Building Stoke
It’s been a wild year. Today I had some time to sit down and think about it, more importantly- write about it.
Although the year had its fair share of challenges, I equally had so many beautiful experiences of pure stoke. What is stoke exactly? Stoke is like that inner joy, that burning enthusiasm that has you feeling more energized, excited and positive.
But why and how? Work was/is still intense at times, my parental responsibilities are ever-existent and the mental load of adult life never seems to ease up. So then how had so many moments of stoke made their way into my life and of those around me?
Well, if I take a look back, a few things happened- The Olivella Skate Club not only kicked off but grew fast and incredibly positively (we are 3 seasons in). Then a local surf club launched (not my club but I am a willing participant). To add- thanks to the whole family getting psyched on bouldering, I also find myself at the local climbing gym at least 3 days per week. And for those of you who know about the climbing community, it is a positive, inclusive and energetic group of nice folks.
If I had to sum it up, community socialization consumes most of my non-work hours and due to the consistency of an incredibly vibrant social circle, my internal stoke continues to be refilled at each social encounter. Am I tired? Oftentimes yes. But generally, I go to bed fulfilled and happy and therefore arrive to work feeling more mentally capable and able to do better work.
So how could one make space for more stoke in their life? Well, if I had to offer one helpful next step, it would be identifying what brings you stoke and building a community around it (if one doesn’t exist already).
Yes it will take some of your time but surely it will be worth it. Perhaps you can start small, like attending once per week if the community already exists, or offering to host your community once per week if you have to kick start it yourself. Although I am a big advocate for in-person communities, maybe you can start virtually if that allows you to get your community off the ground.
As I reflect on creating communities a lot these days, I will keep adding to this blog post. But for now, I will leave you with the seed to plant for yourself if you feel more stoke may be a missing element in your days presently. If I can offer any personal advice in the meantime, please feel free to reach out and I am happy to lend a listening ear and helpful heart.
