CONNECT: May 23, 2014

Take a Second.....Checkpoints

Spoiler Summary: A journey without checkpoints is just wandering.....but knowing which direction you're headed and where you're at might just be all you need to know to decide if you're still on track and when you're going to get "there".

Memorial Day weekend is here.....already.  No matter how fast life seems to go, I am always amazed that it seems to keep getting faster each and every year.  I used to think it was funny how people would say that.....but now I'm just amazed with how right they were.  Even on a year when the winter seemed like it would never end, it did, and here we are, at Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer season.  I find myself using Memorial Day as a checkpoint to know where life is at, a chance to remember not only the brave men and women who have put themselves in harms-way protecting the security we all hold dear, people I feel deeply indebted to, but also as a chance to reflect on exactly where I'm standing, whether it's where I had hoped to be and, if not, what adjustments I need to make.

It seems like such a straightforward process doesn't it? Plot out where you want to be (goals) and then plan backward until you get to "today" and, once it's all planned, start moving milestone to milestone until you get "there". If the path wasn't so darn rocky and there weren't so many barriers that seem to come out of nowhere, it probably wouldn't be that bad.....but that's not real life is it? At least not the life most people are juggling.....life is inherently hard, lots of plot twists and unexpected circumstances.....so we try to build in some buffers and resilience, an ability to weather the storms, but that alone isn't enough...it's our checkpoints that allow us to know how far off course we've been blown.

For many this long weekend it'll be with a trip to Arlington or "The Wall" at the Vietnam memorial to pay respects. For others, it might as easily be during the planned home-project.....or with the amazing smell of a backyard BBQ going.  It could be as the local parade marches by, or on the sidelines of the kids' "big tournament"....for me, I'm hoping it's with slightly burning legs, many miles into a long training (cycling) ride.  Because, now is a great time of year to take a few minutes to "check-in" (that is, literally check inward) on where you're at......It doesn't matter when and where you do it, as long as you do it.  Are you happy with your health? Are you using all you've learned to work and live in a way that will put the odds of a long-healthy life in your favor?  Have you gotten the ball rolling on some of the areas you know need work?  Have you found a way to change any of the routines that are keeping you from the highest quality of life possible?  Even if only a small one, what change, if you start NOW could you stick with for 90 days?  What do the routines of the "best you" look like? Whose help do you need to pull it off? What's stopping you from asking?

We're almost 40% done with 2014 and the remaining 60% is sure to fly. Days that are formally dedicated to reflecting and remembering are pretty rare.....I hope you're able to make the very most of this one.

And to those who have family or friends who have made the ultimate sacrifice.....we thank you for their courage.....may we never lose sight of the price of our freedoms.

Have a great week,

Mike E.