The Trump Conundrum

I hinted about my thoughts on the whole Trump situation about a week or so ago. Being an American who lives abroad, it is a topic that's constantly brought up. Despite the fact all my university degrees have a connection to political science and international relations, I aim to avoid political conversations. I could get into a whole other post about why but truth be told, it would be boring.

Now I'm kicking the notion of avoiding these conversations into hyper-drive. I don't agree with our current administration, but I'm avoiding these conversations because they are so negative and only promote fear and speculation. I agree--it is a terrifying time, and I'm not naive or oblivious. I know I'm fortunate that I don't have to worry about keeping my home, my livelihood, my lawful right to love, and a whole host of other topics that people now fear on a daily basis they will lose. 

I keep getting roped into these Trump conversations, and they aren't productive. I go out of my way to face the day with positivity and focus on the good things. I think this approach has allowed me to grow and achieve some pretty incredible things to date. When I get sucked into the Trump speculation, I never exit feeling good, empowered to tackle the day or excited about the world as a whole. 

So going forward, I'll politely excuse myself or segway into a non-related topic, so don't be surprised. This doesn't mean I'm not worried about the world; it just means that I think one of my better gifts to the world is my positive energy and I want to stay focused on that.

Bouncing Back

I'm alive, I'm human, and I feel motivated and energized. Today's been full gas from the start, but at least physically I had the energy to take it as it comes. I've had a day chocked full of conference calls, a lunch meeting and work.work.work. Much of this is because I put things off all week due to travel and sheer exhaustion. It all caught up with me today.

It seems like slowing down yesterday was the wise move. I did crawl into bed last night and look at my Fitbit and think, "I really should have gotten out and walked yesterday." Mentally, slowing down isn't my strongest skill. But I slept for about 10 1/2 hours (WHAT?!) and woke up without an alarm this morning feeling much better. Able to actually tackle the day, which I think would have been impossible if I didn't take yesterday so easy.

Today, I keep trying to find time to squeeze in a workout or to go for a walk, but that hasn't happened yet, and the sun will set soon. So instead of writing more, I'm going to lace up my sneakers, download a podcast and get the first bit of movement and fresh air since Sunday.

Feeling Wrecked

I’m wrecked today. Similar to the travel out to Abu Dhabi, the travel back has left me spent. I get frustrated with myself when I’m this tired. I don’t want to slow down; I don’t want to take a day off from working out. But my body is so tired. I’m achy and sore in a way that doesn’t even make sense.

Mentally, I’m shot. I think I’m firing at less than 75%, which makes me concerned about the quality of work I’m putting out. This is all a great example that relates to yesterday’s post when I said that business works during the week. I can’t take today off to recharge like I need to because there is too much work that needs to get done. I'm not complaining; this simply is how it is. There was a fair amount of regular work that I put off while I was in Abu Dhabi. When I’m at a race, I do triage and only deal with the things that are critical. This means I always come home to a backlog of work I need to tackle.  

It’s crazy what complete exhaustion feels like. Looking back, I can understand that waking up at 6 am and working until 11 pm for 10 days caught up with me. I shouldn’t be surprised or frustrated with myself. Right now, the best use of my time is finding ways to recharge and recover. Today that might mean not working out and not getting my 12,500 steps. Already, I let myself work from the couch instead of sitting at my desk. As soon as I can stop working, I’m going to watch TV, maybe take a bath, eat an awesome dinner and see if I can make it until 8:30 pm to climb into bed. If I do all the right things today, I’m hoping I’ll wake up tomorrow feeling a little more renewed and with enough energy to truly tackle the day.

Values and Goals

Last May, I spent time thinking and writing out my values and goals. I had reached a point where I was getting bored and didn't feel like I was pushing myself or growing. I also knew I had numerous negative influences in life but had no idea how to address them. Putting thoughts on paper gave me some direction to get through the craziness of life that was pulling me all over the place. A beacon to center things.

I remember sitting at outside at a pool at an airport hotel in California and thinking through where I wanted life to take me. I wrote out values and goals for my career, relationships, personal habits (including health) and finances. Nothing was super specific as in, I want to achieve X, Y or Z. It is more focused on intention. 

For example, the one for Financial said, “Maintain a balance between short-term fun and long-term security”. Relationships said, “Aim for symbiotic relationships that focus on mutual support, understanding, love and kindness.”

What’s been surprising is that my life has shifted and changed so vastly since I wrote down these goals. It now reflects these goals more than I ever thought possible, especially the career and personal ones. Almost like magic. 

I’m sure the fact that when I would make a decision, I would often reflect if that choice fits within these goals, played a big role in the shift. But it felt bigger than that. More powerful

Now that it’s almost been a year, I decided it was time to update my goals. And I went bigger. Instead of four goals, I went more specific, yet broader and did 10:

1. Career
2. Family
3. Growth
4. Work
5. Health
6. Financial
7. Personal
8. Relationships
9. Daily Habits
10. Future

I’m still smoothing them out into a finalized product, and then I want to try and read them on a daily basis…maybe morning and night. I’m interested to see where these bigger and broader goals lead me over the next 6 months to a year.

Showcasing Life

I go back and forth when it comes to social media and posting photos of my life. I never want to come across like I'm gloating, but I am fully aware that I live a very fortunate life. 

I find myself in places I'd never expect to go, like the middle of the desert. I want to share these experiences because I know not everyone gets to see the world. I want to write about it so that I remember it. But I never want it to seem like I'm bragging. 

It's not always romantic and beautiful. Yet, as a rule, I try not to focus on the negative in life. So I rarely mention details like the fact my hotel here is on the direct Abu Dhabi airport flight path. From about 2-3am, it seems like ~40 jumbo jets flyby the hotel. This meant my sleep was far from ideal. Or how many hours of a day that I spend crammed in the middle seat in the back of a car. Or that I don't stop working until 11pm....11:30pm....or 12am.

All of that is basically my normal. Those challenges add color, so maybe I should mention the less than ideal aspects of this lifestyle occassionally, but at the end of every day, I know I'm getting to live a pretty charmed life. 

Feeling American

I'm not big on talking about politics (nor religion) and this isn't that. It's me talking about being an American. Last year, I traveled to every continent except Antarctica and that gave me a chance to reflect on what it means to me to be an American and how I felt the world perceives us. 

It's a strange time to be an American. There have been many moments where I don't feel proud and more than a few where it touches on shame, especially during my foreign travels. I constantly feel like apologizing.

I think this comes from the global belief that America is a place of opportunity and freedom. Even with our consumerism and Super Size me mentality, much of the world holds a special place in their hearts for America. From Western Europe, across the Middle East, into Asia and down to Australia, I've always been welcomed with an extra smile, bigger hug and warmer kiss when people find out I'm American. The news may tell us one thing, but I like to judge life based on my experiences, and I can tell you being an American serves as an add almost all the time....possibly more than any other nationality (Aussies are our closest competition in the beloved country competition).

I think we forgot we are special and great. Maybe because people got on TV and told us we aren't great anymore....and some listened. Like everything in life, there are some obvious flaws, but what we have is special, and it would be sad to lose that and become homogenized. Our colors, languages, accents, cultures and foods make us special. We were built on shades and variances and while we are an enormous country, we historically have embraced foreigners, provided life-changing opportunities and openly let people call themselves Americans within a lifetime. That's special and not something many other countries allow. We are a country built on immigration and hard work and basically, all our family tree's roots include that foundation. 

I believe we are still great. America has unified over the past months in ways that makes me proud again. I think we are all scared and fearful of the unknown. That's life and relying on the core value that created us---land of the free, home of the brave--seems like a wise beacon during these times. Be kind to your neighbors, help those less fortunate. Living in a way that pays it forward always seems to pay you back. Or at least that's what the world has shown me.