personal sharing – Surprised By Joy

“‘Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” – Soren Kierkergaard*

I learned a powerful lesson about twenty-five years ago when I climbed Mt. Ixtaccihuatl in Mexico. The guides brought along a roll of crepe paper – lightweight, colorful, and paper, not plastic. At every decision point they tied a small bit of crepe paper to a tree branch or stick.

When I asked for more detail about route-finding, a guide told me that when we make the choices about which fork to take, we often forget to turn around and look at what it will look like coming back. He pointed out that the light, the contrast with the surroundings, the angle, it all looks different on the return. What we think is memorable going one way looks completely different when we turn around.

This rings true for me in life as well. I’m often so focused on the route ahead that I forget to take a moment to reflect on what I’ve learned. When I do pause, I find that looking back at the choices I’ve made or the a-ha moments that have mattered help me to take them in more deeply.

So in this episode of How to Share, we have a playlist of some of the incredible insights that have been shared in the last sixteen episodes. The lineup of amazing guests have taught us that:

Authenticity matters: In leadership, outlook, communication and receiving, it’ll ring false if we don’t show up as ourselves.
Slow down and celebrate the wins: Whether you are taking on a big task, changing the world one letter at a time, or preparing for a significant test, slowing our roll to remember our successes provides fuel for the next leg.
Storytelling is vital: Stories move us. One thru-line from all our successful guests is that being able to passionately pitch a story or idea leads to inspiration, openness, and movement.

These clips remind us that to collaborate we need to know ourselves, remember who we are talking to, and to convince anyone including ourselves, we need to be able to tell a passionate story

Takeaways

Reflecting on past choices enhances our understanding of the present.
Vulnerability is essential for effective leadership and collaboration.
Failures should be viewed as learning opportunities, not setbacks.
Audience awareness is crucial in effective communication.
When sharing life’s challenges, it’s okay to remember the story is about the person with the challenge.
Digital security is important in managing personal information.
Humor can bridge gaps in communication and foster connection.
Experiencing life at a slower pace allows for deeper connections.
Optimism can blind us to potential risks and challenges.
Seeing the risks can help you couch the negative into a better action plan
Reducing the friction between ambition and achievement and remembering your successes
Cynicism can prevent us from taking action and engaging in meaningful change.

* I also love the Steve Jobs variation on this quote: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.“

Here’s a clip from this compendium of insight:

Here are some ways you can listen and watch this packed-with-goodness episode:

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Click this link to watch in a browser: How to Share Recaps
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How to Celebrate the Try – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

When should we celebrate progress—only at the finish line, or all along the way?In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon explores the power of small wins, tiny habits, and incremental progress. Drawing from a personal story about preparing her home for an Airbnb experiment during the World Cup in Seattle, Wynne reflects on what it means to keep going when growth is messy, nonlinear, and full of setbacks.Along the way, she connects insights from BJ Fogg, creator of Tiny Habits and director of Stanford’s Behavior Design Lab, with the long-term philosophy of Toyota’s Kaizen culture, where small daily improvements add up over time, and the practical courage found in the checklist mindset associated with Captain Sullenberger. This episode is about personal growth, habit formation, celebrating small victories, and learning to recognize that progress doesn’t have to be dramatic to matter.In this episode, we discuss: → Why celebrating small wins can help you stay motivated even when progress feels slow or messy → How BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits approach shows that tiny celebrations can reinforce lasting behavior change → What Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy teaches about the long-term power of small, consistent improvements → How checklists and small-step courage can help you keep going when you feel overwhelmed or stuck → Why growth often looks nonlinear, and how to recognize progress before the final result arrives → How honoring effort along the way can help you build resilience, confidence, and momentum If you’ve ever felt stuck, overlooked your own progress, or wondered whether the little steps count, this conversation will remind you that they do. Small wins matter. Tiny steps matter. And trying counts, even before the big outcome arrives.🌍 Show notes and more inspiration: https://wynneleon.com🔔 Subscribe for more: Subscribe to The Life of Try for more conversations on: personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset.ABOUT ME: Hi, I’m Wynne Leon — host of The Life of Try, a personal growth and self-improvement podcast exploring resilience, reinvention, uncertainty, and the courage to keep trying. Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real-life stories, I share insights to help you navigate change, get unstuck, and move forward with more intention.🌍 Website: https://wynneleon.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎥 Watch Next➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving➡️ 48: How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive➡️ How to Reclaim Fun in Adult Life | Mike Rucker, PhD, on Joy, Burnout and the Fun Habit🔗 CONNECT WITH ME:• Website:→ https://wynneleon.com/• Instagram:→ https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/• Facebook:→ https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/

Links for this podcast:

Brian Hannon’s blog: Writing from the Heart with Brian

Vicki Atkinson’s blog: Victoria Ponders

Michelle Oram’s blog: Boomer Eco Crusader

Finding Happy by Peter Samuelson

Mark Petruska’s blog: Mark My Words

Rise Above the Script by Albert Bramante

(featured photo from Pexels)