Patching Holes vs Installing a New System (7-23-25)

Last week was about our broken air conditioning and stepping away from the heat. This week is about deciding between patching holes vs installing a new system.

Our house had been hot for days by the time the air conditioning company could come take a look at it. When they showed up, we assumed that the problem would be fixed. However, it wasn’t that straight forward, because some parts were broken. Our unit was old, and we had a choice. We could pay a decent amount of money to replace the parts, knowing that it’s an old system that will likely go out again, and that the system is no longer efficient. Or, we could make a larger investment and replace the system with something that is more efficient and better. We chose to invest in the new system, because long-term it would be better.

Let’s make some connections. Have you ever seen this type of situation play out at work? Maybe, you worked with equipment or technology that was aging, and you had to choose from patching it up or replacing the system. Maybe, the way you did marketing no longer matched the environment, and you had to choose between continuing to do what you’ve done in the past or replacing the system with new processes and ways of working. In both of these situations it likely would be easier to just keep on the path you were on. It likely would be more comfortable. It would likely be less expensive in the moment. However, would it be the right thing to do? It all depends. As the world continues to evolve and as we grow, we will continually need to make a choice between patching up holes vs installing a new system.

The challenge: When will you patch things up so they can get by and when will you install a new system?

Bonus- This thinking can apply to our personal lives too. If you’re anything like me, you’ve had moments where you realized your ways of thinking and viewing the world no longer worked as well as they once did as the world changed and as you started to grow. You were then faced with a choice. You could keep force fitting those old ways of thinking or you could invest in upgrading your whole belief system. Evolving your belief system is hard work and requires a lot of time, but usually it’s more than worth it. I can tell you that I have more love, compassion, and patience now than I ever had before, but it took me some work to get there.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Learning to Listen to What You Need (7-10-24)

I hope you all enjoyed the 4^th of July holiday! The last entry was about expanding your comfort zone. This entry is about listening to what you need.

Cam came home after a particularly long rehearsal and was irritable. It had been a long week of rehearsals and other commitments. He was exhausted and grouchy. He comes home and says, “I’m grumpy. I just need to go flump.” In our house, flumping is like collapsing onto a softer cushiony service like a bed or a chair. Sometimes the flump also includes snuggling, reading, or just listening to music. In this instance, Cam flumped on his bed in his room and read his favorite book for 10-15 minutes. He then emerged from his room feeling so much better and was ready to face the world again. (Pic from Pawz Pet Café where you can go to snuggle some cats. #advancedflumping)

What does this have to do with anything? I love and am so impressed with how well Cameron can listen to what he needs in a moment and then act on that. He knew he was irritable and grumpy, and he knew that all he needed was 10-15 minutes to read to recharge his batteries. That’s wisdom and awareness that I don’t always have.

Meanwhile, here is how things play out for me. I don’t fully understand how upset I am at the moment and continue to keep pushing forward while a lot of time goes by. Eventually, I accidentally stumble into doing something along the way that is what I need whether that’s going on a walk, writing, reading a book, or something else. All of a sudden I feel a bit better, and then I say to myself, “Dang, I didn’t realize how much negative energy I was carrying. I wish I would have paused and did this thing sooner to deal with it.” Anyone else like that, or is it just me? I’m getting a bit better at listening to myself, but I’m not where I want to be yet.

The challenge: How can we do a better job of listening to ourselves and taking action?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Photography and Being Present (5-6-20)

Bond of Brothers by David Lloyd

Happy Wednesday,

This is our last in the series inspired by art. We started with painting over our mistakes, reflected on how mosaics are what true inclusion is about, explored how messiness is often the price of greatness, and last week was about what we see in a painting and situation. This week is about photography and being present. The photos come from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2020/jan/01/the-best-of-2019-wildlife-photography-awards-in-pictures.

Photography has always fascinated me, because at its heart it is about capturing a moment. The camera can’t dwell on the past, replaying the mistakes it has made and the things it wishes it could do over. The camera can’t get lost in the future, worrying about what might come to be. Instead, the camera can only capture what is in front of it in that specific moment.

How does this connect to life? There is incredible power in photography, because it is fully present. The photo captures that one moment in time in all its beauty, joy, sadness, pain, splendor, or any other emotion. To see a picture is to be brought to that moment and nowhere else. I often find myself lost in the past or the future, concerned about things I did or worried about what might come. I get lost in the business of the day to day grind and stop seeing what is in front of me. As I reflect, I wish sometimes that I was more like a photographer with their camera, fully immersed in the moment, taking it all in, and experiencing all that moment has to offer. I wish I did that better as a husband, a dad, a friend, an employee, and a human.

The challenge: How can you do better at living in the moment?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry