Ahhh, yes. A New Year. Forgive me on being a few weeks late to this... "I was busy." Anyway, looking back, I don't know if 2021 was much different than 2020? Maybe it was all just a wash? The world of Covid seems to blur things together more and more. However, I do like to think that something was done, that progress was made. Whether that be in your personal life or in the grand scheme of things, we're going somewhere. Where? I don't know, but forward for sure. While I'm excited to see where I'm heading, where we are heading, I think it is worthwhile to reflect on how far we've come, and I'll get to that later.
If you've been following along with these posts, you may recall a post I had about a year ago, December of 2020, titled "In a Rut, and One Word." In that post I go on to explain what One Word is. Feel free to go take a peek to see more, but basically it is a word chosen for the year. Similar to a New Years Resolution and meant to better yourself, One Word gives you meaning and mission, passion and purpose. I think it's simpler than a resolution, but more meaningful. Unlike giving up ice cream for the year, One Word can be applied to many areas of your life. Simple, not easy.
For 2022 my One Word is "Build." The two immediate definitions that pop up on Google are 1. "construct (something) by putting parts or material together," and, 2. "make stronger or more intense." How perfect. I think I'm in a position where living my One Word in 2021 has laid the foundation for my goals in 2022, and what I need to do now is to build. I need to organize and identify my parts, views, thoughts, plan, capabilities, skills, know-how, and assemble them- put them into action, utilize, incorporate, lean on, and ultimately use them to build upon the foundation that I have established. What I think is so cool about this One Word is how versatile it is, but how constant it is at the same time. It's simple, not easy- a phrase I'm really growing to like, thanks Jocko. I can apply my word everywhere: work, personal life, friendships, relationships, family life, my creative side. You name it. Build. I think it will remind me to open up, to take every opportunity that presents itself, and run with it. I'm excited to see what this year brings.
If you haven't chosen a One Word yet, allow this to be your reminder, it's not too late. Plus it's way more simple than one of the BS New Year's Resolutions. It's simple.... not easy. Find one and hold yourself to it! Set it as your screen saver! Put it on a sticky note on your mirror! Whatever, I just urge you to do it!
If you had a One Word for 2021, or just some goals for the year, take some time today to reflect on that. I mean really, sit down and maybe even journal about all that you accomplished over the past year. I think it's so important to do that. I mean, we've got to keep track of our goals and have a record of the things that we've accomplished. We need something to look back on and be proud of. Reward yourself, give yourself a pat on the back and take yourself out. You deserve it. Just as laziness and poor performance should get called out, hard work and accomplishment should be recognized. It shouldn't go unnoticed. I think if we tally up enough years with this tradition, we'll build a life we can look back on and be proud of- and that's really the point of this whole thing, right? To make something you can hang your hat on. So again, do it.
My 2021, in review: (I'm gonna waste your time by talking a lot about myself, some tribulations, and overcoming some challenges- don't read if you don't care lol)
I want to look back at my 2021 and my word to go with it, "resilience," defined as; "the ability to recover quickly from difficulties, toughness." Did I live it? What changed? Where did it take me? All these questions have answers and I’d like to think I did live it. Going in to 2021 the world was still full of unknowns for me. Sure, I had set goals for the year and knew where I wanted to be at the end of the year, but how I was going to get there was a total "guesstimate."
Early in the year I was working for a tree trimming company, I hated it. After being told I was going to be trained in on climbing and rope techniques, I was stuck on a chipper crew for over a month. "Dang" I thought, this sucks. This is difficult. After attempting to try and get the training I wanted, and was promised, I realized that it wouldn't happen, not anytime soon. I was too green and hadn't "earned my spot." Fair enough, time to move on, and recover quickly. I handed in my two weeks, took a snowmobile trip in Wyoming for a hard reset, and pushed on. Shortly after, I started my own gig in tree work and trained myself while going back to bartending. "That'll do" I thought, I can train for the upcoming fire season by getting all the more saw experience and conditioning while also making some cash and feeding my social spirit behind the bar. Soon, interviews started happening for the upcoming fire season, perfect, I had been waiting for this. By March I had landed a spot on the crew I wanted to work for. Awesome, I had a place to live and a place to work, but the work wasn't done yet. I needed to get in shape, good shape. So I hit the gym and trained hard on strength and conditioning every day. Simple, but not easy. By the end of May I had earned an opportunity on the Lead Saw Team on the crew. Awesome, but the work wasn't done yet, not even close- the season had just started. I aimed higher than originally planned, being the rookie on the crew I was still feeling out what my own limits were.
Then, all sorts of fit hit the shan. Crew members were dropping out, we were involved in a critical incident, then we were made unavailable for weeks as fires raged around us, our leadership was either no longer with us or swapped around, our squads within the crew were shifted, I had to learn to work with a new saw partner. More unknowns. As a first year guy on the crew, but an experienced leader, I knew there needed to be some stability re-established. Okay, here are some difficulties, time to recover quickly and move forward. Many people displayed resilience. Many people had to learn and take on the responsibility of new leadership roles, myself included. Time to grab the reins. Trust needed to be re-established within our crew. And the only way to do that was to walk the walk, I knew this. And so that was what was done. I did my best to show that I supported and trusted our leadership, to do what I said I would do, and to follow through with any plans we made. Ultimately, everyone stepped up. This brought us all closer and actually made us realize what we were capable of, even being as green as some of us were. Reflecting on the progress that I made, in May I started as the new guy on the crew, and the rookie on Saw Team One. Over the course of the season I became responsible for our fuels, chainsaws, buggy driver, lead sawyer, shared responsibilities with our Saw Boss and Squad Boss, and fulfilled the duties of a senior firefighter. I wore more hats than I anticipated, but knew it was growth and that it would help me out in the future. I would be lying if I said it wasn't challenging, I'd be lying if I said I didn't make a mistake here or there, more than once. I did, but what's important is that I didn't shy away from any task that I was capable of taking on. I lived my word. Hell, I even stayed on for an extension longer than my original contract. Can you guess what I did for 10 days after fire season was over? Chipped. Yep, I was on a chipper crew. F that noise. Then, it came to an end, and with a bittersweet goodbye, I left the Ahtanum Guard Station listening to Carrying Your Love With Me by George Strait, don't ask why- I'm a sentimental person.
I made it back home, reunited with family and friends that I hadn't seen for six long months, and pushed on. My first year in fire, what nobody told me, and what I certainly didn't have the experience to know, was how much the off-season can suck if you allow it to. The combination of going 110 mph for 6 months and coming to an abrupt stop, and being removed from your friends and crew that you had just spent half the year with was straight up hard. I made the mistake of taking too much time off in my first season and fell into a slump. This year, being resilient, I kept up my high-speed pace, even in the off-season. It kept my spirits high, my attitude good, and my social side was thriving. I fed my soul and stayed as busy as possible, but also allowing myself to “chill out” and kick back and enjoy life. In all walks of life, I think we need to do this. Make time for You.
There's a huge part of the tail end of 2021 that I can't write about just yet, but it'll come when the time is right. It proved to be the most difficult part of the year, maybe even my life, and ultimately put living my One Word to the test. Stay tuned for that story, it's one with many lessons. Until then, jkl. Get after it with your One Word.
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