Don’t Forget to Stop and Smell the Roses
Welcome to the end. Not the end of all time, but the close of another year and the end of a chapter in life. As we near the end of the year and stand upon the precipice of the start of the new year I would urge all of us to stop for a second and reflect on what we have accomplished in this year, and what we have to be grateful for. The reason I would call on us to pause life for a moment or two, because when we are always in pursuit, that leads to us never being satisfied or content, and always wanting more from ourselves. This is in itself not a bad thing, it can lead us to pushing ourselves to be better at our craft, or to be better people; The trouble with always wanting more and constantly striving to achieve more is it can also cause us to miss and underappreciated the victories we have in life, and the moments of joy we have in life.
I’m 100% guilty of getting so engrossed in my work, in my fitness goals, and in the pursuit of constantly bettering myself that I end up forgetting to eat, to take a break, and to appreciate what I was able to accomplish. My mind jumps to the next thing I need to accomplish, and then it's off to the races busying myself with preparations to get the next thing done. If it's not at work then it's in the gym. Strong is never strong enough, fast is not as fast as the person next to me, so it's back to the line for the next set. This has helped me be successful in life, and I am extremely thankful to my parents, mentors, and coaches for instilling in me a work ethic like this. A side effect of this mindset, however, is that I often am completely oblivious of how things are going around me because I am so tunnel visioned in on the task at hand, and I am guessing I am not alone in this.
When I was younger, I was sitting in church listening to my dad preach one Sunday, and the topic of his sermon for that week was to not forget to stop and smell the roses. The sentence is such a simple sentiment, but if we truly follow what it says it can have a huge impact on our mental and emotional well being. If we can take our mind off of auto-pilot, and intentionally stop and process the progress we’ve made towards achieving our goals, or the things we’ve been able to accomplish we can build up our own personal confidence and motivation to continue pushing towards achieving more. This mental pause can also help us to reflect on the people and things in our life that have helped us along the way. Imagine the strength of connections we can make with those around us if we thank them for their help and support they’ve provided for us during our pursuits!
As we set our sights on 2022 and all that the new year will bring I am going to ask that we pause and reflect on 2021 for a bit longer. Take stock of the things you were able to accomplish. Write them down. Include your personal and professional goals, milestones you reached, vacations you took, and/or challenges you were able to navigate through. After you create your list, allow yourself to process your thoughts and feelings on everything you were able to accomplish this year, and how this can help you in the next year of life. One final area to slow down and process for this exercise is to identify the people who helped you throughout your pursuits this year, and what that support means to you. I then want you to reach out to those people and share with them your gratitude for their support. Many of the things we are able to accomplish are because of the people we have in our lives holding us up with their words of praise, their sacrifices, the time and effort to better us, and their love. Let them know exactly what you noticed from them, and what it means to you to have that person in your life.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday season. You’ve earned your rest and relaxation. Eat, drink (responsibly), and be merry! Remain always in pursuit (just remember to take a pause or two to reflect) and live your life on the offense.
I want to add a special thanks to my family for being my rock and inspiration! To my loving wife, thank you for pushing me to be the best version of myself; to my children, thank you for teaching me patience and to remember to laugh.
--Daren