Resilient Seeker Coaching | Ross Raymond Nunamaker

During the week of October 7, 2024, I met with my attorney and had a Hall of Fame meeting to review the banquet.

The divorce that I very optimistically thought could be resolved in three months was still going with a light at the end of the tunnel, which I was hoping was not an oncoming train.

There was nothing left to negotiate. I pretty much agreed to every concession. After almost two and a half years I was ready for it to be over.

I signed some more papers and left the office hoping this was the last time.

Our Hall of Fame meeting was in essence a retrospect of what worked and what could be improved while the event was fresh in our heads.

The biggest complaint was that it went too long. This came up annually. For some of us the whole point of the event was to hear stories and take it in.

Then the question was asked, was it too long or ran too late? Since it was a Saturday, we decided to simply start an hour earlier and see if the complaint persisted the following year.

The divorce and subsequent health issue made me question everything as well, including what do I want to do professionally?

So my three areas of focus became: Health & Well-Being, Professional, and Personal.

Each went hand in hand with the other.

Personally, I wanted closure on the divorce. Health, I needed to refine my diet and incorporate exercise. Professionally, I needed to figure out what I wanted to do for the next 15 or so years.

The divorce was simply, is there anything other than waiting that I can do now?

Health needed some thought. I had the advice of the doctors to start. I looked at the conditions that were noted in my record, my vitals they recorded, and I went to blood tests to see what was being tested for.

To start I decided sodium, potassium, calories and liquid ounces were the key items to track. Since labels also included protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin d, I included those.

Later I would include all Electrolytes, Antioxidants, and B-Complex.

For Professional, I had a job, but I wasn’t sure if it would cover my needs. The pros were geography (less than a mile from my home), benefits (very good and started immediately), stability (full time and struggle to have people in these roles), good schedule (mostly follows student schedule, hours fixed, not outside hours or responsibilities), work (assist teachers and work with kids, but teachers and case managers deal with paperwork, admin, and parents).

The con was the pay. I got it spread out over 26 weeks so I had summer income. Unfortunately, while I could handle monthly bills, discretionary spending was very limited and annual costs (property taxes, insurance etc) were very challenging and there was no leftover for savings.

The door was open to summer work or freelance.

I decided to look into freelance as supplemental income.

Long term, I needed to figure it out.

This process got me thinking more about needs and wants or what I would redefine as safety.

Tracking base nutrients was a good start, so too was thinking about career options. Did I want to return to project management work, go in a new direction, or find a way to make school pay work?

Lessons Learned

Don’t worry about what is not in your control. And, find incremental tasks to achieve goals.

Question for You

What are your focus areas? Do you have them?