Daily Gratitude: I love this. It gives you permission to learn or try something new. You don’t have to be the expert at everything.

There’s an ad or an app (or maybe both) that I think is for an AI program and its theme is that you can spend 15 minutes a day using this AI program and it will bring you articles on things you want to learn and of course, if you do this, you will become an expert. Blah blah blah. It’s similar to all those learn another language systems.

The important point is that if you want to learn something new, you have to start somewhere. And when you start, no one, except maybe you, expects you to be a master. That title or position is earned, not just bestowed because you wanted it.

Listening to or studying something for 15 minutes a day might eventually lead to mastery but just acknowledge that it will take a long time and you have to go beyond the first step of just reading. If it’s something you really want, though, those 15 minutes a day will soon turn into hours. You are always a work in progress even if you are already a master at one. All masters continue to learn and practice.

Don’t be afraid to start and don’t be afraid to be a novice. We all are novices at some point in our lives. It’s ok.

Daily Gratitude: Maybe we can all keep this in mind as we head into the new year. How many of those resolutions and goals are really yours? How many of them are based in someone else’s desires.m? Before you answer, think about it for awhile. This may go way way back even to your childhood or maybe a previous relationship.

Often we don’t even know where some of these ideas came from. It’s just that they don’t truly feel like ours. If you’ve already made a list of things, examine it closely and ask yourself “is this something I feel strongly about? Is this something I really want? If it is, why is it important to me?

If you can answer these questions, then they probably are your true goals. Never spend time from your life pursuing what other people want you to pursue.

Daily Gratitude: Good ole Charlie Brown for bringing all my experiences of the second half of 2025 into a refocused perspective.

Another great way of saying control the controllables. If you look all around you, you’ll find so many different ways to express the same thing.

So what did I have to let go of?

For starters I had hoped I would do great (for me) at vol state. Well as you all know, that didn’t happen. But I learned to accept help that was offered. I wasn’t at the point yet, where i could ask for it but I was able to accept it from several sources.

As a result of letting go of those expectations I discovered more about myself than ever via my parts and IFS and writing my book

I thought “ok that’s a fine little bump. Now let’s get back to normal.”

Ha ha. Letting go of the expectation that I could finally finish this nemesis- the 112 mile race over Labor Day. Bang. There went my clavicle.

But instead of trying to prove how strong I was I finally did ask for help and was honored by my friend sacrificing 3 days to rescue me.

At that point I had to put all other expectations on hold – doing more podcasts and most of all finishing up my book

I learned a lot about patience and learning something new. I also learned more about the value of gratitude because I knew there are many people out there that would give anything to “just” have a fractured clavicle.

This was followed by a medical procedure that kept me from eating for 2 1/2 weeks. That really went against all expectations. But it also reset some of my food and appetite centers in a way I don’t understand yet.

That should have been it for the not living up to expectations but no. I was planning to use the upcoming race as good kick off training for 2026 vol state. Then I was out of commission for 7-8 days. There went that expectation. So living in the present on that is the fact I will go to have fun and evaluate what my body can do. And use that as kick off training. It’s just a different form but it will be excellent.

What have you learned from 2025?