a year of Wooden: week 23

Posted on July 1, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Hi friends! It’s been a long time since my last year of Wooden post… Now, on the first day of July, it’s time to recap the month of June! Our theme was gratitude. This month’s challenge was to start a gratitude jar or gratitude journal, and every night before you go to bed, write down at least one good thing that happened that day, something or someone you are grateful for. {Here’s a post I wrote earlier this year about starting a gratitude jar.}

How did it go for you? I was amazed at how much there was to be grateful for … even tough/exhausting/emotionally draining days were full-to-the-brim of things to be grateful for. Keeping a gratitude journal helped me recognize and be thankful for the many blessings in my life — from big things like my family, friends, health, job, food and shelter, to smaller things like the smile from a stranger I pass by on the street, the warmth of my chai tea on a chilly June morning, or the hug goodnight from my grandma. Often the days that I was most tired and least felt like writing in my gratitude journal were the days I needed it the most!

I also made a list of 27 gratitudes for my 27th birthday … embarking on the list, I was a bit worried that I would have to stretch to find 27 birthday-specific gratitudes {27 is kind of a lot!} but I ended up having to consolidate some things into one number on the list because I had so much to be grateful for! That’s the thing about gratitude: the more you find, the more and more finds you. Gratitude grows exponentially once you learn to recognize it in your life!

All in all, at the end of this month focused on gratitude, I feel not only more grateful but also more centered, calm and at peace. I’m definitely going to continue keeping my gratitude journal for the rest of the year and beyond!

Now, moving on to July…

January: Drink deeply from good books.
February: Make friendship a fine art.
March: Help others.
April: Build a shelter against a rainy day (financially).
May: Be true to yourself.
June: Give thanks for your blessings every day.
July: Love.

Coach Wooden said, “The two most important words in the English language are LOVE and BALANCE.” This month, we’ll be focusing on the first of those: cultivating and nurturing more love in our lives. Next month, we’ll strive to create better balance in our lives.

For this week’s challenge, write a love letter to someone special in your life. What do you admire about them? What qualities and details do you love about them? What is something special they do that makes you feel loved?

I’ll end with this photo that my friend Holly sent me — a sign posted in her gym:

Questions for the day:

What are you grateful for in your life?
What was it like keeping a gratitude journal?
Who makes you feel loved?

a year of Wooden: week 20

Posted on May 20, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Hi, friends! I’m a day late with this post because yesterday turned into a catch-up day after my whirlwind weekend! But I’m back now for this week’s year of Wooden challenge.

On a personal note, please send your thoughts and prayers for my brother and his MBA classmates who are in Bangkok on a school trip … Thailand has just enacted martial law and while Greg and his group are safe, as his protective older sister I can’t help but worry a little. Thanks in advance for your good thoughts!

January: Drink deeply from good books.
February: Make friendship a fine art.
March: Help others.
April: Build a shelter against a rainy day (financially).
May: Be true to yourself.

For the month of May, we’ll be focusing on the very first item of Coach Wooden’s 7-Point Creed: “Be true to yourself.” Each week, I’ll be posting a question for you to reflect on, perhaps through journaling or meditation. The goal is that by the end of May, you’ll have a clear idea of what it means to be your happiest, most authentic self so that you can work on being true to that self.

Last week, the question to reflect upon was: What in your life makes you feel drained, overwhelmed or fearful?

I journaled about my tendency to sometimes overcommit myself, which can make me feel exhausted and overwhelmed. I’m slowly learning {and re-learning, and re-learning!} that when I hold myself back from trying to do “all the things” and instead commit only to activities and endeavors that I feel excited and passionate about, then it works out best for everyone involved. Instead of overextending myself, I have more energy to devote to these things that I DO care the most about. I’m also learning that, as much as I love feeling busy and productive, I need to give myself days to relax and recharge too. {Tim Kreider wrote a fantastic essay for The New York Times on this topic: “The Busy Trap.”}

This week, here is your question to consider: What in your life makes you feel most alive, vibrant, connected and strong?

mt. whitney wednesday: planning & prep

Posted on July 24, 2013 by dallaswoodburn

Hi everyone! This is the second post in my Mt. Whitney chronicles, which is comprised of journal entries from when I climbed Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, ten years ago. If you missed the first post in the series, you can read it here.

Saturday, May 10, 2003
I talked to my former kindergarten teacher, Stacey, the other day when she was driving me home from babysitting her two little kids. I told her I want to climb Mt. Whitney, and it turns out a mom of one of her kids in her current kindergarten class just climbed it last summer. Stacey wants to climb Mt. Whitney too, so we are trying to form a group to go together. So far about ten people have signed up, including my second-grade teacher Diane, my mom, and some of their friends. Our group is all female — yeah, Girl Power! — and I am the youngest one.

Sunday, May 11
I did some homework and learned that Mt. Whitney was “discovered” by a California State Geological Survey team in 1864. It was named for the team’s leader, Josiah Dwight Whitney. During that trip, survey team member Clarence King attempted to climb to the summit. Twice. Both times he failed.

What am I getting myself into??

More history: it was not until Clarence King’s third attempt on September 19, 1873 {nearly a decade after his first failed try} that he successfully reached the summit. Ironically, statistics show that today 1-in-3 climbers make it to the top of Mt. Whitney.

Wednesday, May 14
Tonight we had a Whitney Meeting at Stacey’s house. We decided to do the 22-mile-round-trip hike in one day instead of camping out on the trail overnight. I know it sounds crazy, but it actually seems like the better way to go because:

1. We’ll be able to pack much lighter; we won’t have to carry huge overnight backpacks with sleeping bags and tents.
2. It is much easier to get a permit for day hiking than for overnight hiking.
3. We’ll get to sleep in a real bed in a hotel after the hike and soak our tired legs in the hot tub! For me, that is much more tempting than sleeping on the cold, hard ground in the wilderness.

At the meeting, we filled out the permit forms. They only allow a certain number of people on the trail at a time, so we’ll hear back in a few weeks as to whether our permit was accepted or not. Our tentative date for the hike is Saturday, July 26 — which seems far away now, but I have a feeling it will be here before we know it!

Julianna, the mother from Stacey’s class who climbed Mt. Whitney last summer, came to our meeting to talk about her hiking experience. She said it took a lot of hard training and determination to get to the top, and there were times she just wanted to turn around and give up … but that the blisters and sweat and aching muscles are all worth it in the end.

Then she showed us her photos. They were amazing — like something out of a nature magazine or off a postcard. The photos from the peak of Mt. Whitney were my favorite: nothing but blue sky and clouds all around, like you’re standing in a castle up in the sky.

And Julianna said the photos don’t even do Whitney justice. She said it’s something you have to see in person to truly appreciate. I hope I have what it takes to find out for myself. Our first training hike is this Sunday. Mt. Whitney, here I come!

mt. whitney wednesdays

Posted on July 17, 2013 by dallaswoodburn

Ten years ago, when I was sixteen, I climbed Mt. Whitney in one day with my mom. It is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done. It was euphoric and exhausting; I truly pushed my body to the limit and accomplished something that had at one time seemed out of my reach.

When I realized that this July is the 10-year anniversary of our climb, I wanted to do something here on the blog to celebrate. I came across a journal I kept leading up to and during the climb, which gave me the idea to share those journal entries with you.

Whether you’re planning to climb Mt. Whitney, hike a different mountain, run a marathon, complete a triathalon, or whatever your adventurous dreams may be — I hope these journal entries will be fun and inspiring to read! I’ll be doing a new post every Wednesday and all the posts will be archived here.

“Because it’s there.” – Sir Edmund Hillary’s reply, when asked why he climbed Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth

“Because Hillary inspired me,” is my reply whenever I am asked why I climbed California’s Mt. Whitney. While Whitney is 14,541 feet lower than Everest, it is still the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States at 14,494 feet.

Exactly how did Hillary inspire me? By coincidence, he became the first person to reach the peak of the world’s tallest mountain on May 29, 1953 — and I was born on the 29th of May, 34 years later. This serendipitous piece of information got me interested in doing something memorable on the 50th anniversary of his historic achievement in 2003.

So it was that I decided to climb Mt. Whitney, the “Culminating Peak of the Sierras.” To me — a girl who was born three months prematurely, weighing just two pounds, six ounces, and who doctors feared wouldn’t survive — the goal of standing {if not on top of the world} at least on top of the lower 48 states, was truly an Everest-like challenge.

What follows is the journal of my experiences. {Stay tuned for more next Wednesday!}

Day-By-Day Masterpiece

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