My word for 2024 was ease. When February’s rocky road started tumbling in, I forgot all about it and then last week, the word resurfaced again in my mind.

Part of that is because life’s gotten a lot easier. That has less to do with life though, and more to do with my perspective on it. Ease reveals itself as I accept and surrender to a lesson ease is teaching me: the places I make it hard.

Back in February I was starting to get a clue that some of the situations where I found myself invested in grief were situations my behaviors, beliefs and lack of commitment to my intentions were underwriting. Ouch.

What is my part in this? became my meditation of choice and that meant seeing situations differently.

A really simple example. I noticed that I wasn’t enjoying the workouts at the gym I’ve been going to for over a year since I relocated. It was the first gym I landed at in a new city, post-Covid and recommended by a new friend. Everyone loves the gym and I did too, sort of, at least I loved the idea of it. The team couldn’t be kinder and the workouts were thoughtful but they didn’t give me the endorphin boost I’m used to because they were more focused on weights than cardio. I also kept ignoring the fact that the schedule wasn’t really jiving with mine, so I found myself missing days when I couldn’t make it work or showing up in class grumpy and tired.

Once I saw my part in this, I was ready for meditation part two. Help me surrender.

In search of ease, I admitted even though the workouts were fun for everyone else, they were not fun for me. I finally took a trial class at another gym, big on cardio and boom, one week later I remembered a part of myself on the treadmill. It felt good, easy. My level of fitness was unrelated to the story that had been creeping in about my aging joints.

What about you? Did you have a word for 2024? HIT REPLY and let me know what it was and what it is you're learning?

P.S. Are you caught up on the podcast?

"Just the act of being a historian of your own story is important."

In this Lesson On Owning Your Own Narrative, visionary architect and advocate, Pascale Sablan talks about how a pivotal moment in her early days studying architecture called her to her larger purpose of uplifting the voices of women and people of color, not only in the field, but beyond the build environment.

"Focus on the people who want you to succeed. Align with them. If you're focused on the fight you will have one."

If you’ve ever shown up in a room, boardroom or otherwise, on a job site or at a conference where people don’t expect to see a woman like you, raise your hand. If you’re Generation X or older, it’s pretty much par for the course. For all of you, Voice Lessons Podcast Creator and Co-Producer Kim Kuhteubl leads “A Lesson on Owning The Room.”