Since completing my Racing to Roam goal in June with a 5K in Soldotna, I have been asked by several people, “What’s Next?” Admittedly, I even posted a variation of this question on social media in efforts to brainstorm ideas for what might be useful in guiding my future travel adventures; however, I confess to feeling Stuck In-Between, there exists a tension between Taking It Slow and savoring what has been accomplished. After all, completing races in all 50 states required a great deal of planning and expense. Yet, there is another side of me that relishes the excitement of entirely new and unplanned adventures ahead. How does one find the proper balance between relishing the experience and establishing a Habit of Growth?

Bernard Roth, one of the founding developers of a concept that I find extremely fascinating known as design thinking, offers an interesting perspective on finding this balance in his book The Achievement Habit, “There is nothing wrong with change and moving forward in life if it gets you to a better spot. Unfortunately, all too often in our search for the next big thing we don’t take the time to appreciate the satisfaction in achieving a goal, or the process itself. We are so busy being enticed by our next endeavor that we forget to savor what is already there and could be deeply meaningful.”

As I ponder the best strategies for appreciating the journey before considering What’s Next, I am discovering two useful approaches which might allow me to embrace Taking It Slow. One idea is mentioned in several readings lately including Choosing Gratitude, Grateful, and The Common Rule, which is based on the premise of intentionally investing time each day to create a list of things for which you are grateful. DeMoss shares, “being a thankful person is a choice. If I fail to choose gratitude, by default, I choose ingratitude. And once allowed into my life, ingratitude brings with it a lot of other undesirable companions that only succeed in tearing things up, then walking off with my joy.”

In order to prevent falling into the trap of Unexpressed Gratitude, I am choosing to embrace not only creating a daily list in a journal as suggested, but to invest time in a creative activity that has long been an enjoyable one for me—scrapbooking. As an old-school scrapbooker with all my Creative Memories supplies, I relish the process of reliving life’s experiences as I select the best photos, embellishments, and paper in order to document, (and appreciate) the moments that have comprised my fifty years on this planet. Although the albums have a tendency to collect more dust than fingerprints these days, they are still a witness to my life—to the relationships formed, the people loved, the laughter created, the places experienced. Photos are one of my favorite methods to delight in the journey of life without moving too quickly into thinking What’s Next!

As a person who is more inclined to doing and to being active, there is something unique about the calming process of journaling and documenting moments, browsing through photographs—it is a Slow and extremely rewarding process! So, as someone who is forever curious about what makes people tick, how do you engage in celebrating an achievement or moment before heading into considering What’s Next? Are there activities that help you to savor the here and now? Please feel free to share those ideas in the comments below so we may all be enlightened to consider new opportunities to appreciate and celebrate the life that God has given us.

References:

Bass, D.B. (2018). Grateful: The subversive practice of giving thanks. Harper One.

DeMoss, N.L. & Tada, J.E. (2009). Choosing gratitude: Your journey to joy. [Kindle version]. Moody Publishers.

Earley, J.W. (2019). The common rule: Habits of purpose for an age of distraction. IVP Books.

Roth, B. (2015). The achievement habit: Stop wishing, start doing, and take command of your life. [Kindle version]. Harper Business.