I'm 50: A Day in the Life Sunday

My 50th birthday was Monday. I spent Monday night in an out of town ER waiting room. I hope this isn't an indication on what the next 50 years have in store for me.

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I ended my birthday week with a run and in much better condition than I started. The run was a 2.5 mile recovery run after my #Crossfit workout Saturday morning. It was a killer workout for me: 400m run, 50 wall balls, 50 burpees, 50 sit ups, 50 KB swings, 25 tire flips, 25 GHD sit ups, 25 shoulder press and 25 squats.

Why, with 4 other workouts to pick from and a week without exercise, did I choose the psycho one with the 50 burpees? "More burpees, please," said no one ever.

I wanted to see if I could do it. 

After getting passed the thought that this workout was beyond me, deciding to break the 50s into sets of 10 as needed, ignoring the timer and silencing the inner voice pleading with me to consider Level 1 and one-half of the reps, I hit the pavement. 

Could I do it? Yes, I could. It wasn't easy and it was pretty but did the whole thing, right down to the 50th burpee, 25th tire flip and very last squat.

I wished it were easier for me, but if it was, I know I'd never get any better.

Whether it's exercise, running, leadership, learning a new task, human resources, real estate, relationship, parenting, don't wish for easy - wish for insight, support, courage and the strength to face whatever life throws at you.

One of the birthday cards I received from my husband read that turning 50 "means wearing your confidence like a smile and striding through your life - regret-free, fearless, and purposeful."

Don't wait until you are fifty, wear your confidence like a smile now.  If you are approaching a milestone birthday, don't fret - come talk with me. We got this.

Shout Out: A Day in the Life Sunday

I took a few days away from my regularly scheduled programming at the office to attend the Federal Workplace Conference and Expo. 

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The Federal Workplace Conference is becoming one of my favorite federal conferences. The topics are relevant, the presenters experts and session after session, the labor relations/employee relations ​monster in me was satisfied with expert opinions and current case law updates. 

Knowing that technical expertise alone is not going to get us to where we need to go in facing the challenges of declining budgets, increasing workloads, an aging workforce and outdated or inadequate human resources systems and policies*, a human capital management (HCM) track was added to the sessions. I had the opportunity to work with Dan Gephart​, Editorial Director, LRP Publications/ cyberFEDS® in developing the HCM track.

As a speaker and attendee, I can say that the planning and execution of this conference was first class. I'd like to thank Dan, his team and LRP Publications for producing the event and for the opportunity to participate.

* Bracing for Change: Chief human capital officers rethink business as usual