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Conner Conrad

@conner_conrad1

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Beginner Hiker Trying to Climb 30 14ers in 30 Days. ⛰️🧘
My task is to do good. 🙏

POSTS STORIES REELS

11pm unpolished ramblings.

Going to be living out of my truck for a month.

Going to try to climb 30 mountains in 30 days.

Do not know what to expect.

But I do know I will be posting more.

⛰️🧘

And know that I would love to banter with you.

We are all kids on the playground. by @conner_conrad1

I want to give.

At my source, I want to be a positive ripple, a light, a calm presence. Deliberate.

And when I am at my best, it feels like giving flows freely from me.

But this can all turn on me when my energy dips.. I get in my head, the giving starts to feel forced, and I worry I'm taking energy from people instead of providing it. So, I create distance, which puts me further into my head.

Now insert three kind, caring, and beautiful women I was fortunate to spend three weeks with:

Dayna, Tara, and Merlyn.

They saw me in those moments and reminded me that regardless of my energy, my presence was still wanted, still enjoyed. Pulling me out of a thought loop and back to the present.

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I was trying to think of the proper way to describe what you three meant to me throughout this experience. The above is but one of the seemingly endless examples that came to mind.

Truly, thank you for making this chapter what it was. Please know whatever you guys need, I want to give. by @conner_conrad1

Yoga on the beach. Let's plan on more mornings like this. by @conner_conrad1

The best 3 weeks of my life.

Hopefully it shows in my smile. 🙂

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I spent 3 weeks in Rishikesh, India. The yoga capital of the world, tucked into the foothills of the Himalayas, with the Ganga River running through it.

Each day was routine:

4 hours of yoga
2 hours of conscious breathing
1 hour of philosophy
1 hour of yoga anatomy

And I came into this training with one main intention:
To re-find and explore the relationship I have with myself.

Because for the past few years, I convinced myself that I had slowly drifted away from that relationship.

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I don't have the words to fully explain what these 3 weeks did for me.

It cleaned me, it simplified me, it opened me to being open. "Think less and feel more."

Lastly to the students, the teachers, the Mira Yogashala team, the people of Rishikesh.. at every turn, you accepted me and made my energy feel welcomed. My deepest thank you! 🙏 by @conner_conrad1

Deployment, on Film. by @conner_conrad1

"She'll ride."

- Us, every time we strapped something down.

The video is split into 3 sections:

0:00 - The Mission
0:55 - Deeper Cut of 26 Iowa kids in a Desert
1:55 - Deployment, on Film

It can be hard to talk about deployments/military in an honest way. People will thank you for your service off the bat, which is genuinely kind, but it also shifts my thoughts to "what did I do to be thanked for?" rather than me trying to honestly articulate the experience. This video is my best attempt at that.

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The Mission:

45 minutes across a roadless Middle Eastern desert. Usually 11 trucks deep. Carrying thousands of gallons of fuel, thousands of gallons of water, 16 pallets of food, a truck dedicated entirely to mail, and over 500 one-off items. Of these one-off items, my favorite was the industrial bread mixer with a conveyor belt for the Syrian Army.

Get up to the base. Unstrap and unload everything. Wait for the border gate to reopen. Drive back. Then the next day perform maintenance on all the vehicles (trucks really don't love the heat or the bumpy desert) and reload and strap down all the supplies back onto the trucks. Rinse and repeat.

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The Reality of 26 Iowa kids in a Desert:

26 kids from Iowa out in the Middle Eastern Desert, on a base about the size of 4 blocks run by an Illinois unit and then a Connecticut unit. Everyone else from our Iowa unit is running the base we go resupply. The mission requires us to work every day, no weekends off, just waking up and realizing it is either a loading and turning wrenches day or it is a travelling day.

That was the context I got to try not to be a shitty leader in. "What do these guys need from a leadership role?" Never did figure that out, so I just tried to be a good soldier.

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Anyways, back in the states again. Would love to catch up. by @conner_conrad1

The only things I can control:

1. How hard I work.
2. The attitude I bring.

Constantly clearing my mind of everything else to ask if I am showing up to my full potential in these two areas. by @conner_conrad1

Been chasing that peace of mind.

Haven’t found it yet.. but it was nice to stop for a second and just enjoy this moment.

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For anyone keeping score at home, I am now 0/2 on climbing 14ers. ⛰️ by @conner_conrad1

Exhale and Enjoy 🌬️✨

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Reminder that life isn’t only about chasing goals and constantly striving for the next milestone.

We live in a culture that glorifies hustling and grinding, which is great. But I feel like I have this problem, and one that is fairly common among people I talk with, where we almost segment our lives. A type of “I’m not completely happy rn, but I’m sacrificing it so in the future….” Blah blah mindset. Building for that ever elusive “future happiness” finish line.

That is not to say your hard work is not valid, or to take away from the fact that you may be building an unbelievable future. Rather, I am hoping to create what I want to see.

Reminders to:
1. *Take a deep breathe*
2. Be allowed to completely enjoy yourself rn.

And the thought of some kid doing the above and stringing together a few moments of feeling completely whole in him/herself, like cmon, there’s no cooler thought.

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This was the first video I shot on my camera, of which I then took many more. I was like a kid on Christmas when I got home to watch them all. Quickly learned “Delete all frames” is in reference to the whole SD card, not just all the frames on the selected movie. All the videos: Gone.

Anyways that night went from the thought of finally sleeping in a comfy bed, to paying hundreds for sketchy software to try to retrieve these memories. I thought this one was gone for ever. But a few days ago, it randomly appeared on my hard drive.

I’m not a huge tech guy, but I think that is what they call, “🌬️✨”

Very Respectfully,

Conner C by @conner_conrad1

After Van life, I had to jump back into my last military training. 4 more months and, once on the other side, I would finally be able to step into the start of my career.

Yes, that is the worst mindset to have for someone who tries to preach presence so much, but “just get to the other side” was definitely a thought that would reappear in my mind.

However the people in that class quickly changed that. They truly helped me out so much. And seriously, if there is anything I can ever do to help you guys, please reach out 🐼✊🏼

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(A more specific thank you)

Looking back, I feel very fortunate that I had a few random things early on get highlighted in a positive way, but you guys continuously showed me nothing but love. And that was so new for me and it showed me how much my own internal dialogue is constantly self critiquing.

And I do think there are positives to having that critic inside my skull.. it makes me more thoughtful, I continuously wonder if I was curious and empathetic enough.

However to get to realize that the love and nice things that can be given to me was so drastically different from how I talk with myself is something that I am hugely appreciative for.

I also can’t overstate how being around all you guys and in the environment y’all created made me realize how important culture is. Rather than feeling small and limited by my weaknesses, you guys made me want to become the person you saw me as. I felt like my work was noticed and appreciated, and I just wanted to continue to do the best I could to help y’all.

So, thank you for it all. Y’all are all killers in your own way, and so I’m looking forward to getting to watch how our lives progress from here! by @conner_conrad1

Warning: all bad, some less bad parts.

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I shared with you guys so little about my van life experience, and I was really trying to create a post to summarize it all today.. but it just hasn’t felt like right. But rather like I am being very superficial and cherry picking moments.

So, instead I am posting the video that made me the most uncomfortable and insecure when I was looking through them all today.

Because what better way to indicate that I want to see behind the curtain and into the depth of your life, then by making you to listen to my tone deaf, insecure singing.

Also, shout out to @alexharjugolf for letting my know about this cave.. has become my favorite photo I have from the trips! 🙏🏼 by @conner_conrad1

25.

Trying to actually put myself into that age, I must admit, feels like the coolest one yet.

Conner at 24 was on a mission. He wanted to see how he would handle and react to actual discomfort. He wanted to see what life was like on the other side of that mental battle.

So, he jumped into:
• 6 months of Military Training 🫡
• 4 months of Van Life (R.I.P.) 🚐

These were both complete 180 moves in my life, which being such, led to a year of me having to sit with the anxious thoughts
of, “What am I doing?”
of, “Who am I becoming?”

And now, I’m on the other side.
Not sure I’ve found great answers to those questions.
All I know is.. I’m excited for what is ahead🥳😌😙 by @conner_conrad1