Shift Your To-Do to Ta-Da to To-Da (thx!)

Hello Stagers!

Welcome to the Win at Life newsletter!

→ Where we draw inspiration from remarkable stories

→ To help you elevate your life's performance

→ Achieve your goals and live life to the fullest

This week, we're stagefully transforming our To-Do & To-Do Lists in a fun/novel way, & spotlighting Amelia Earhart ??

→ To shift our mindset from To-Do to Ta-Da to To-Da (the Hebrew word for 'thank you')

→ To prime action more readily by celebrating with gratitude

→ The completion of everyday and extraordinary feats

→ Thankful for today as we playfully check and quest away

Why? B/c research suggests we're a nation recovering from collective trauma (APA), w/ rising rates of mental illness, depression, and anxiety

Intuitively, we know:

→ We're living in a period of extreme flux

→ In a chaotic, ever-changing world

→ Marked by pandemics, conflicts, disasters, injustices, etc.

→ Showing no signs of settling anytime soon

And, it's this backdrop overlays our To-Do, influencing our 5 responses:

→ Fight: Confronting the threat

→ Flight: Running away from the threat

→ Freeze: Becoming immobile or "playing dead"

→ Fawn: Trying to please or appease the threat

→ Flop: Collapsing or fainting

Individually. Collectively. At home. At work. In community. Abroad...

It makes one wonder:

→ What did people do in similar times, under similar circumstances?

→ When peering into the abyss, with the power to ascend?

→ How did they continue to build character, integrity, and excellence?

→ What were their failures? What were their learnings?

→ What worked? What didn't?

→ How did they (still) win at life? Or did they?

We know what happens (usually) when we fail to act:

→ Bad outcomes

→ More challenges

The unattended garden spoils. The work piles up overwhelming. The unmaintained house topples. The grizzly bear, rounding the corner, eats us.

People average 15 ongoing goals or projects at any given time. Past the dopamine high of checking things off our lists that keeps us coming back, our To-Do and To-Do Lists offer us proof that we're checking things off, make us feel good, and remind us what's important/valuable to us.

→ B/c To-Do script our actions, so too, our life's performance--often subtly.

So, the question becomes…

How do we elevate/expand our To-Do Lists, with focus/clarity?

To seduce ourselves into tackling, again and again, to do.

→ more easily

→ more effectively

→ more intentionally

→ more thoughtfully

→ more sustainably

→ more stagefully

To just do it. Then, do it again and again and again. B/c we know there's a priming to action.

Ok... so maybe... the real question is...

How do we prime our actions to flow more freely, to not drip but stream/flow, so as not only live better but also passionately/purposefully?

Could it be that the answer lies in approaching our To-Do Lists more simply—by elegantly seducing ourselves into baiting, hooking, & reeling ourselves into feasting on our feats, again and again, in casting/recasting. Kinda like fishing, to make more fun!

→ So our 'tasks' aren't so 'tasking' in 'taxing' us ?

→ To increase our well-being by celebrating with thanksgiving ??

B/c the virtues of gratitude aren't just for religious leaders, poets, and philosophers

→ As a hyper-social species w/ hyper-social brains, gratitude = the ‘backbone’ of human society

→ It's the 'social glue' that fortifies relationships b/t friends, family, and romantic partners

→ Recognizing (i) one has obtained a positive outcome or (ii) there is an external source for this positive outcome, such as other people or as experienced toward God, fate, nature, etc.

→ Based on the science of gratitude in fostering positive well-being

Here's one way shifting our mindset looks like in practice, from To-Do to Ta-Da to To-Da.

STEP 1 (To-Do): Imagine getting into the office, sitting down with a cup of coffee, and formulating your typical To-Do List with task, responsibilities, and goals/lifelong goals.

→ For the day

→ For the week

→ For the month

→ For the next 90 days

→ For the next year

→ Or, for the next 5 years, 10 years, 50+ years

It doesn't matter which. You're the boss. B/c it's your life. You choose. You decide in stagefully reverse engineering.

Why?

→ Better Goal Management: To provide a sense of control/clarity, alleviating feelings of being overwhelmed by providing a roadmap to success

→ Better Focus/Discipline: To maintain awareness/commitment to an action plan, to think less about the task and more about other important things (like remembering to call mom/dad to say 'I love you.')

→ Better Task Segmentation: To break down larger projects into stages/steps, making it easier to manage and accomplish more

→ Reduced Procrastination: To have a clear list of tasks that encourages us to take action and complete

STEP 2 (Ta-Da): Next, instead of passively checking off your To-Do, celebrate the progress of each completed task with a triumphant 'Ta-Da!’

→ By audibly saying with each check of the pen, TaDa!

→ Or, even quietly to yourself, Yay! I did it!

Why?

B/c celebrating small wins can increase productivity by releasing dopamine and activating the brain's reward system. It creates a positive feedback loop and fostering a more motivated and productive environment. Sounds nice, right?

→ More Fun: To celebrate progress and boost motivation

→ Better Measurement: To take credit for handling unexpected tasks that arise every day and to measure completed activities/track time

STEP 3 (To-Da): Next, reflect on completed tasks w/ heartfelt gratitude, or 'To-Da!' (the Hebrew word for 'thank you'), acknowledging the good things of life with thanks for today.

→ By scribbling a heart next to each checkmark, to hold gratitude

→ Or, by keeping a To-Da Gratitude List

Why?

B/c Gratitude enhances productivity, fosters a positive and appreciative mindset, and turns everyday tasks into meaningful milestones by producing a host of benefits:

→ Psychological Benefits: Positive emotions and thoughts, greater awareness, more self-satisfaction, and enhanced mood.

→ Physical Benefits: Stronger immune system, fewer body aches and pains, optimal blood pressure and cardiac functioning, and better sleep-wake cycles.

→ Social Benefits: Better communication, more empathy, stronger interpersonal relationships, more likeability among group members, and more involvement as a team member.

Amelia Earhart ("A.E.") exemplifies stageful living in her life.

She recognized the value of how small wins compound into big wins and eventually epic wins by managing To-Do, celebrating Ta-Da, and holding gratitude (To-Da) to maintain vision. Because:

→ She flipped the script on its head when it came to the 'Flight' response

→ She said, "The most effective way to do it, is to do it."

→ Years before Nike came up with the iconic slogan in 1988: "Just do it."

Okay... cool... so... what did she do? And how did she do it?

At a time when:

→ Rudimentary aircraft technology and navigational challenges were all the rage.

→ Women encountered skepticism and discrimination in a male-dominated field.

→ The world was still reeling from WW1 (1914-1918), which killed an estimated 16.5 million (9.7 million military, plus 6.8 million civilian), including 116,708 U.S. military casualties.

→ And even more so from the Spanish Flu (1918-1919), which inflected 500 million people globally (33% of the population) and caused 50 million deaths, including 675,000 deaths in the U.S. alone.

→ With women gaining the right to vote only in 1920, following Congress' ratification of the 19th Amendment, after taking activists/reformers nearly 100 years to win.

→ And with the Great Depression (1929 to 1939) overlaying as the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world. And right when Amelia's career was taking flight.

None of this held her back.

Her early life suggests she was at home with headwinds, to take flight within a topsy turvy world, at a time when many were crashing and burning. Here's an overview of her life, as we seek to stagefully win with wisdom by exploring. As always, some dates/ages may represent estimates as sources sometimes conflict, and this timeline is meant to provide a sense in making sense.

LIFE TIME

Childhood & Adolescence

• 1897 (Birth, Age 0): Born on July 24th in Atchison, Kansas, to Edwin Earhart (railroad lawyer) and Amy Otis (from an affluent family). For the first twelve years of her life, Amelia lived primarily with her wealthy maternal grandparents and attended private school, spending only summers with her parents due to her father's losing battle with alcoholism.
• 1899 (Age 2): Her younger sister and closest companion, Muriel, is born.
• 1903 (Age 6): The Wright brothers make their first powered flight, sparking interest in aviation.
• 1904 (Age 7): Builds a homemade roller coaster with sister Muriel, showing an early adventurous spirit.
• 1908 (Age 11): Rejoins her parents in Des Moines, Iowa, and continues to live with them.
• 1910-1915 (Ages 13-18): Amelia's grandmother, who raised her, dies in 1911. Her father struggles with alcoholism, loses his job, and checks into a sanatorium for a month. In 1913, her family moves to St. Paul, Minnesota, where her father is again unable to recover or find work. Her parents separate, and she moves to Chicago with her mother and sister.
• 1916 (Age 19): Graduates from Hyde Park High School in Chicago after attending six different high schools in four years. During this time, she has trouble making friends. Her yearbook caption reads, "A.E. — the girl in brown who walks alone."
• 1917 (Age 20): Drops out of Ogontz School, an exclusive junior college, to volunteer as a nurse's aide in Toronto after taking an interest in wounded soldiers returning from WW1. Becomes interested in aviation by watching the Royal Flying Corps train.

Young & Middle Adulthood

• 1918 (Age 21): Contracts the Spanish Flu while caring for soldiers, leading to chronic sinus problems. While recovering, spends a lot of time reading about medicine and mechanics.
• 1919 (Age 22): Enrolls in Columbia's premed program but drops out after only a year, after disliking it and moves to Los Angeles to be with her parents.
• 1920 (Age 23): Hooks on flying after her first airplane ride with pilot Frank Hawks.
• 1921 (Age 24): In January, takes her first flying lessons from pilot Neta Snook (who's just a year older than Amelia). Six months later, purchases her first plane, "The Canary," after borrowing her sister's life savings. In December, passes her flying license test.
• 1922 (Age 25): Sets an unofficial altitude record for female pilots after flying the Canary to 14,000 feet. Joins the American Aeronautical Society.
• 1923 (Age 26): Becomes the 16th woman in the U.S. to get an international pilot's license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
• 1924 (Age 27): Takes a hiatus from aviation, after her parents divorced due to her father's alcoholism and faltering family finances. Drives with her mother from California to Massachusetts, where they move in with her sister Muriel.
• 1925 (Age 28): Starts school again at Columbia but drops out due to finances and high tuition costs. Returns to Boston, working as a social worker at the Denison House, teaching Syrian and Chinese immigrants English.
• 1927 (Age 30): Inspired by Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight (May 1927), joins the Boston chapter of the National Aeronautic Association. Begins advocating for aviation and women's rights.
• 1928 (Age 31): Wins fame as the first woman passenger to fly across the Atlantic. Teams up with publicist George Putnam to write her first book about her experience, "20 Hrs., 40 Min." Putnam promotes her to celebrity status. Goes on a national book tour. Endorses products (like Lucky Strike cigarettes). Becomes Aviation Editor for Cosmopolitan magazine.
• 1929 (Age 32): Buys another airplane, a single-engine Lockheed Vega. Participates in the first Women's Air Derby race from Santa Monica to Cleveland, placing third. Co-founds the Ninety-Nines, an international organization for female pilots, and becomes its first president. In October 1929, the stock market crashed, ushering in the Great Depression (1929-1939) and a period of financial instability.
• 1930 (Age 33): Sets the women's world flying speed record of 181.18 mph over a 3K course. Goes on to set seven women's speed and distance records between 1930 and 1935.
• 1931 (Age 34): Marries George P. Putnam after refusing his proposals six times before agreeing. Wary of marriage/children emphasizes that her marriage is a "partnership" with "dual control." Surprises with a prenuptial letter expressing unconventional modern views on marriage and relationships unheard of at that time. Opts against children with Putnam, who had two children from a previous marriage. Then, sets the women's autogiro altitude record of 18,415 feet.
• 1932 (Age 35): Becomes the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland. Receives the Distinguished Flying Cross from Congress, the Cross of Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French government, and the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society from President Hoover. Becomes the first woman to fly solo across North America and back.
• 1933 (Age 36): Visits the White House. Develops a friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt. Breaks her own record by flying across North America for a second time with a faster flight time.
• 1933: Introduces her fashion line, Amelia Earhart Fashions, featuring practical designs for active living and becoming one of the first celebrities to create her own fashion line. Debuts at R.H. Macy & Co. and soon expands to 30 department stores nationwide. But, her fashion line soon flops with the Great Depression, largely responsible for its failure.
• 1934 (Age 37): Receives the Harmon Trophy for America's Outstanding Airwoman for the third year in a row.
• 1935 (Age 38): Becomes the first person to fly solo from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California(January), as well as the first person to fly solo from Los Angeles to Mexico City (April) and later from Mexico City to New York (May). Between flights, works as a visiting professor/career counselor to women at Purdue University.
• 1936 (Age 39): Plans her round-the-world flight, with Purdue University financing a new plane for Amelia, a Lockheed Electra 10E. Raises money for her world flight and consults with advisers, mechanics, and navigators.
• 1937 (Age 39): She disappears.

→ In March, calls off an attempt to circumnavigate the globe with her navigator Fred Noonan, stunt pilot Paul Mantz, and Captain Harry Manning after the plane ground-loops during takeoff following completion of the first leg.

→ In June, attempts a second time with Fred Noonan as her only crew member. Completes nearly 22,000 miles of the flight, stopping in South America, Africa, India, Lae, and New Guinea.

→ On July 2nd, departs from Lae for Howland Island, a miniature island in the Pacific that is only 13,200 feet long and 2,650 feet wide. Unable to find the island, radios the Coast Guard cutter Itasca, who can hear but cannot return communication, before disappearing over the Pacific Ocean.

→ President Roosevelt mounted a massive $4 million search for Amelia and Noonan, that turned up nothing after 16 days.

• 1939 (Age 41): On January 5th, Amelia Earhart is declared legally dead in a court in Los Angeles.

LIFE PACT

In her time, Amelia Earhart was one of the world's most celebrated/famous figures. While she was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, her fame was multifaceted.

She lived a life of her making. She wore myriad hats throughout her life: aviator, author, fashion designer, endorser, social worker, teacher, photographer, etc. So, too, relationally, as a daughter, sister, aunt, wife, and stepmother. While she made significant contributions to aviation, her reputation transcended her skill and made her a cultural icon.

She lived mythically and died legendarily. Theories/conspiracy theories abound as to what happened to her. Although it’s been 87 years since her disappearance, there are still some searching for her as she continues to inspire.

Amelia Earhart’s life teaches us the power of determination, celebration, and gratitude through the approach of To-Do, Ta-Da, and To-Da:

• To-Do: Amelia set clear, ambitious goals, whether it was becoming a pilot, setting flying records, or planning her round-the-world flight. She was known for her meticulous planning and organization. She tackled goals one step/stage at a time, often working multiple jobs and overcoming significant financial and personal obstacles to achieve them. She also knew when she needed a break or hiatus, as pausitivity begets positivity.
• Ta-Da: She celebrated each milestone with joy and enthusiasm. From setting altitude records to becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, Amelia acknowledged her achievements and used them as motivation to pursue even greater challenges, often coming home to fanfare and celebration.
• To-Da: Throughout her journey, Amelia remained grounded and appreciated life’s simple things. She said,

The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, love, and understanding companionship.”

By embracing this approach, Amelia Earhart turned her to-do’s into ta-da’s and to-da’s, demonstrating that with determination, celebration, and gratitude, we can achieve great things. Her journey is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and serves as a powerful reminder to persevere, celebrate, and express gratitude in our own lives.

After all, what is life without celebration and gratitude? For, no one gets anywhere (worth going) on our own, as celebration and gratitude may be essential for success.

As always, want help? Reach out. Like it? Subscribe to Win at Life. Follow Stagefully.

Thank you for reading! I appreciate you!

Wishing you and yours a lovely day.

Fondly,

Jen Forsman

[email protected]

#ameliaearhart #earhart #trendsetter #todolist #tadalist #todalist #todo #tada #toda #flying #lockheed #deltaairlines #delta #northwestairlines #gratitude

Sources:

Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937 | American Experience | Official Site | PBS

Amelia Earhart | Biography, Childhood, Disappearance, & Facts | Britannica

Amelia Earhart - The Official Licensing Website of Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart’s Other Runway: The Aviator’s Forgotten Fashion Line | HISTORY

Amelia Earhart's marriage prenup: I won't be faithful, I won't stop working, and I might want to break up soon. (slate.com)

GGSC-JTF_White_Paper-Gratitude-FINAL.pdf (berkeley.edu)

How Many People Died in World War I? | HISTORY

Spanish Flu - Symptoms, How It Began & Ended | HISTORY

Stress in America 2023: A nation recovering from collective trauma (apa.org)

The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Effects on the Brain (positivepsychology.com)

Why We Continue to Rely on (and Love) To-Do Lists (hbr.org)

Women’s Suffrage - The U.S. Movement, Leaders & 19th Amendment | HISTORY