Learning at the Heart

100 Posts in 100 Days

I have been fretting about this post for a couple of days, not quite sure what I would publish ( a couple of pieces are in progress) or howI would manage it in my schedule.  But, a comment on a post earlier this week made it clear what today’s installment should be.  

Prior to COVID, I posted my core values on this blog/website and in the Learning at the Heart Facebook group.  My leadership statement and core values is something I first wrote 4 or 5 years ago and have updated annually since then. It is posted on the wall in my office right at the entrance/exit.  The first core value I write about is integrity.  To me, a big part of acting with integrity is the willingness to do anything I would ask other people to do.  Today, I am turning the tables slightly to mean that integrity is taking your own advice:  treat yourself the way you would treat others.  

If you have been following 100 Post in 100 days you may have been able to read between the lines and know that I am with my immediate family in Chicago right now.  This morning started with breakfast with most of my family who were here this week.  Then, members started to leave town for their next destination.  In the end, this was the day where it was just me, my dad, and my uncle.  And so, I soaked it up.  I didn’t write about leadership or coaching today.  I just spent time with my dad and uncle, doing things they love (a come-from-behind win by the Cubs over the Red Sox wasn’t bad), asking questions and telling stories.  

If I was home in Sao Paulo, this post wouldn’t make it before midnight.  But, I’m in Chicago.  It’s going to make it (barely).  And I’ve progressed from fretting about it to not having an ounce of guilt about it.  I know that today I was present with my family and I had moments that will NEVER be repeated.  I’m proud of my self-prescribed challenge to write 100 Posts in 100 Days.  I’m more proud of living with integrity today:  doing what I would tell anyone who works with me or for me (take a day off!) to do, the family history I learned, and the memories I made.