Any highlights you guys wanna share from the past week/weekend? Anything you're looking forward to this upcoming week? Here's a picture of the sunrise I got to catch this morning. It was SO cold, but so beautiful and worth it.

Just watched the video below-I've seen this a few times and it's always such a nice reminder about priorities and how we spend our time. ------------------------ Description of video content: A professor walks in with a jar and begins filling it with different things: first golf balls, then pebbles, then sand...and also, some beer at the end.😂 At each step he asks if the jar is full, and each time the students say yes...but he keeps adding more, until, finally it 'really' is full. The professor then explains that this jar represents our life. -The golf balls are the most important parts (family, health, passions, faith, purpose) -the things that truly matter. -The pebbles are also important (work, responsibilities, tasks). -The sand--that's the small stuff we let fill our time. The point of it is that if we focus on the tiny bits first, there won’t be room left for what’s truly meaningful. This also relates to mental health because it contributes to us feeling empty, burnt out, and lost feeling. Maybe even with a sense of frustration. ------------------------ To me this video is another reminder to be intentional with our choices. People say that they want to be happy (or fulfilled) but a true level of fulfillment often comes from making space for what’s important, not from filling every moment with business. POLL: What's actually filling your 'jar'? ❓QUESTION to ponder: If someone judged your priorities only by your calendar/what they saw you do, what would they assume matters most to you? What do you protect your time for and what do you keep “meaning to get to”? ACTION 1: Do a “jar audit” 1. Write down what currently fills your days 2. Circle what actually nourishes you emotionally or psychologically or has positive impact long term 3. Cross out one sand item you keep using to avoid feeling (overworking, scrolling, overcommitting) 4. Replace it with one regulating /meaningful action ACTION 2: This weekend/upcoming week remove ONE “sand” item (a meeting, obligation, habit, or distraction) and replace it with a golf ball:

January asks us to sit with a sense of emptiness that can feel deeply uncomfortable. What we label as stagnation often takes a very practical form. Things are left undone. Decisions are put off. We hesitate to act. But what if this is not a failure. What if it is information. What if delaying is not a flaw in our character, but a moment of intelligence at work. January is a pause between movements. Nothing has truly begun, yet nothing has fully ended. The mind may already be racing ahead, full of plans and expectations, while the body remains slower, still attuned to winter, still conserving energy. Out of this mismatch arise moments so small they are easy to miss. A quiet inner nudge that slightly alters direction. A brief sense of clarity. A conversation, a gesture, a seemingly minor act that suddenly restores momentum. These are the moments we might call miracles, not because they are dramatic, but because they are precise. Seen this way, postponement is not obstruction. It is feedback. The system is checking whether purpose, safety and direction are actually aligned. What feels like resistance is often a protective response, a signal from the nervous system saying that something has not yet settled. Not yet. January, in particular, carries this unfinished quality. The old still has weight. The new has not yet found its shape. Before meaningful action can occur, a certain inner steadiness has to form. What looks like doing nothing is not an enemy of progress, but part of how coherence develops. When this phase is bypassed, the result is often more strain, more fatigue, more internal friction. When it is respected, something else becomes visible. The boundaries that are being defended. The needs that have not yet been acknowledged. The assumptions that remain unexamined. The sense of safety that is still incomplete. Real agency does not come from pushing harder. It grows where orientation deepens. Where body, thought and emotion begin to move in the same direction again. Where small, well-timed steps replace grand intentions that ask too much too soon.

The video below was inspiring this morning! ---- In "The Rhythm of Life" the author numerates 10 principles towards success... I will share these in another post, but I wanted to share some examples of indviduals that are considered great but have had signifcant failures... Individuals that embodied some/all of the principles that he describes. Abraham Lincoln’s Failures and Setbacks (as descrirbed in book) 1. 1831-Business Failure in New Salem-his general store business failed and he's left in debt 2. 1832 -Lost Election for Illinois General Assembly: first political campain-left defeated 3. 1832 -Military Service Disappointment:Served in Black Hawk War and didn't receive recognition 4. 1833 -Second Business Failure in Salem 5. 1835- Death of Fiancée Ann Rutledge (some debate about their relationship, but this impacted him significantly) 6. 1836- Mental Breakdown / Severe Depression 7. 1843 -Lost Appointment for Commissioner of the General Land Office:applied forr federal position but was rejected 8. 1846-Political Setbacks-his votes in House of Representatives caused friction contributing to limiting future political support 9. 1854 -Lost Congressional Race- 10. 1858-Lost U.S. Senate Race to Stephen Douglas:he gained recognition through debates, but still lost 11. Ongoing Personal Struggles-Depression and Self-Doubt:Continued emotional hardship, low moods, and self-doubt throughout much of his adult life. Michael Jordan’s Failures (as described in the book) were also noted: 1. Cut from High School Varsity Team 2. Overr 9000 of Missed Shots 3. Almost 300 Lost Games 4. 26 Missed Game-Winning Shots 5. Struggled in Early NBA Playoffs 6. Baseball Experiment / Retirement in 1993--he switched to baseball after his father's murder 7. Return to NBA & Adjusting Back ---- Both of these individuals could have used failure as reasons to stop pursuing and give up...But..They didn't. They persevererd in spite of failures. They had a vision and continued. Instead of letting failure define them, they used setbacks as lessons in growth, discipline, reflection and alignment with purpose.

You guys! Go check out this amazing post/poem by @Karen Hamilton Here:we-all-have-purpose I know we have some creative writers in this group! Please feel free to also share your art with us and definitely check out Karen's work!! :) -------- Purpose is typically built through engagement by doing things that create a sense of meaning, contribution, or growth over time. Waiting to feel inspired before acting usually keeps us stuck. Most people often don’t lack purpose; they lack clarity, direction or movement. Action clarifies values and values clarify action. Discomfort reveals what matters and responsibility can create meaning. :) :) -----------