When it comes to physical fitness there are a number of ways to measure one’s fitness level. From flexibility to strength, there is always room for improvement. One measurement that is commonly utilized by athletes is Heart Rate Recovery (HRR). After a short bout of submaximal exercise, the heart rate is recorded one minute after the exercise has ended. The decrease in beats per minute indicates the ability of the cardiovascular system to return to rest. With consistent endurance training, HRR will increase as the body is able to return to rest more quickly.

As we navigate each work day, regardless of profession or trade, we are sure to encounter difficult people and situations. Any given day may begin with a breathtaking sunrise, a carefree commute, and an attitude that can summit the tallest mountain. Without warning, an unpleasant coworker or unforeseen issue can knock us off our game, sending us reeling. If we are not seasoned or mature, the rate at which we recover can place us in a category that is unfavorable. Carrying the weight of the day from the cubicle to the dinner table should hoist red flags to alert us that we’re not processing the situation with grace. Even worse, harboring bitterness for days, weeks, and seasons can destroy productivity and render us paralyzed in our ability to contribute as a strong teammate.

Lately, I have been asking a simple question that has led to even deeper introspection about my role in my current workplace: How fit is my response? Am I able to recover from moments of frustration, or does my “heart rate” remain elevated much longer than is healthy?

My prayer is that the Lord would empower us to deal in the currency of great grace, treating each person with more patience than any of us ever deserve, and that our attitude would not be a grand façade, but a true measure of maturity!

Anyone who has ever crossed the finish line of an endurance race will tell you that it demands a training regimen that is both physical and mental. The very first time I registered for a triathlon, I completed the online form, purchased a road bike, a suit, a swim cap, and a pair of goggles. Saying ‘yes’ is the exciting part. We so quickly agree to try new things, but have no idea how much work will be required to finish.

Jumping into the pool at the Colorado State University recreation center, I did my very best to swim from one end to the other. Once my fingers graced the concrete edge, I stood up and gasped for my next breath of air. One length felt like the definition of misery and I had a half-mile, open water swim to train for. It was clear that the battle would be uphill before it would ever get easy. That year, I finished the swim in 24:10. Was I the fastest in my age group? No way. By 2012, I shaved almost five minutes off my first time to finish in 19:37. Was I the fastest in my age group then? No, not that year either. I was still a good distance behind the first athlete out of the water.

With less than six weeks until this summer’s race, there is ground to cover. This morning’s workout had me back in the pool. If I were to finish my first lap, determining that would suffice for today, my body would not be conditioned to swim for nearly twenty minutes without stopping.

 

Michael Phelps has been known to say that what made him competitive in his swimming career is his willingness to “stay in the pool.” Even after most would be satisfied with the work they accomplished during their Olympic-level workouts, Michael pushed to work passed the level of commitment they invested. With 18 Olympic gold medals, I doubt anyone will argue that his hard work paid off.

In what areas do you aspire to experience growth? Whether it’s part of your personal domain (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or financial) or a part of you that extends to influence the lives of those around you, commit today to not only get started, but to work the muscle of Discipline. See that commitment through to the end! Many will start. Will you be one of the few to finish?

Not sure how to take the next step?  I would be honored to speak with you about how investing in your own LifePlan can get you started on the path to something new and exciting that encompasses who you are created to be!

There was a knock at the door last night and I knew exactly who it was. Peering through the peep hole, I saw my sister-in-law Robin, with a birthday card in one hand and my keys in the other. “Someone was excited to get home last night!” she exclaimed as I wrapped up a phone conversation with her sister. She was right.

Birthdays serve as a special day for friends and family to express their love and take a moment to celebrate life with you. Aside from the annual “Happy Birthday” singing message from one of my best friends, a pretty potted plant from a coworker, phone calls with family, Facebook wishes, and the opening of birthday cards, yesterday was an average day. After the morning routine and a birthday latte for the commute, I found myself punching the clock and going through the motions of month-end. As with most days, walking through the front door is like breathing a sigh of relief. The stressful evening commute is over and the familiar scent of our home soothes my soul.

My husband’s current rotation has him working six days on with one day off. Every morning is early and many nights are late. Last night was an exception. Making it home before me, he managed to make a couple stops before getting in a workout. With my keys still in the lock of the door, the door opened from the other side and there was my husband with a single long-stem rose. While the rose and a few tears of joy add a twist of romance to the story, this is an everyday affair.

To my married ladies, I challenge you: leave your keys in the front door. The act of leaving the ring dangling for anyone passing by to snatch is not required to walk through the threshold of your home with great anticipation of spending time with the love of your life. When we were dating our husbands, we took time to put the finishing touches on our makeup, planned unique ways to make them smile, and listened intently to the details of their day. Whether five days or fifteen years have passed since the day you first said ‘I do,’ walk through the door tonight as though it’s the first time. Never forget that you are a treasured gem and an amazing gift to your man — your teammate for life!

Included in a parting gift from my team at my last company was a collection of quotes. Some were original and some were borrowed from noteworthy figures. Among them were two words: “Enjoy today.”

I’m not sure when it started, but somewhere along the way I adopted it as one of my email closings. Each time I sign off on an email, I remember to take time for the little things and to not rush through the mundane.

Enjoyment is the “state or process of taking pleasure in something.” Enjoyment is a choice. There are bills to be paid, miles to run, meetings to attend, little mouths to feed, material to learn, commitments to uphold. In and of themselves, these daily activities can be routine and even cumbersome. If we get caught thinking about what we would rather engage in, or future plans, the beauty of the moment will go unnoticed.

Today’s Challenge: When you find yourself bored or frustrated, throw some creativity into your situation to make it more enjoyable. Season the moment with awe or laughter and it might not be so bad!

At 26 years old, my life was already quite an unexpected adventure, as I believe holds true for so many of us. In 2006, I graduated from Colorado State with a degree in Health and Exercise Science. Taking a few turns along the way, I moved from Personal Training to becoming a Medical Assistant to an Orthopaedic Surgeon. At the recommendation of a close friend, I landed at OtterBox in the Summer of 2010 and was exposed to more about business, management, and customer service than I could ever learn in a classroom. The company was growing at an unprecedented rate and I was both along for the ride and excited for the challenge. The first year was a whirlwind. My original role quickly expanded and at my one-year mark, I was managing a team of three and we were ready to take on the world. OtterBox employees were eligible to participate in a LifePlan following one year of employment. There couldn’t have been a better time for me to engage. Sitting across the table from Laura, my LifePlan Facilitator, I shared with her what I believed to be my “Four Helpful Lists”: What’s Right, What’s Wrong, What’s Confused, What’s Missing. Looking back on the original email I sent to her, so much has changed over the last few years. As a single person, I desired a teammate and family. New to management, I was trying to navigate my personal career growth. With my background in health, I was struggling to swallow the number on the scale. In it all, I knew that it would require my relationship with Christ to be intact. We moved from breakfast to Laura’s parents’ home, where we went straight to work on a number of exercises that started to paint a picture of where I have come from and where I am going. Taking time to concentrate on life domains of personal, family, vocational, church, and community, it was becoming clear: THIS is who I am created to be!!! Wrapping up on the second day, tears of joy were streaming down my face. I sensed the Lord working through this process to reveal truth in my life. Since completing my LifePlan with Laura, it has been instrumental in my personal growth, by seeing the bigger picture of God’s plan. Little did I know that the medical training I encountered in school and working for a surgeon would translate into my marriage to a Medical Student who is fascinated with surgery. . . but God knew. I have continued to place an emphasis on fitness and am in better physical condition than I was as a high school athlete. My relationships are stronger and I better understand the importance of Community.

Now, this all comes together as I seek to become certified as a LifePlan Facilitator – a role that combines my Heart and Talents; the place where Career and Ministry can intersect. Two of my favorite takeaways from my LifePlan will resonate in it all: I am a People Optimizer who instinctively sees the potential in others and coaches toward that full realization. I pray that my Opus Gloria (contribution in life) would be influencing others to optimize their lives in ways that glorify God. If you would like to contribute to this investment, you can donate online here:  http://www.gofundme.com/anwqvw

I don’t know about you, but I can almost taste it – the weekend is almost here.

Casual office talk on Friday tends to lend itself to questions such as, “What are your plans this weekend?” Given the depth of that relationship, the answer is typically as simple as answering, “How’s the weather?” In response, we mention our need to run to the grocery store, how family will be in town to visit, or a desire to get up to the mountains for a few hours. With the same haste to rush from Monday morning to Friday evening, I believe we fail to slow down enough to savor every minute of our weekend.

My dear friends Heather and Tom are partners in adventure: a couple who has learned the art of taking advantage of the weekend hours. Whether they are wandering a path through the Colorado woods, or carving lines in the snow, they find that they are able to truly re-create in our big backyard!

Recreation is, at its core, renewing who we truly are through activities of rest and rejuvenation! We are uniquely created to be creative, to learn, to be active, and to enjoy Creation. For each person, this may look different. The renewal process for someone who finds peace in planning might look like an hour of time carved out to analyze a personal budget. For someone who is itching to get to their next workout, a training run that leaves them pushing their limits leaves them feeling accomplished. Ask a book worm to spend an hour in their current novel and you will get very little push-back.

The value that we place on such activities should be reflected in the free time we have. It has been said that you can tell a lot about a person by reviewing their bank statements and calendar. By stewarding our time, energy, and resources, we are better prepared to be the best version of ourselves. As we head into another weekend, I challenge you to identify 2-3 things that allow you to re-create. Carve out time to make sure you are able to do just that. As a result, you will return on Monday morning, ready to ROCK your work week!

Happy trails to you!

I admire my husband for a number of reasons. Over the last two years, I have watched him work endless hours as he pursues his MD. As he plows through digital flash cards, reviews medical journals, and adds bits of information to the giant white board in our office, I find myself settling into my spot in the room, to dive into the current book on my reading list. Not even two lines into an intriguing autobiography, and my attention is immediately diverted by the simple sound of a new text message. I pick up my phone, respond to the text, and return to my reading. Ten minutes later, I remember that I need to pull ground beef from the freezer for the next night’s stuffed peppers. Moving to the kitchen, I check “Thaw ground beef” from my mental to-do list. Picking up where I left off, I realize I didn’t fully read the entire last paragraph – all thanks to the meat distraction. A few hours later, the Hubs has covered a vast amount of complicated information and I am only a few more pages into a book that I want to finish in the next couple days. Here stands Exhibit A as to how my handsome husband has learned to master the art of hard work, and I still have room to grow!

Ann Voskamp recently shared in her blog, that her family is implementing the Pomodoro Technique. Intrigued by the notion, I watched the brief informational video on the official site. In a nutshell, each Pomodoro serves as 25 minutes of undivided attention and effort devoted to the task at hand.

With eleven days left in my twenties, there is no better time than today to try something new! For the next seven weekdays, Unwritten Adventure is going to get SAUCY!!!* I am committed to publishing something new, created in a 25-minute space that is free from distraction.

*Pomodoro (adj): denoting a sauce made from tomatoes, typically served with pasta.

One Pomodoro down. Many, many more to come!

On one end of the spectrum, cube farms are filled by Account Manager A and Customer Service Representative B; all taught to answer the phone with the same canned greeting that callers begin to recite when they dial the company’s toll free number. On the other end, is the entrepreneur with big ideas and an endless list of thoughts, seated in a bustling neighborhood coffee shop where they attempt to bring order to chaos.

While I am still very green and my resume lists only eight years in the workforce following my undergraduate studies, my eyes have been wide open and I have scratched the surface of many different work environments. Some nights, I have returned home smelling of garlic, my clothes spotted by olive oil. When the demands of a busy clinic schedule did not allow for a quiet lunch break, a row of paperclips lined the hem of my scrub top. I have watched business take the global market by storm and have stood by a woman in her eighties, beaming with pride and amazement, as she considered her fitness gains.

In each setting, I have observed how businesses run on both dollars and cents, as well as culture and sense. Lean too far in one direction and your accounting books might have something to boast of, but the people punching the clock and catching early flights lose sight of their individual contribution and sense of belonging to a team. Too much of a counter-reaction will have employees singing the praises of their workplace, but productivity suffers by the lack of accountability and coaching.

How do we attempt to rally for both revenue and relationship? I believe that many enterprises, organizations, corporations, and mom & pop shops are striving to accomplish just that – to promote employees with a place where they can both contribute and flourish. As much as it needs to be about dollars and cents, success should also be measured by the health of the culture and the level of care taken to ensure that the priorities make sense.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiates 3:1

The writer of Ecclesiates struggled desperately to put his finger on the meaning of life. In Chapter 3, he outlines many of life’s seasons. We often turn to this passage when we face a time of significance. Whether it is in the birth of a child, a graduation from college, the loss of a loved one, the success or failure of a business venture, the fight against a habit, the mending of a fractured relationship, a move to the other side of the world, or a victory for Justice, we draw lines in the sand, speak vows, build memorials, sign contracts, and throw parties that these moments would be remembered.

What about the time spent in the in-between? Seasons that seem to lack noteworthy significance are opportunities for the Lord to instruct us in the priceless lesson of Contentment. As our need for Contentment is revealed, it is increasingly obvious that only by the power of Jesus Christ is there strength in our weakness. While Contentment is key, my hope is that our desire is not to simply survive, but to THRIVE in the in-between!

In the stillness of this morning, my attention was turned to Proverbs 9 and I considered how seasons of preparation are an excellent training ground to foster our relationship with Wisdom. If our aim is to mature before moving into the next chapter of life, Wisdom must be sought after. The beauty of the illustration in verses 4-7 is the invitation to “live and walk in the way of insight.” A table is prepared! At this table, we can receive the nourishment and strength that Wisdom offers.

Within the same chapter of Proverbs, the Way of Folly is also described. Answering to her loud cry to partake of the meal she offers only leaves the guest unsatisfied and in the company of the dead. Her way may seem appealing and initially satisfying, but the end result is destruction.

As I shared these thoughts on Wisdom with my husband, he also highlighted a valuable truth: we are in a season that is moving fast. All around us, the lives of our friends and family are marked by rapid change. There are many decisions along the road ahead and we must choose to dine at Wisdom’s table. The choice is ours to feed on the Bread of Life, completely surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is only in a posture of faith, seated at the table of Wisdom, that we will experience the growth and maturity required to live with excellence!

It’s an over-sized mug of Reindeer Blend coffee, Fresh Balsam candle burning, sitting by the light of the Christmas tree, thankful for so many blessings kind of morning.  After a night at the Art Museum for the  2013 Medical School Christmas Gala, the Hubs set back out into the sub-zero temps to spend a night learning in the Emergency Department at the hospital.  In the year we’ve been married, there has only been one night when we were not asleep in the same bed.  I awoke in the middle of the night and gazed at the clock on the dresser through sleepy eyes:  1:13 a.m.  Dozing off again, I gained a few more hours of shut-eye before I found myself checking back in with the numbers, glowing green:  4:52 a.m.  At 6:47, there was a turn of the lock at the front door and the eagerly anticipated report of the patients that presented throughout the night.  Of course, each patient is anonymous to me, but I learn of the course of action taken by the medical team to treat each body.  The iPad Mini that was delivered to our doorstep yesterday must have proven to be a helpful tool for the Hubs.  When I asked how it worked out, he was a few words into his response before falling asleep mid-sentence.  I smiled and moved into the kitchen to start a fresh pot of coffee.  The wait is over and he is here.

A dear friend of mine is at full-term in her pregnancy and will likely be holding a new baby boy before the weekend is through.  There comes a point in time when the anticipation and discomfort of pregnancy culminate, and nine months of preparation and growth seem to be a blink of an eye when compared to the final days before birth.  Within hours, the miracle of a new life is held in the arms of parents, who are captivated by their tiny treasure.  The wait is over and he is here.

Above our kitchen sink hangs a small chalkboard that was carried by our beautiful nieces that announced, “Uncle Mike, Here comes your Bride,” before I took my dad’s arm and he walked me down the aisle.  It was a moment brimming with emotion.  The wait was over, we made our covenant, and the time for celebration had come.

The chalkboard continues to announce the coming of moments in life that we look forward to.  From vacations and birthdays, to school milestones and holidays, we enjoy watching each day pass before the big day arrives.

It is, in this time of year, that our hearts are turned to the coming of the Messiah – a Savior, who came as a baby to be our mighty Redeemer – our Immanuel, God with us.  Today marks the seventh day of Advent, over 2000 years after Mary, Joseph, and all of Creation anticipated the arrival of Heaven on Earth.  May our hearts be stilled, even in the chaos of this season, to consider the joy of the breathtaking gift of Grace.

The wait is over and He is here.