Happy Summer Solstice
Today is a special day! It is both the official first day of summer and the longest day of the year.
Here at Productive Learning, we are taking full advantage of it to get outside, get some sun, touch some grass, and enjoy the day. We hope you are too!
Wait, It’s June Already…?
Have you ever felt like the time between the December holidays and Memorial Day just absolutely flies by? It seems like January arrives, we blink twice and it’s March, and then as we process the fact that we’re unintentionally time traveling, it’s already the end of April.
The beginning of the year brings a lot of new goals and motivation. It can feel very inward-focused. Everyone is busy with work, kids are back in school, and we tend to sink into a familiar routine while hunkering down and waiting for summer.
Then summer arrives and typically swings the pendulum towards the “life” end of the work/life spectrum. For many of us, summer offers flexibility at work that we don’t get the rest of the year, which allows us to put a little more time and energy into the “life” bucket.
Some companies have “Summer Fridays,” shortened office hours, or other forms of flexibility. If you get the joy of those options, have you thought about how you want to spend your “reclaimed” time?
Though we can always make time to foster important relationships, summertime is a unique opportunity to contribute to our relationships in a deep and meaningful way. (Including our relationship with ourselves!)
Maybe you’re vacationing with friends you haven’t connected with in a while, coaching soccer games, attending weddings, visiting family, shuttling from camp to camp, or hosting kids home from college. Each is a beautiful opportunity for an extraordinary connection!
We know extraordinary requires intention. Today’s Summer Solstice is a great opportunity to spend some time thinking about how you want to spend your time (I know, deep AND meta).
Here are a few questions we are considering to make this an extraordinary summer:
- Connecting with Old Friends. Who do I get to see that I haven’t seen in a long time? (Summer is packed full of weddings, reunions, events… who will be there?)
- How do I want to show up when we reconnect? Where might my ego get in the way?
- What does meaningful reconnection look like after a long time?
- What experiences do I want to create?
- Infusing Daily Relationships. With the people I see all the time – partners, kids, close friends, neighbors – how can I use summer to deepen connections in a meaningful way?
- Where have I been frustrated or disappointed in my relationship with these people? What part of this is in my control? How can I nurture those areas this summer?
- What permission slip might I need from myself to be fully present?
- What unique memories do I want to make?
- Deepening Bonds with Our Kids. If my kids are home for summer (from elementary school or college), how do I want to spend time with them?
- What would I love for them to remember about this summer when they reflect years from now?
- What would I love to remember about how I engaged with them?
- What expectation can I let go of to more deeply experience them as themselves?
- Reconnecting with me. What will feel rejuvenating and recharge my batteries?
- What do I often “wish I had time for” but never get to? Where can I plan that in?
- Which quadrant (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual) of my life needs extra attention right now?
- Are the personal values I discovered previously still true for me? Am I spending my time and resources in alignment with them? What’s one small adjustment I can make now?
After reflecting, here are a few things we are scheduling into our calendars in the coming weeks. (Hint, hint! Nudge, nudge. Plan what you want and schedule it!!!)
- A date with my daughter twice a month
- A Thursday morning coffee date with my mentor all summer
- An evening walk with my spouse three nights per week
- Golf with my dad on Friday afternoons
- An hour reading Harry Potter to my kids every evening after dinner
- Yoga on the bluffs twice a month
- A family picnic at a park in our city
- The Harnessing Motivation Workshop with Productive Learning
Though we all love spontaneity (and it is a great idea to have some ideas in your back pocket for an ad hoc outing) there is also a lot of joy in reaching out to folks and scheduling ahead. That gives you the opportunity to align on dates and times, and to collaborate on how you want to see each other.
So… what extraordinary experiences are making it onto your calendar this summer?
One reminder: be realistic, flexible, and kind to yourself. Summer is delightfully focused on recharging and reconnection, but life and its demands are still in full swing.
Any intentionality is better than no intentionality. Baby steps toward extraordinary are way better than standing still. Be mindful of letting your pursuit of better become a recipe for disappointment or burnout.
Here’s to an amazing summer and investing in extraordinary relationships!
TL;DR: The summer season is excellent for recharging and pouring into our most valued relationships. What is one commitment you will make to invest in an extraordinary relationship (partner, child, friend, parent, etc.) this summer? What is one activity you can prioritize to become the best version of yourself?
PS: All this talk of enhancing relationships have you fired up?! You won’t want to miss Open and Honest Conversations in Paso Robles this December!
Who is missing in our Conscious Community?!
Do you have friends, loved ones, or colleagues who would benefit enormously from Productive Learning workshops?
Well, get ready!
We’re introducing a new, better-than-ever introductory course for new clients very soon! Click below to be among the first to hear when we open the doors.
I have someone I’d like to invite!>
Mahalo – It’s back!!!
The beloved Hawaii Values Workshop is back!! And it’s filling up fast.
Join us on a 🍍🌺 Hawaiian vacation 🌺🍍 in June 2023 for a deep exploration of Hawaiian values that may expand and shape our own. We’ll look at new perspectives at new depths and learn how to keep ourselves perpetually on the path to rich and fulfilling lives!
WORKSHOP SPOTLIGHT
A clear vision for your life. Flowing creativity to create it.
Evoke Your Innate Creativity, Year Long
At Evoke Your Innate Creativity you will create a clear map of the life that you desire, then learn how to uncover and leverage what is already inside of you to bring it to fruition.
Extraordinary lives are built with intention and alignment. Specifically, alignment with our values and use of the incredible power that lies – sometimes dormant – inside each of us.
You may already know your unique Mission in life, or perhaps you need to generate one. In this year long workshop, we will bring attention and intention to create clarity of what you want to create and what matters to you.
Then, we’ll look at how vibrant and fulfilling life is available to you in the pursuit of your unique mission. What incredible gifts are inside of you that aren’t yet being harnessed? What genius is lying dormant inside that can serve you? How beautiful and enriching is the life you will create as you discover, apply, and carefully craft your journey with the enormous support and accountability of a year-long workshop?
Let this be the year you step more fully into your own uniqueness and innate creativity to breathe life into your own extraordinary experience!
Man, life is good. I think… but maybe it could be better?
Once you start the work and taste good, a thirst emerges for great or even – wait for it – EXTRAORDINARY!
Extraordinary lives are built with intention and alignment. Specifically, alignment with our values. Values are a brilliant and beautiful thing. Discovering them helps us know ourselves more deeply. Challenging them helps us identify how we’ve evolved and grown as a person.
As we evolve, our values may too. As our minds, beliefs, and experiences expand, our perspective on priorities may shift too.
When was the last time you revisited your own values and evaluated if your life is actually aligned?
When was the last time you explored new values?
If it’s been a minute, we are thrilled to invite you on a 🍍🌺 Hawaiian vacation 🌺🍍!!
If you’ve been around Productive Learning for a while, you may have heard the rave reviews of the Hawaii Values workshop. After a few years of pandemic challenges, this beloved retreat is back!!
This year we are immersing ourselves in Hawaiian culture, rich with lessons of intentionality, gratitude, community orientation, and striving for greatness. (Okay, truthfully their culture is rich with many more things, too, but these are the values we’ll be focusing on together.)
Mahalo: A Hawaii Values Workshop
5-Day Learning Intensive in Hawaii
June 21 – 25, 2023
By immersing ourselves in their culture, we gain perspective on our own life and wise insights on how to craft our world to align with our own values – whatever they may be.
Your fellow Conscious Community Members gush about how helpful it is to step out of daily life, into immense beauty, and pour into themselves.
The environment encourages deep exploration and contemplation of questions like…
Am I living my life based on my own values and priorities – or those I absorbed from the world around me?
Do I have a guiding light? A north star that keeps me on the right track?
Have I crafted an experience that fulfills me and which allows me to fulfill my potential?
Pineapples, waves, and Okika leis are beautiful and relaxing. Living a life that is inextricably aligned with values you thoughtfully chose… that is vitalizing, invigorating, and exhilarating!
We hope you’ll join us for ka noonoo hohonu (deep contemplation)!
WORKSHOP SPOTLIGHT
Connection. Flow. Intimacy.
Open and Honest Conversations
⮚ There is this thing my partner does that he thinks is hilarious and fun and something to be proud of, but it really bothers me. I haven’t spoken up because I don’t want to hurt his feelings.
⮚ My team member keeps missing the mark on her reports. I keep giving her guidance month after month, but she’s just not getting it. I’m afraid to address it head-on now because it’s been so long that I’m frustrated enough to burst and I know it’s my fault the problem got this bad.
⮚ I feel so deeply isolated and alone dealing with this. But I’m too scared to tell my spouse because it feels so embarrassing. What will she think of me? It hurts, even more, every time I realize she doesn’t have a clue I’m suffering right next to her.
OH MAN! Are you feeling the heaviness and pain?
These situations are incredibly hard. The honest truth is, not speaking the truth is making them harder.
Don’t you love it when you do that to yourself? (It’s okay, we all do sometimes!)
The great news is, you can share your innermost sincere thoughts, feelings, desires, requests, and feedback to your boss, your spouse, your employees, your neighbors, and your family. No matter the circumstance, you can be honest in a way that will set you free and bring you closer together in any relationship.
Thank. Goodness!
Like any other piece of an extraordinary life, creating open and honest dialogue that heels and bonds is a skill. This is great because you can develop it!
Join us in Open and Honest Conversations to learn and practice tools that foster loving, honest, and open dialogue. This work applies in literally every area of your life. It is a must-have skill for deep, rich connection and shaking off the constant buzz of dissonance between what’s inside and what gets expressed outwardly.
5-Day Learning Intensive in Paso Robles, CA
December 7 – 11, 2022
Imagine the freedom, deep connection, and empowerment you would feel if you were open and honest in every dialogue!
Make it a reality. Join us in Paso Robles for Open and Honest Conversations!
Imagine the freedom, deep connection, and empowerment you would feel if you were open and honest in every dialogue!
Make it a reality. Join us in Paso Robles for Open and Honest Conversations!
Explore our full 2022-2023 workshop calendar here
Productive Learning wisdom in BITE sized pieces!
You told us, we listened.
We heard you say that little snippets of insight and reminders about your self-discovery journey are seriously helpful. So we’re sharing them on social media several times a week!
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook for mini doses of insight, reminders, and intriguing reflections. Share with your friends to help them create extraordinary lives!
Our favorite recent post: This 90-second reminder from Cassie Crow on how our mind works.
COMING UP
Where You’ll Find Us
- July 16-17: Harnessing Motivation in Mission Viejo, CA
- Sept Kickoff: Nourished Small Group Coaching
- Sept Kickoff: Make the Leap Small Group Coaching
- Sept 29 – Oct 9: Living Gracefully in Greece
- Nov 5-6: Kickoff Evoke Your Innate Creativity (Year Long) in Southern & Northern CA
- Dec 7-11: Open and Honest Conversations in Paso Robles, CA
Explore our full 2022-2023 workshop calendar here