Desiree Briel Rodi Consulting & Coaching
Business and People Strategy Unite
Process, patience and purpose -How do these themes connect for you? Do you sometimes question your progress and thus the process, or lose sight of the purpose and then struggle with both patience and process? What have you learned about process, purpose, and patience in your life? How does your view of process connect to patience and purpose for you?
Another Chance
I am often inspired by nature, the seasons, and the cadence of life around us, as well as the view through the eyes of my children. Spring comes every year and offers another opportunity to try again, to do something new, to grow and change, a do-over if you will. This past month, we took our first spring break trip, our first big trip on an airplane, since February of 2020. I feel so fortunate to have been able to take our first family vacation, a real vacation, since COVID. We’ve taken road trips and spent some time in an Airbnb or two along the way, but this was the first time in 26 months that we boarded an airplane. This was Sally’s first flight, and given the passage of so much time, seemed like a first for the boys, too. A silver lining of COVID, my kids don’t take such trips and flights for granted anymore. It was pure joy to travel for the first time again! So much seemed new!
We went to Southern California where we soaked up the sun and time with friends and family we hadn’t seen in over two years. The boys shared some of their favorite places with their sister (we called Los Angeles home from 2017 to mid-2019), while simultaneously experiencing them all anew – Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, the Space Shuttle Endeavor, the Natural History Museum in LA, Noah’s Ark at the Skirball Center, sunset on the beach – so much goodness and joy, a taste of newness even in revisiting old favorites.
This travel experience makes me think about the opportunity spring presents each year – an opportunity to plant and grow something new and different, an opportunity to grow something old and familiar in a new way, an opportunity to reinvent, try again, to grow after a season or more of remaining the same, a chance to see new opportunity, and a time of rebirth. Every spring, there is another occasion to start fresh, to try again, to try anew, to show up differently, to see differently, a “do-over” and a chance to appreciate things/people/experiences more deeply.
This spring, what are you seeing as if for the first time? What are you noticing with new eyes? What is being illuminated for you or providing you clarity? What might you do or what might you change to see things from a new vantage point or through a new lens? Where are you feeling stuck and in need of a new way of seeing in order to move forward? As we begin to reemerge, what are you more deeply appreciating and savoring, as if familiar and new all at once?
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
— Attributed to Rabindranath Tagore
This podcast came across my path via email from a colleague at Seattle University where I teach as an Adjunct Faculty in the Albers School of Business, Department of Management. The content both encouraged me and challenged me as I considered my own journey to stay present and aware, conscious, and in the moment, as well as my desire to share ideas and content in this email that resonates and people will like. The theme of being liked hit home as I have been pondering ways to grow my audience and have worried about people losing interest. At the same time, the joy of our spring break and the reminders to embrace each moment and take all that life has to offer, with acceptance and gratitude also sat with me. So, I challenged myself to listen openly and to share openly.
The Commitment to Stay Conscious
Michael Singer Podcast, Season 2, Episode 3
Even when you’ve devoted yourself to spiritual work, it can be difficult to maintain mindful awareness. In this episode, Michael speaks on the difficulty of maintaining consciousness and equanimity when we seem hardwired to be hooked by outside stimuli.
This quick read is packed full of insight and human wisdom. One of my favorite moments was this exchange between the Mole and the Boy:
Mole, “I am so small!”
Boy, “Yes, but you make a huge difference!”
What Amazon has to say:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER · USA TODAY BESTSELLER
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse is not only a thought-provoking, discussion-worthy story, but the book itself is also an object of art.”- Elizabeth Egan, The New York Times
From British illustrator, artist, and author Charlie Mackesy comes a journey for all ages that explores life’s universal lessons, featuring 100 color and black-and-white drawings.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” asked the mole.
“Kind,” said the boy.
Charlie Mackesy offers inspiration and hope in uncertain times in this beautiful book, following the tale of a curious boy, a greedy mole, a wary fox, and a wise horse who find themselves together in sometimes difficult terrain, sharing their greatest fears and biggest discoveries about vulnerability, kindness, hope, friendship, and love. The shared adventures and important conversations between the four friends are full of life lessons that have connected with readers of all ages.
You can sign up to receive my Three Thoughts for Thursday post as an email on the third Thursday of every month by clicking here.
Please check out my latest blog post, The Problem of Intentions, Also check out my post, Be Careful, Recipes and Inspiration Yield Different Results! and my March edition of Three Thoughts for Thursday, as well.
Beginning in April 2021, I have had the privilege of Co-Hosting with Kathy Hadizadeh, the Emotional Intelligence Special Interest Group for ICFLA. Please join us next week for April’s session on Tuesday, the 26th of the month as we explore our coaching lenses and how they can impact our clients!
For more information on the next “EQ and WooWoo” workshop (Thursday, June 23rd) with my colleague and Spiritual Coach, Katie Kay, please RSVP or email me for more information. This workshop series is designed to help you manifest action towards the year you want to live, the person you want to be, and the goals you want to achieve. We will be hosting quarterly sessions that intertwine the use of Tarot (and other Woowoo tools) and Emotional Intelligence to help you and your clients step outside the box in order to take your coaching and personal work deeper. June will focus on Social Awareness, tending to the seeds you’ve planted, and caring for the things you are growing.
If you are interested in joining and co-creating these learning communities, please use the links above to find out more about ICFLA’s Emotional Intelligence Special Interest Group and the EQ & WooWoo Workshops. I hope you will come along for the journey!
I’m always looking for new inspiration, new books to read, and new podcasts to listen to, so please send your suggestions my way or comment on this post to offer some new recommendations!
As always, thank you for your continued support and readership! Stay strong, stay brave, stay true to you!
Wishing you a season of “firsts”, of seeing anew, of do-overs, excitement, and joy!
Spring is Near!
As much as I love the season of autumn, I also love when the days start to get longer. March marks the start of Spring with the Equinox! Having grown up in Colorado, spring generally makes me think of the mud, but this year, I am thinking of the light. Equal days and equal nights. For me, as spring emerges, there is a sense of restoration and readiness to stretch and plant and grow, to bask in the light of the longer days. I can feel the light charging me up.
My ancestors were farmers so perhaps there’s something genetic that gives me the itch for spring, to dig in the dirt and plant things, to stay outdoors longer as the light allows me to stretch the day. I also am feeling this year, this urge to reconnect, to reinvigorate relationships, friendships, connections. Perhaps that is the purpose of winter, just as with plants and with animals who hibernate, to rest and restore in preparation for another season of planting and growing, stretching and connecting.
As I write this, the sun is shining through the green leaves of the tree outside my window. From this light of the sun streaming through the branches, I feel a warmth of anticipation, peace, hope, joy, a weight being lifted off of me as if I am becoming physically lighter in the light of the sun. I feel a reminder that I have everything inside of me to grow into all that I am meant to be as the sun shines upon me and provides its light and warmth to aid my growth.
As the seasons change, the days grow longer, plants begin to bloom, how are you feeling, both physically and emotionally? Do you connect with the seasons physically, mentally, emotionally? Do you feel a shift in your mood, in your patterns of being? Are you feeling energized? More connected? Longing for something different and new to spring forth? Or are you still in hibernation mode? How does spring make you feel and what does this season inspire? Metaphorically, what seeds do you want to plant and what will these seeds grow this year?
“…this is too extraordinary. This is too wonderful. I must tell Botticelli that he was wrong. Suffering is not the answer. Light is the answer.”
~ Roscuro in The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo ~
I recently had the privilege and opportunity to be a returning, second-time guest on the podcast,
The Career Butterfly with host, Erica Parker Price
“Careers come in Phases. Find your Passion. Discover your Purpose.
Soar into the Future.“
This podcast is for the millions of women who have taken a career break and are ready to find their wings and soar like a butterfly. We provide weekly insights and interviews with women who have successfully returned to work, as well as experts working to make it easier to hit pause and un-pause on your career.
In Episode 123, Bringing Your Emotional Intelligence to Work, we take a deeper dive into EQ and its power to transform and connect us as human beings. You can also find resources that relate to the discussion and have informed my own research and work. If you are interested in my first interview with Erica, you can listen to Episode 116, Riding Your Own Unique Wave, to hear more about my personal journey.
Please check out all the other episodes, as well, as they all share common themes around resilience, humanity, struggle, reinvention, growth, and provide inspiration to continue to adapt, evolve, and grow – great themes connected to spring!
David Whyte is a poet, author, speaker, philosopher.
From his website:
THE POWER OF THE POETIC IMAGINATION
David Whyte’s writing explores the timeless relationship of human beings to their world, to creation, to others, and to the end of life itself.
He makes his home in the Pacific Northwest, where rain and changeable skies remind him of the other, more distant homes from which he comes: Yorkshire, Wales, and Ireland. He has traveled extensively, including working as a guide in the Galapagos and leading trips into the Himalayas; much of his work chronicles a close relationship to landscapes and histories. He speaks to the suffering and joy that accompany revelation, and the necessity of belonging to families, people, and places.
David Whyte’s poetry can be heard in the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies, the hallowed halls of educational institutions, and from the stages of literary festivals and theological conferences. In each of these disparate settings, his work and compelling speaking style are moving and relevant, transcending the confines of any individual context.
I have been taken with his book, Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words, and his book, Everything is Waiting for You. His words have been resonating and inspiring me to see beauty and purpose, love and joy, and have served as a great reminder that I have everything I need to become.
You can sign up to receive my Three Thoughts for Thursday post as an email on the third Thursday of every month by clicking here.
Please check out my latest blog post, The Problem of Intentions. Also check out my post, Be Careful, Recipes and Inspiration Yield Different Results! and my February edition of Three Thoughts for Thursday here on my blog, as well.
Beginning in April 2021, I have had the privilege of Co-Hosting with Kathy Hadizadeh, the Emotional Intelligence Special Interest Group for ICFLA. Please join us for April’s session on the 26th of the month!
For more information and to register for the March “EQ and WooWoo” workshop with my colleague and Spiritual Coach, Katie Kay, click here. This workshop series is designed to help you manifest action towards the year you want to live, the person you want to be, the goals you want to achieve. We will be hosting quarterly sessions that intertwine the use of Tarot (and other Woowoo tools) and Emotional Intelligence to help you and your clients step outside the box in order to take your coaching and personal work deeper. March will focus on Self-Management and planting what you want to grow.
If you are interested in joining and co-creating these learning communities, please use the links above to find out more about ICFLA’s Emotional Intelligence Special Interest Group and the EQ & WooWoo Workshops. I hope you will come along for the journey!
I’m always looking for new inspiration, new books to read, new podcasts to listen to, so please send your suggestions my way or comment on this post to offer some new recommendations!
As always, thank you for your continued support and readership! Stay strong, stay brave, stay true to you!
Wishing you a season of light and abundant planting!
Mile 18, ENDURANCE
I recently listened to a podcast with Brené Brown and Dr. Marc Bracket, Unlocking Us: On “Permission to Feel.” Brené compared the events of 9/11 to a sprint in which tragedy struck and then we quickly came together and moved forward to focus on recovery. Meanwhile our current situation she compared to a marathon. Just a few days later, a friend said to me, “So Des, you’re a marathon runner, what do you know? What do we need to know in this ongoing situation?”
Then yesterday, a friend and coach asked me how I am doing. Having been pondering this comparison to a marathon, I responded, “It’s mile 18 of a marathon, “the bonk,” the part where I question my sanity, devise multiple plans of escape, calculate how I will explain quitting the race, determine how far it is to the next aid station and what I will tell them to get them to help me escape. It is now a mental game. I know from past marathons that in a few more miles, just 20-30 more minutes of running, resolve will kick in and I will finish. At the moment, my brain is wild with doubt and panic and desperation (not really but in the sense of what I feel in that place of mile 18 of a marathon). This is a marathon, and I’m in the intense struggle to find my resolve. I know my body can finish the race but keeping my mind in the game feels somewhat impossible right now. I miss people and need some encouragement!”
There is no clear finish line to focus on in this marathon we are running. There are no fellow runners to keep up with or talk to, no fans line the course encouraging us to finish. True, at that moment, mile 18, in a marathon, I know how much distance I still have to cover and there is a finish line there, unlike now where we do not know when this will end. But, in that moment of the “bonk”, whether that comes at mile 13 or mile 15, or mile 18, while the final distance is known, the mind cannot comprehend that distance as tangible. The thought of another 8.2 miles after hitting mile 18 seems no different than the thought of running for all eternity.
Until I make it to mile 20 or 21 and then it clicks and my mind begins preparing and visualizing the finish line, that moment of accomplishment and celebration. From running 11 marathons now, while the “bonk” or that space of mental anguish, may come at a different point, I now know how to play the mental game, to adjust my self-talk to encourage myself to persevere, to find the resolve. I know I can endure. Endurance has come with training and experience, and fierce determination. I hope we find mile 20/21 and that sense of resolve kicks in, but right now, my mind is wild and in the thick of the struggle.
So, I am focusing on my training and on the lessons from life that have taught me I can and will finish this race, too. My choice of how the marathon ends is mine – will I cut off the course, will I take a rescue ride out, or will I cross that finish line with a relieved and proud smile of accomplishment on my face? I am leaning into my daily runs, yoga, meditation, writing, and practicing appreciation for the little things. I am working to give myself, and those around me, grace and space to struggle, reminding myself that the journey looks different for everyone. And I continue to remind myself of all the times I have overcome, and to coach myself to remember I will once again cross the finish line victorious, whenever and wherever that line might finally appear.
When have you endured and overcome? What can you learn from the struggles of your past when you have overcome that will help to carry you through to the future once again? How can you embrace the struggle and calm your mind, knowing you will endure? What does it look like and feel like to endure and overcome, to cross the finish line? How can you hold on to that feeling in anticipation of successfully completing this endeavor? What do you need to do right now to steel your mind for this mental game? How can you make space to train for the finish line while remaining focused on the journey?
Boston Marathon, 2018 – The weather took the endurance lessons to another level…more to come!
Stay tuned for more Lessons from the Run!
Desiree Briel Rodi Consulting & Coaching 