it was golf, running, or reading. Whatever it is, make time for it this week.

P.S. If you just said to yourself, “I just don’t have time for hobbies,” then it’s time to email me.

Learn mindfulness personally through Crosswork 1:1 coaching, or bring lean practices to your entire team with Crosswork Lunch & Learn.
Email me to get started!

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5 Reasons Why Your Health is a Certain Investment

I continue to read the word “uncertain” in headlines– whether the articles relate to the economy, politics, employment, travel, conferences, our culture, or the future of humanity. Highly emotive words, especially in repetition, have an impact on our perception of the world around us, our health, and our well-being.

Take a moment to reflect on the things for which you can be certain. Here are just a few:

  • You are important.
  • There is only one you, and you matter to more people than you will ever know.
  • You may feel exhausted, but you’re still here. That makes you resilient.
  • Paying attention to your health mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually is time well spent.
  • Considering others, listening to them, and humbly asking encouraging people to help you grow are noble and worthy pursuits. Seek out encouraging friendships, and invest in being an encouraging friend to others.

The bottom line: you can be CERTAIN that investing in taking care of yourself and those around you is a good investment– today and in the future.

Invest in yourself today!
Email me to learn more about Crosswork.

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How to Bloom Where You are Planted

Years ago, a friend and I were standing in the kitchen transferring hors d’oeuvres to platters when she shared a disappointment in her work. She had been overlooked for a role for which she was clearly the better candidate. I was surprised by her optimism when she joyfully concluded, “I’m good, though. I’ve always believed you should bloom where you are planted.”

After the party, I continued to think about my friend’s situation. The fact that she had joy in spite of her futile circumstances really perplexed me. Where was her drive, her determination, her resolve to make lemonade from lemons? Why didn’t she defend herself? I didn’t like her analogy or the idea of being planted. It implied that someone else was in charge of her future. How could someone whose life was marked by pioneering new courses and notable achievements say that this passive philosophy was something she had always believed?

I concluded that I must have missed something. I thought about the context of the analogy and how my friend had used it in relation to moving from disappointment to acceptance to joy. In the analogy, she was a seed or bulb. Her motivation was to bloom. Conditions were not favorable, and it was not probable that she would bloom. To me, it seemed like she should move on. But how could a seed will to move? That is when I began to understand.

She had the self-awareness to discern that she had a finite amount of energy. Even if she was not promoted by her boss, it was more profitable to spend her time on what she could do: grow. Although her position was not ideal at the moment, ultimately, she believed it could be better in the future if she was willing to adapt and be faithful in what she could do today. She didn’t gossip, grumble, or complain, neither did she try to prove to the boss that he made a mistake. Getting the promotion was outside of her locus of control, but personal development wasn’t. She chose to focus inward and believed that her boss would either see her differently, or she would appeal to someone else who could appreciate her. Who could resist the desire to pick a radiant flower in full bloom? So she bloomed. And in that way, she did move herself.

She began to spend more time doing things she loved. She became pretty good at one of her hobbies and took a step of faith by starting a small side business. Through connections she made there, she was offered a different day job. Her side business never grew. She didn’t make a million dollars or become famous. In fact, a few years later, she closed her side business, but it had been the catalyst that opened the door for her to ditch her dead end job and step into a new vocation. Through mindfulness, she shifted her focus and so can you.

Through mindfulness meditation and yoga, you can learn how to increase your self-awareness and move toward balance. Let’s get started!

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