Your car pulls into the drive. You slowly move yourself out of it and into your house, wiped out from another day on the grind. You plop on the couch, excited to be home. Maybe you pour yourself a glass of wine. Maybe some tea. Whatever your particular routine, at some point in the process, you take a deep breath and exhale.
Another day under your belt.
But how do you recount the past 8 or 10 hours that just occurred? How do you make sure you learned something new, gained some perspective, or appreciated something good that happened? In short, how do you measure a day?
Enter Rose, Thorn, Bud. Or RTB for short.
I first learned about RTB on a young entrepreneurs trip to Nicaragua last winter, and it's been one of my favorite tools since. It's been so helpful in my own process of measuring my days, that I programmed an alert in my phone for it every night at 7pm. It's best discussed with someone else or in a group because it forces us to break our own walls down and be vulnerable for a bit.
ROSE What was your favorite thing that happened throughout the day? The high point that you want to reflect on and appreciate? That is your rose.
THORN What do you wish would have gone better? What was the low point of your day that you can learn & grow from? That is your thorn.
BUD What are you most looking forward to in the days and weeks that are around the corner? What gets you excited for your life that lies ahead? That is your bud.
Life is a process that is best utilized by appreciating the good and growing from the bad. Building a way to measure your days helps you do just that. And just like I gladly borrowed the RTB tradition from my travel crew, I hope you'll borrow it from me.