Every week, I share a story from ordinary life that made me stop, laugh, think, or occasionally question what on earth I was doing. From running into spider webs and taking the elevator after the gym, to entrepreneurship, choices, courage and figuring out what we actually want next. No five-step formulas, no pretending I have it all figured out. Just real stories, honest observations and the occasional question that might stay with you longer than expected.
Uphills Don't Like Peggy 🚶♀️And it goes both ways!
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Hi Reader, Peggy doesn't like uphills. And uphills don't like Peggy 😅 (And no, I can't just find a flat trail. Nanaimo is hilly.) Let me back up. As you might know, I'm back to jogging after my ankle recovery. The goal? 5K under 33:33 (yes, I like a very specific number 🤓). For now, I'm walking and jogging. And it's going pretty well… Until I hit an uphill. Then… I struggle. Same story with cycling. There's no "beam me up, Scotty" option here (Google this if you have absolutely NO clue what I'm talking about 😆). I can't skip the effort. So what do I do? I take smaller steps, I drop to the lowest gear and I go slower. Not because I want to. Because I'm forced to. And once I catch my breath, I keep going. It makes it all easier! Now here's where it got interesting for me. I started noticing a very different pattern showing up in other places. In my business. When things get harder, what do I do? I gear up, I push through. But almost never do I stop, pause, and take smaller steps on purpose. And I started wondering… What if I did? What if, when the hill shows up, I let myself slow down instead of speed up? Would I get there faster? Maybe. Sometimes the answer isn't muscling through. Sometimes it's about smaller steps. Lower gears. A slower pace. And a whole lot more breathing 🌿 Because sometimes the biggest step forward is actually the smallest one. Chat next week, P.S. When things get hard for you, what's your default? Do you gear up… or do you take smaller steps? Backyard Gossip | Stories about life, business & the spaces in between |
Stories about life, business & the spaces in between 🌿
Every week, I share a story from ordinary life that made me stop, laugh, think, or occasionally question what on earth I was doing. From running into spider webs and taking the elevator after the gym, to entrepreneurship, choices, courage and figuring out what we actually want next. No five-step formulas, no pretending I have it all figured out. Just real stories, honest observations and the occasional question that might stay with you longer than expected.
View in browser Hi Reader, Well, the last Backyard Gossip was about the difference between “I should,” “I want to,” “I am going to,” and eventually being able to say… I DID it. Apparently, I should take my own writing a little more seriously because there is something rather significant I’ve been meaning to share for a while now. I finished my MBA! 🎓 I’ve actually had about four opportunities to tell you this. When I found out I’d made the Dean’s Honour List. When my final grades came in....
View in browser Hi Reader, Last week I left you with a slightly annoying question: if we know what we want, why is it sometimes still so difficult to make the choices that will get us there? Well, apparently I have some thoughts about that 😏 You might not know this, unless you’ve done some serious scrolling through my LinkedIn profile, but I’ve been working with NHA in the Netherlands for almost 17 years, guiding students through self-paced courses on leadership, coaching and business. One of...
View in browser Hi Reader, I’m not going to lie… I’m NOT always motivated to do the things I need to do to become the person I want to be. Wow. That was a mouthful. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t say that five times quickly in a row 😂 But then I started wondering: am I actually motivated by the person I want to become? Or am I sometimes more motivated by the person I don’t want to become? And yes, I’m sure a psychologist could explain the difference in great detail. Intrinsic motivation,...