Meaningful Progress

The Damaging Effects of Worry

July 31, 2016 By Uncoveries

The worry we experience is never driven by external factors. It’s taken me a long time to truly understand this.

As tempting as it might be to blame the situation, the weather or someone else, what’s going on externally is never truly the culprit of what’s going on inside. Outside factors may contribute, but they’re never the main source of the angst.

I used to think my unhappiness and stress were solely driven from my full-time job in finance. While my disinterest in the field certainly didn’t help, working in finance wasn’t the main reason for my stress.

Really, the issue was within me.

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Growing on the Uncertain Path

July 23, 2016 By Uncoveries

I recently learned about the Enneagram of Personality and discovered I’m the number five personality type. Type five is known as the thinker, observer, investigator—among other similar names. Like the other eight types, it comes with its strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies.

It all began with a library book on the subject. I was then guided to an assessment from the book. I wasn’t entirely swayed by the summary I initially read after receiving my results. Yet the more I read, the more I realized the patterns described have played out similarly in my life.

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The Difficulty of Resisting Busyness

July 13, 2016 By Uncoveries

The past couple weeks, I’ve been sporadic in my meditation and gratitude practice. It’s usually something I try to do regularly.

I feel the impacts of when it’s been awhile. There’s an underlying fluster and distractibility that’s more pronounced. I’m more easily overwhelmed and susceptible to the desire of wanting to do a little bit of everything that often results in nothing of significance being done.

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Real Talk on the Next Phase for Uncoveries

July 6, 2016 By Uncoveries

It’s been about a year and half since I began writing regularly* on Uncoveries.

And by regularly*, I mean once a week when I’ve been timely, and two to three times a month when I haven’t been as prompt (I’ll spare you the excuses).

It’s about time for some real talk—about the next phase for Uncoveries, a couple changes, and the reason behind them.

Why am I doing this now?

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Spark: The Catalyst for Change

June 28, 2016 By Uncoveries

Without warning, a spark ignites on what was just another day. What happens is unexpected, yet there seems to be a message.

If you’re paying attention, it could be a spark—the catalyst for change.

And if you’re courageous enough to embrace the unknown, you may realize it’s time to move on. It may be time to move on in some capacity, whether it’s out of a current job, mindset, activity, relationship or environment.

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Optimize: The Rewards of Expertise

June 14, 2016 By Uncoveries

When the tumultuous trek fades into a calm stroll, it’s initially hard to believe.

Immersed in the daily toil of building towards our goal or dream, we’re taken aback that we’re suddenly there. We’ve lost count of all the steps in the process—but at some point, the effort from the previous phases Reassess, Erase, Explore and Build all come together to the most desired phase for many: Optimize.

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Build: Forging the Path

June 6, 2016 By Uncoveries

The destination is a marvelous sight to behold.

When we’ve set sight on a direction of growth and genuine excitement, it’s time to build, forging the path to our goal. Whether it’s trying out a new fitness regimen, changing careers, or embarking on a new relationship—building a new part of our life is when enthusiasm gradually gives way to muscle, mindset, patience and perseverance.

Moving from Explore to the Build phase is the beginning of a trek that can last from months to many years. This is where you hone intent, lay out a plan and execute the steps. It’s the practical, hardworking and laborious part of the journey. Build generally starts off with high energy and optimism with a dash of necessary foolishness. In new territory, we’re bound to be naïve in certain areas as we research, learn and figure things out as we go along.

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Explore: Growing into the New

May 25, 2016 By Uncoveries

Signs of growth eventually emerge from the space we’ve erased.

After a pause that’s almost always longer than we’d like, we find ourselves squinting in the brightness of possibility. We’ve had to grieve and erase a part of us that was no longer fitting, and the heaviness has slowly subsided. Through erasing, we’ve created space for the exploration to come.

Where we saw ending and loss, we now see hope for the new.

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