Melissa Gleason - Challenge-Accepter
“I want a story of ‘these are the things that I’ve learned.’”
Many of our inspirational stories so far have been amazing women completing jaw-dropping tasks like climbing frozen waterfalls or up & moving across the country for a life change. Today, we’d like you to meet Melissa whose brave, intimidating thing in life is “committing to saying yes.” We certainly don’t mean that Melissa is a doormat and will just say “yes” to any and every idea that comes her way. But her approach to prioritizing and meeting goals is one that we hope will inspire you to apply to your own brave, intimidating thing facing you.
Melissa Gleason is a full-time finance project manager in Wisconsin. Her career journey has been filled with moments of saying, “Yes, I think I can do that. That sounds challenging; let me try that!” Though she thought she’d be in a different career industry by now, she can look back and say, “I don’t necessarily have this vision of, when I retire, this is the position I will have achieved. But I do want a story of ‘These are the things that I’ve learned.” Her choice is to say “Yes” to challenges that have life-adding value.
This commitment spills into other areas of her life, too. Melissa is competitive, athletic, and loves to travel. These interests blend together well to motivate her to look for marathons and bike races in areas she wants to explore and for causes she wants to support. Melissa notices that “curiosity and bravery are often intertwined.” When she gets curious about a sport or charitable cause, she looks for opportunities to invest her time and energy into that event. And when she notices that she’s spent too much time in the office, she will work to schedule in time for herself to get outside - even if it’s only for an hour at a time - so that she can stay encouraged and health-focused.
Even with an intense, high-stress career, Melissa chooses to take care of herself first. This wasn’t always the case, as marriage, career, and family responsibilities tend to take over a woman’s body and mindset. But Melissa recalls, “I recognize that my feelings about myself were not going to improve by letting my career take over. So I had to make the change, because my happiness and my comfort & love for myself were more important.” Goal-setting became the extrinsic motivation that guided her. She started making quarterly goals for herself - long enough to reach for, but not so long that they are forgotten. And with a specific goal in mind, she sets aside budgetary allowance first, then a physical training plan.
We at Strong Girls Travel love this realistic approach to the logistics that often hold us back from moving forward. We’ve all said, “I’m too busy,” or “I don’t have the money,” or “I can’t physically do that.” To that, Melissa says, “I wanted my career to compliment my life, not define it. And nobody else is going to motivate me but me.” She chooses to take her focus away from all the “what ifs” and on to “what’s the story I’ll get to tell if I do this.” And instead of spending her life wondering if she’s qualified to meet a goal, she puts in the practical steps needed to see it met.
Another healthy choice we see is that Melissa recognizes limits and boundaries, but also puts her own self-worth and physical goals in front of her decision-making abilities. She tells us, “There are some things and projects that feel like a risk to say ‘No,' but I recognize they won’t serve my own greater purpose, and I won’t learn much from it.” Those are the times she passes on those opportunities to other just-as-qualified people. We are not the only ones who can do a project, and we do not need to do it all. But when our priorities include taking care of ourselves, choosing “yes” or “no” can suddenly become much easier words to say.
What is on Melissa’s radar next? She has joined a cyclocross team and recently enjoyed her annual Marquette, MI mountain biking trip, as well as a trip to Copper Harbor. She has also registered for this year’s Point to La Pointe Open Water Swim in August. You can follow Melissa’s swim training, motivation, and plans for an upcoming mountain bike trip in Connecticut all on her Instagram page. One thing you won’t see Melissa doing is getting painted into a career corner. She is a great example of the possibilities of working activity and positivity around a busy career and being left with amazing, inspiring stories to tell.
