Issue 25 | Feb. 21st, 2022
8&21
Welcome to your three-minute pause. 
This is your practice space.

 
The Inspiring Wood Duck
“Last week, I learned an important lesson from a duck. 
 
Not just any duck, mind you—a wood duck. For the last month, I have seen pictures from local birders of a wood duck at a lake near my home. As a semi-serious birder, I keep a life list of birds I’ve seen, and I would love to add that wood duck. 
 
Three times I’ve hiked the trails around the lake, found the marsh where the wood duck had been photographed… 
but, no wood duck.
Sarah Egan Warren
As I was leaving the lake after my third failed attempt, I was feeling disappointed with my unsuccessful search. 
 
The funny thing was—I had seen a great blue heron, hooded mergansers and buffleheads diving for food, red shouldered hawks, an adorable ruby crowned kinglet, nuthatches building their nest, a raucous pileated woodpecker, and a bald eagle… all birds that normally I would have been excited to see!
It got me wondering about other times when I may have missed something amazing because I was looking for something else.
 
So, thank you, Mr. Elusive Wood Duck. You gave me a reason to go to the lake—and the opportunity to reflect on and appreciate what is right in front of me.”
 
- Dr. Sarah Egan Warren, Co-Editor of 8&21, Bird Enthusiast

 

 
Goals and Gratitude
“I have big goals. I want a lot, I'm working on a lot—but I also have a lot already.
 
For me, it's a constant balance—focusing on my goals, giving myself permission to be wildly ambitious about tomorrow—but also making sure that I take time to appreciate what I have today."

 
Coexistence 
 
“To be content doesn’t mean you don’t desire more, 
it means you’re thankful for what you have 
and patient for what’s to come.”
Author and motivational speaker Tony A. Gaskins, Jr.

 
One day at a time
We asked Elyssa Kivus, wedding & brand photographer extraordinaire, if she has a daily mantra. She shared, “One day at a time.”
“Long term goals and plans are incredibly important, but I don't want to get so hung up on them that I exhaust myself mentally or get stuck not knowing how to take the first step.”
“By focusing on one day at a time, I can appreciate the now without worrying too much about the future. It also encourages me to break plans/goals/projects into smaller chunks that can be achieved one day at a time.”
 
Elyssa Kivus, Kivus & Camera

 
“True contentment is not having everything, but being satisfied with everything you have.”
 
― Oscar Wilde

 
It takes practice
“Gratitude is a way for people to appreciate what they have instead of always reaching for something new in the hopes it will make them happier or thinking they can't feel satisfied until every physical and material need is met. 
 
Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack. And, although it may feel contrived at first, this mental state grows stronger with use and practice.”
 
- From Harvard Heath Publishing, the consumer health education division of Harvard Medical School

 

 
How do you balance goals for tomorrow with gratitude for today?

 
Great job!
Way to take a pause and give 3 minutes to your practice of pursuing awesome 
with this issue's theme. You rock!
 
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to disrupt your status-quo with an encouraging reset.

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Photo Credits: 
 
Photo of Tony A. Gaskins, Jr. from his Amazon author page
Smiling group photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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