beBetter 

I turn 64 today! Yes, today is my birthday and as an introvert, I normally tell no one it’s my birthday. So odd how differently people react to this day. Many shout it out from the rooftops and we should as each one is a precious gift from God. When you are entering the fourth quarter, you tend to reflect more on things, you realize the clock might be running even faster than you think as we never know if we will get to the fourth quarter or how long we get to play.

My workout is done and it’s time to jump in the shower, refresh and head into the office. I’m really excited this morning as things are trending to more and more in-person meetings and opportunities. Even introverts like me need connections and when we interact, it helps us grow faster towards our full potential. But first, back to the shower.

Here comes my fifth Zoom call of the day and the fatigue is real, but I’m also glad I “get to” have a busy schedule with impactful meetings. As I get ready for my next call, I recognize the fatigue and make a mad dash to the breakroom for coffee. Throwing back the caffeine as our call gets underway, I’m coming back to life as the passion from one team member is building.

We have all experienced those bad days when nothing goes right or we get bad news that seems to consume us and our day. Over the years, I have developed ways to reframe these moments that diminishes their effect on me and my team. Although no amount of reframing will make bad news good, there’s an opportunity for us to be at our best to deal with these bad moments or bad news.

Sure, we all have bad days here and there. Feelings of negativity can quietly creep in and before we know it, we may find ourselves feeling irritable, stressed, or even resentful.

I am working diligently to keep my weight at 195 pounds. As part of my early morning ritual, I weigh and record my weight almost every morning. Yes, I write it down because it creates more accountability as I reflect on my track record daily and keeps me focused on my goal.

A few weeks ago, I presented at the 2017 Southeastern Accounting Show hosted by the Georgia Society of CPA’s. Leaving, I found myself stunned by the lack of preparedness of our profession from a grassroots perspective. And I wondered—as we look into the mirror, are we spiraling towards irrelevancy because we are fooling ourselves?

One of my best friends and I share the text message, “You So Lucky,” with each other whenever we see the other one enjoying life. It makes me smile every time he sends it to me and I am always excited to send it to him. He once jokingly commented to me that I needed to put it in my blog.