What's The Best Use Of You

Time to read: 1 min 2 seconds

Lately I've been thinking a lot about purpose, and what it means to spend your day living meaningfully and purposefully. This season of reflection is a good time to consider this question:

What is the best use of you?

You know you are at your best use when you feel "well-used" by the end of most days. When you feel like the way you spend your time uses your unique gifts and talents. When you feel a sense of satisfaction, even if you didn't complete everything or it was hard. When you look back over a week and are proud of the way you spend your time.

The best use of you applies to work and the ways you support your family and friends, raise your children, care for your parents, volunteer in your community, and interact with strangers.

The implication of your best use is that there are also things that are NOT your best use. Like, maybe someone else should crunch the numbers or do the design or direct the difficult conversation.

For example, details are not the best use of me. Communication and relationships are. So, I rely on others in my life (my assistant, and my husband) to manage details while I handle sticky situations and awkward conversations. My husband is relieved. And so am I. It's a win-win.

We need a world where each of us is performing to our best use each day. What's yours?

How Are You Compensated?

Time to read: 46 seconds

As we speed toward the end of the year, 'tis the season of year-end reviews and raises. I invite you to think about how you are compensated.

You are compensated with money, of course. I have a new side hustle selling vintage jewelry and housewares, and the money is certainly nice. However, if money were the only compensation, I'd be making pennies per hour. If money were your only compensation, you'd be a mercenary.

I hope you make more than pennies per hour. And, consider all the other ways you are compensated: travel, wonderful colleagues, free lunches, learning, challenges, things to talk about, and opportunities.

Most of the compensation for selling vintage items is social for me…the people I've gotten to know buying and selling. It's also good stories…funny things that happen, touching moments, and weird stuff and places.

Expand your thinking about your compensation, you'll find you are paid handsomely indeed!

Still Waiting….

Time to read: 46 seconds

Our monster cat

In the United States, the days are shorter and up here in the North, it's cold. Year-end has its own special bustle of strategic and budget planning and annual performance evaluations all combined with the holidays.

While you are busy planning 2025, I would like you to take a moment to plan your rest. What will you do in the coming weeks to rest and reflect as you prepare to draw the year to a close?

In athletics and physical training, rest is as crucial to building strength as work. So, be as serious and intentional about your rest as you are about your strategic plans and budgets.

Stay warm out there, my friends in the north!