Out of Comfort Zone Connections, Part I - Reaching Up

February 03, 2014 by Melody Mitchell

I am dedicating this post and the two to follow in a 3-Part series “Out of Comfort Zone Connections” to all of the wonderful relationships I formed during this deployment. It takes effort to get out of our comfort zone; however, when we go out of our way to connect with others, we can create powerful relationships that would otherwise not exist. I had the opportunity to build bonds I hope will last; I allowed myself to be vulnerable and the reward was incredible.

Book Rave: The Loudest Duck by Laura Liswood

January 12, 2014 by Melody Mitchell in Book Rave

There are many books I plan to rave about and yet I had to jump ahead and write about this one; I just finished listening to it and cannot stop talking about ducks, elephants, and giraffes, “Oh my!” I must rave about The Loudest Duck: Moving Beyond Diversity While Embracing Differences by Laura Liswood sooner than later as I will likely reference it many times over in future blogging. Liswood explains dominant and non-dominant cultures; dominant being anyone in the majority group, non-dominant being the minority. In writing this rave, I realized I cannot rewrite her book for you as I found myself attempting in the first version of this post…Instead I will muse over how fitting her book is for the military.

Finding Balance While Deployed

January 08, 2014 by Melody Mitchell

Many talk about work/life balance, but for me that conjures up an image of scales implying there should be an exact balance between “work” and "life;" yet for so many of us, our work blends into our life there isn’t always a separation. Finding balance to me means ensuring my energy levels stay balanced and am able to easily manage all the roles in my life. All of my deployments caused me to find balance. My first six-month deployment I learned what happens when you don't have balance. In my next year away in the desert I learned how to apply rules I learned to enable balance and in this recent six-month deployment I finally feel I understand what it means to feel balanced and incorporate healthy habits into my life.

Book Rave: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

January 04, 2014 by Melody Mitchell in Book Rave

My first book rave must of course be for Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, I chose this one because it truly opened my eyes to my true passion in life. It is embarrassing how excited I get when I think of helping other women Lean In to their career. The desire to support my sisters in arms lead me to forming different circles of support and create this blog.

I'm Not Afraid

January 01, 2014 by Melody Mitchell

I did it! I finally started my own website and blog, I daydreamed about it for so long and kept waiting for the right timing. Inspired by both Lean In's "What would you do #ifuwerentafraid" campaign and the James Clear Writing Challenge, I decided to simply sign up and buy my own website melodyhmitchell.com. I forced my hand to begin...