cold hands, quiet work, long nights

Six months in a cooler stocking cold and frozen goods, working 10-hour shifts. Cold hands, compressors humming in the background. It wasn’t allowed, but I would wear noise-canceling earbuds to drown out the sound from them. It was rarely music I listened to. My playlist was full of audiobooks and lectures. I probably could have learned a language, but I learned about life. And I kept a journal. In one that I found recently, here are some of the things I captured during that time. Whenever something hit me — a line, a thought, a reminder — I wrote it down; these were the things that kept me centered.

Notes from the Cooler

Goals are signposts. Purpose is the road.

“Start” is the goal made visible.

Don’t bargain with outcomes.

Work to a standard, not for applause. Let results speak.

Choose pace over push. Patience over panic.

Consistency isn’t a promise — it’s proof.

Serve where you stand. Measure by what gets better because you were there.

Hold a dream big enough to outlive you. When the work is bigger than you, time stops being the boss.

Let it change today — how you move, what you practice, how you treat people.

Stop asking how long will it take? Start asking how deeply can I serve?

Keep your voice louder than the crowd’s noise.

Silence teaches. Listen.

Rest. Step back. Breathe. Return.