Inspiration

Low Hanging Fruit

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Throughout my brief time as an athlete, I’ve heard the phrase “focus on the low hanging fruit.” This was advice intended to help athletes to get faster at a specific discipline by paying attention to an “easy” solution. For example, fixing your body position on the bike would be low hanging fruit because it hardly requires any effort, but makes a dramatic difference in speed.
 
I think many people are reluctant to look at the low hanging fruit in their own lives. They are so focused on looking at the entire tree as a complex organism that they fail to focus on the branches right in front of them.
 
Perhaps they think to themselves “wow, that fruit at the top of the tree looks really good! I think I’ll try to get that one!” Then they fail, and then they give up.
 
Or maybe they look at the whole tree and think to themselves “how do I get all of the fruit off that tree?” That’s too hard, so they give up.
 
When you approach a staircase, do you try to jump to the top in one fantastic leap? No, you take the lowest step first. Then the next lowest step… Then the next lowest… Until the top step is the next lowest step.
 
The same is true for the fruit on the tree. As you start picking off the low hanging fruit, the fruit on the higher branches seems to suddenly become reachable. All that low hanging fruit is out of the way.
 
There was a time when there was a lot I wanted to change about myself. I found all of my flaws and character defects overwhelming, and it led me to believe that I wasn’t really a good person. To fix everything would be too challenging, and the big things I wanted to change seemed too far out of reach.
 
But there was low hanging fruit. I started to change little things about myself, such as my perspective on life in the morning, the frequency at which I communicated with God, the type of food I ate, my appreciation for little joys, my attitude, my gratitude. 
 
One by one, as I picked off the low hanging fruit, it became clear that the fruit on the higher branches was not so far out of reach, and the entire tree began to come into focus. I wasn’t a bad person with a set of overwhelming character defects. I was a human being on the path, picking fruit.
 
In order for athletes to improve, they must pick off the low hanging fruit which takes the least amount of effort so that they can begin to more clearly identify and set a course for ways in which they can improve. The same is true for all of us humans walking on the path.
As you look at the tree, don’t be overwhelmed by the volume of fruit. Don’t be discouraged by fruit higher up on branches which are out of reach. First grab the fruit right in front of you. All you have to do is reach out and grab it.

 

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Your Brain is a Limiter

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A friend of mine introduced me to this TED Talk a couple weeks ago, and it really hit home for me. Not just in the sense of how it applies to my athletic life, but also my personal and professional life. It helps demonstrate that our brains are amazing, confusing, and deceiving pieces of machinery.

Yes, our brains can trick us into (and talk us out of) anything. It is the source of our dreams, our fears, our joys, our anger, our happiness, our thoughts, and our aspirations. It helps us understand what is right in front of us, and sometimes shows us things we can’t possibly understand. It communicates with every fiber of our being and relays instruction and feedback to every part of our body. You would think that it is always operating at maximum capacity, and that it is always out for our best interest. But one thing we don’t always consider is that the brain often blocks us from our true potential.

The TED Talk I’m referring to is David Epstein’s “Are Athletes Really Getting Better, Faster, Stronger?” While the bulk of this talk is referring to what is actually making athlete’s appear faster, better, and stronger within recent history (and is definitely worth fully watching because it is mighty fascinating), the part that caught my ear began around minute 11:55. This is where the discussion of a brain as a limiter began, as a discussion of why professional athletes can compete on an entirely different level. Have a watch…

Now, before you start running up the Matterhorn, let’s put this into perspective. Our brain acts as a limiter for a reason. Within our physical bodies, it acts as a limiter so we don’t injure ourselves. Think about the example provided in the video of the person receiving an electric shock. Sure, they were able to jump across the room using all of their muscle fibers, but imagine how sore that person would be the next day (assuming they survived)!

I know I’ve brought up this example before in an earlier post, but it’s relevant here as it is a great example of how limitations can be overcome. Back in 1989, two professionals, Dave Scott and Mark Allen were competing for the Ironman World Championship. Neither wanted to give up their position as both wanted desperately to win. They were neck and neck for the entire race until a few miles from the finish when Mark Allen broke away. Both racers finished within minutes of each other, and both smashed the previous record, Allen by 20 minutes. While you enjoy a good laugh from the ridiculous outfits of 1980’s triathletes, get some perspective from the video below. Enjoy the mulletude!
Did these athletes do anything different than previous years? Were they riding different equipment? Was there some magic potion that made them 20 minutes faster that year? No. This particular year they were able to overcome the limiter because they were challenging each other to do so. The only thing that changed was their mental state. They were breaking barriers set by themselves, and were able to push through. Mark Allen set a time which smashed the previous record, and was only broken by himself in subsequent years. Not until new technology and nutrition was introduced did times like those get posted again, and then only rarely.

While it’s not mentioned in Epstein’s video, the brain also acts as a limiter in non-physical circumstances. Feelings of stress are often supplemented with feelings of exhaustion or anxiety. This is feedback that we may need to rest our minds lest we descend into madness, strap a pair of underwear to our foreheads, and start yelling profanities at strangers (is that a little too specific of an example?).

The key, therefore is finding the balance of how to control the limiter, to set the governor up or down based on the required output. As with an endurance athlete, this takes training. While the endurance athlete will build their endurance and push through their mental limitations to achieve their goals, so too can anybody push through their own mental limitations. Here are a few steps on how to raise the bar on our own mental stamina.

  1. Take breaks as you need them, and actually use them as breaks. Don’t use these breaks as an opportunity focus on other things that are stressful. Remove yourself from a stressful environment and regroup.
  2. Meditate. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get in your pajamas, light a bunch of candles, and turn on some Enya (but more power to you if you do!). It simply means finding a quiet place and quieting your mind. It’s like hitting the mental reset button. Remember: meditation is a practice, it’s counter productive to get frustrated because you can’t quiet your mind. Do the best you can, but just keep at it.
  3. Ignore the voices in your head telling you that you can’t. These voices exist in everyone at varying levels and it is a prime example of how our brains act as a limiter. When we are conditioned to think this way, we will also perceive the actions and words of others to be aligned with what our brain is telling us. It becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. You have to take contrary action to overcome these negative thoughts.
  4. Get plenty of rest. Sleep is important to everyone. Make sure to get a good night sleep every night.
  5. Keep your brain interested. As long as your commitment to your goals is greater than the limitations you put on yourself, you will keep striving to achieve your goals. It is a battle, but make sure you continue to remind yourself of the purpose of your pursuit. Every. Single. Day. 
All human beings are therefore capable of much more than they “think” they are. It’s not just optimistic mumbo jumbo to think that anything you put your mind to you can achieve, it’s actually true. You have the power within you to overcome your own limitations. So keep setting high goals and continue to strive to achieve them. Your only obstacle is yourself!
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Change is Never Easy – What We Can Learn from Exodus

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I’m going off on a bit of a tangent, so bear with me. This has been on my mind lately due to some of my own personal circumstances. It’s about “change”. Nobody likes it. I mean nobody. If you think you do, you don’t. Sure, it may be nice to have a change of scenery, or a change in diet, or take on a new hobby, but really only when it’s our idea. When change is enforced on us, it’s not so great.

In fact, just the very discussion of “change” may lose the attention of a few readers. And I’m about to lose a few more… Why? Because I’m going to start talking about the Bible.

Still there? Good! Thanks for sticking with me. This is not an attempt to get all “religious”, I’m not going to try to indoctrinate anyone, and I’m not going to become “preachy” (ok, well maybe just a little). I’m simply going to use the Exodus story of the Bible to illustrate my points about how we handle change.

I’ll briefly summarize the relevant points of the Exodus story (of which I’m including the story beyond the book of Exodus, as the Hebrews spent a mighty long time hanging out in the desert). In a nutshell, the self-exiled Moses is called by God to lead his people (the Israelites) from the bondage of slavery in Egypt and into the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Wow, sounds awesome! Thanks, God!

Well, despite the rosy picture that’s painted above, our protagonist Moses was initially reluctant to perform God’s Will, and continued to complain about his own lack of competence for the task. Further, the Pharaoh continued to disallow the freeing of the Israelites, despite the pain being inflicted on his own people. Eventually though, through God’s demonstrations of His divine competence, Moses was able to lead his people out of Egypt and beyond the Red Sea toward Milkville and Honeyland.

Hooray! Happy ending! All is well, right? Not quite. It turns out that between Egypt and the promised land exists a vast desert through which Moses and the Israelites would have to pass… well, more like aimlessly wander. Almost immediately, the people began complaining to Moses about their current living conditions, pining to return to the comfort of slavery in Egypt, and praising other gods as a means of trying to find a “quick fix” to their current problems. Consequently, God punished them for their lack of faith by forcing them to remain in the desert for 40 years before they could enter the promised land.

Eventually they made it to their destination and for a time became a powerful nation. However, it wasn’t without a great deal of (mostly self inflicted) misery.

Regardless of what personal opinions each of us may have about whether these events actually occurred, the “story” itself brilliantly demonstrates interesting lessons into how we process change.

1. Regardless of how necessary and attractive the change may be, any departure from a required level of comfort will create resistance.

As you can see by this story, once the Israelites’ comfort was compromised, even the prospect of going back into slavery seemed more attractive than the present situation. Even Moses, the “project manager” so to speak, had his doubts from time to time. When it comes to getting out of our comfort zone, if we hope to see improvements in our own lives at times we have to take a leap of faith and absorb a little discomfort for a while to reap the benefits of the end result.

2. The long term benefit of any change can be overshadowed by the short term pain.

When we are in any type of discomfort, it is hard to reconcile that with the idea that things will get better. On the contrary, we see short term pain as endless suffering. We will do anything to get out of it immediately. If we can keep the end goal in sight and continue work through the challenges toward a positive result, the pain will be short lived.

3. Lack of buy in and resistance to change can be detrimental to the expected positive result, and can serve to prolong the pain.

Due to their lack of faith and resistance to God’s will, the process of getting the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land took much longer than expected. If the attitude on the part of the Israelites was one of cooperation and helpfulness, it likely would have taken much less time. Instead the Israelites had to spend 40 extra years in the desert. I think that one of the purposes of this story is to demonstrate how resistance to positive change only serves to delay any positive outcome, and will increase the amount of time spent in the desert.

4. We may not always receive praise for the success of the change, or even see the benefits of the outcome.

One last part of the story that is a little depressing, but illustrates an important lesson is that Moses died before the Israelites could even enter the promised land. He didn’t even get to experience the reward of all of  patience and hard work. Sometimes we have to invoke change that we may not necessarily be rewarded for or even see the benefits of. This is not to say that we will die before they provide any benefit, but there are scenarios such as career or job changes which leave us removed from any benefit. Further, it is not always likely that we will receive praise from others when a change is successful. In this regard we are called to do good for the benefit of humanity without expecting anything in return. Not always easy, but the rewards are inherent if not explicit.

Now, we don’t all have the hand of the Almighty God to force productive and positive change on people. We can’t turn rods into serpents, or bring forth springs of water from dry land. We mortals require a more gentle approach. Worst of all, we have to deal with the “will of other people” which doesn’t always align with ours. But faith, commitment, persistence, and keeping your eye on the end goal while overcoming present obstacles make achieving the goal more manageable.

For any type of change, between “A” (the starting point) and “B” (the point when the change is completed), there will have to be some time spent in the desert. Here is a diagram to help demonstrate:

How long you spend in the desert is largely up to you. When you think about your role in any kind of change, consider this story. When change takes place in your life, are you Moses? Are you the Israelites? Are you Pharaoh? Or are you trying to play God?

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Ironman Los Cabos Epilogue: Lessons Learned

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After having some time to really reflect on Ironman Los Cabos, and how the experience shaped out, I wanted to lay out some of the things I learned along the way which I found important, and can be applied to any passion project a person may seek to accomplish. In a nutshell, completing this race was absolutely glorious. The finish chute was a blur of afternoon sunlight and mental fog, but it was absolutely glorious. Will I do it again? Absolutely. What did I learn? Read below to find out.

  1. We human beings really are capable of more than we give ourselves credit for – Yes, I know it’s cliche, and we can read this any number of times a day on inspirational Facebook posts, but it’s also very true. We tend to give up too quickly or too easily. By our very nature, we are conditioned to conserve. Conserve our pride, conserve our welfare, conserve our energy. In other words we are conditioned to be “safe”. After all, as we evolved we had to develop mechanisms to keep ourselves from harm – to run away from Sabertooth Tigers, or survive through cold winters or famine. I’m certainly not endorsing those, but there are ways that we can channel those additional stores of energy in non-stressful ways (I want to stress “non-stressful”) to go the extra mile in any endeavor with which we are involved.
  2. Understanding and acknowledging our limitations is a beneficial exercise – Is number 2 contradicting number 1? Yes!… In a way. But you see how I mentioned channeling energy in non-stressful ways (I guess I want to re-stress my stressing of “non-stressful”). That is where understanding our limitations can benefit us. We all know how we feel when we hit a brick wall. Our energy immediately depletes, we lose sleep, we get sick, we get irritable, we crave sugar (ok, that one is tough to gauge). When I felt any of these symptoms during my Ironman training, I knew that it was my body telling me that I was pushing too hard. When that happened I had to take a step back and make rest my priority, refresh my mind and body, and recover the passion and energy I had for pursuing this goal. Often times the best offense is a good defense. Additionally, knowing our limitations gives us a good indication on where we can improve, and whether it makes sense to refocus our energy in more positive ways.
  3. “No pain, no gain” is some of the worst advice ever given – In fact, pain is most often an impediment to progress. Alternatively, some of the greatest gains happen with little or no physical pain, and very little discomfort at all! When I first began training using heart rate as a guide, I didn’t even feel like I was working out at all. I barely broke a sweat, pulling 11-12 minute miles on runs. Gradually the pace improved and the effort felt much the same. It’s only with the greater gains that more discomfort becomes required, the “last 10%” so to speak, and even that should be done sparingly. It all comes back to understanding limitations. Pain is different from discomfort. Our ability to suffer through discomfort is part of a growing experience. Pain, on the other hand, is biofeedback telling us that we are overdoing it and have to take a step back. This advice would be better read as “No pain, KNOW gain!”
  4. We can make the experience of achieving a goal much more fulfilling by finding a way to be in service to others – When I first considered training for an Ironman, I thought of all the hours I would have to put in, the money I would have to spend, and the emotional capital I would expend and it made it seem like a very selfish endeavor. To be fair, it was. I was looking to better myself. But how can we benefit others unless we focus first on improving ourselves (something about removing the plank from one’s own eye comes to mind)? In my case, I chose to set an example for those that may have always thought of achieving a far reaching goal, but who may have talked themselves out of it numerous times (after all, I was like that). I wrote about it openly in the hopes of inspiring others through my experience. This requires conquering the fear of being vulnerable (spoiler alert: that’s number 5 below). Additionally, I raised money for charity to hold myself accountable to the goal. After all, it is much more difficult to quit when times get tough if you have more eyes on your progress and a charity goal depending on your achieving the goal.
  5. The experience can become more meaningful if we can conquer the fear of being vulnerable – I used to be a bit of a cynic, often becoming critical and nay-saying in many situations. I now understand that that was a defense mechanism for me so that I would not be the subject of criticism. If I can be critical of other peoples’ desires to fulfill a dream, I could justify my own lack of inspired confidence. Too often we put up this armor of cynicism, and neglect the great potential for self improvement that comes from being vulnerable. Brene Brown is an expert on vulnerability, and goes into great detail of it’s importance in this TED talk and in her book, Daring Greatly. Making myself vulnerable by writing about my experience, especially at the beginning when I had no experience whatsoever, made me extremely uncomfortable. However, it made the experience of getting to my goal and achieving it that much more meaningful.
  6. You CAN find the time – Yes, you can. No seriously, you can. I know you have kids, I know you have a job, I know you have that thing on Thursday nights (I’m not stalking you, I swear). Regardless, the time is there. It’s just about inventive time management. I know waking up earlier is hard, but that is a solution. You can also take your lunch breaks at work to focus on the goal. The point is that there is always a way to make the time. Within my training plan, I had to find 20+ hours a weak during the peak weeks to train. I would wake up earlier, use my lunch breaks, and use the actual commute to work to work in training hours. I still found time with the family and took care of all my obligations (in fact my family appreciated it more because I was setting a good example). 
  7. The right perspective changes everything – I know what it’s like to fall into a downward spiral of despair and self loathing. The feeling that everyone is against you and the hard work is meaningless. These are the great demoralizers. The worst thing about these feelings is that they are overpowering, and they feel absolutely legitimate. However, I have found in my life that these are mostly problems with perspective. I’ve learned through this experience that, for me, one of the big differences between being happy and being miserable is my perspective. When I turned my negative attitude around and focused on the positive, things became much brighter. Ironman training was a great practice in perspective. Instead of saying things like “I have to run today”, I would say “I get to run today”. How lucky am I, that I am capable of getting myself up every day and working toward a dream? Truly we are fortunate if we allow ourselves to believe we are, and overcome the power of negative thinking.
  8. Humility is vital – There will be setbacks. There always are. Many times these setbacks may seem like a death nail into achievement of a goal. But when these setbacks occur, it is important to practice humility. Allowing our egos to get in the way of clear thinking will only make the situation worse. For example, as I was training during the summer months last year, I hit a plateau which wouldn’t allow me to get any faster at my assigned aerobic heart rate range. This gave me two options. Run faster and train over my heart rate range (which would have potentially destroyed my training progress to that point), or humble myself and keep it slow. Sure, I wouldn’t be able to run as fast as I wanted at that point, but checking my ego would allow me to be faster at that heart rate over the long term. A setback, yes. But the long term goal was still on track. Eventually I broke through the plateau and got faster. Humility ties a lot of these things I learned together in a nice little bow. Accepting limitations, practicing vulnerability, finding the right perspective, it’s all about humility.
  9. It’s worth it – Whatever “it” is, as long as the effect is positive, it’s worth it. Because “it” is important to you, “it” will build your character, “it” will give you fulfillment beyond your expectations, and in turn the act of achieving “it” will inspire others. And when we inspire others, we can inspire ourselves, constantly improving, always reaching toward higher and more lofty goals. An upward spiral. Take it from me, you can.
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Next Steps – A Christmas and New Years Message

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Christmas in Salt Lake City. A winter wonderland

As I mentioned in a previous post, I always love this time of year. The lights, the crisp air, the generally more pleasant attitude coming from everyone (while there may be some exceptions of course). The culmination of the holiday season, Christmas Day, is not necessarily my favorite day of the season. More so is the lead up to Christmas, when goodwill is at the forefront of our minds, and we are more frequently aware of the grace we are offered by God. At least this is true for me, especially in more recent years. Giving gifts is great, but it’s the empowerment of the soul and the rejuvenation of the spirit which make this holiday special. As the Grinch himself expressed:

“‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store.
‘Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more!'”

We’ve all heard pontifications on “the True Meaning of Christmas”, so I won’t wax on. However, I will say that it is fitting that Christmas falls at the very end of the calendar year. If we choose it to be, we can make it a celebration for the blessings we have received over the course of the year. A chance to reflect on what we have achieved, and prepare our positive attitudes for blessings to come in the next year, beginning a week later.

I, myself have been profoundly blessed. Blessed to have a wonderful family, blessed to have another year of sobriety, blessed to be healthy, blessed to be motivated to perform at my absolute best, and blessed to have been given the opportunity to set an example for others, including my family.

Early in 2013 I was struck with an insane, uncharacteristic, and seemingly impossible idea. With my arm in a sling, and a gut hanging over my sweat pants, I somehow had the motivation to do an Ironman triathlon. Somewhat of a “New Year’s Resolution”. I had never swam any significant distance, didn’t own a bike, let alone know how to ride a road bike, and the chronic abuse of my lungs and liver made the idea of participating in any endurance sport a laughable proposition. However, the idea struck me with such force that I had no doubt that I would achieve it, and I went about planning for success.

A few months ago I wrote an article in for MindBodyGreen called Stop Abandoning Your Goals! In it I advised people to set smaller, more easily achievable goals as milestones to the greater goal. That would make the greater goal more easily achievable. This was part of my “success plan”, to create incremental goals leading to the bigger one. I signed up for Ironman Los Cabos set to take place on March 30, 2014, and then signed up for a number of shorter triathlons leading up to that date. Sure enough, eating a healthy diet and following a strict training plan, I was able to complete two sprint triathlons during the summer, where I was able to gain confidence in open water swimming, and get a feel for the race. Then I finished an Olympic distance triathlon, to get used to racing for multiple hours. Finally, a couple weeks ago, I completed a half Ironman. A far cry from the injured and unhealthy person dreaming at the beginning of the year.

So now after completing those distances, while still a significant challenge, the actual Ironman triathlon does not seem as formidable. It is just the next step. And with three months to go before the race, it’s the final stretch of training, so it’s getting real.

I know that was a long way from the original message of this post, but it brings us around from reflecting on the past year to how we can look forward to the next. I will no longer look forward to unfulfilled dreams and empty promises. I will continue to dream big and create a road map for achievement.

So this year, as you consider your New Year’s resolutions, consider this. Dream big this year. Despite what you tell yourself, you can achieve it. To get there, just take the next step. Set smaller goals to propel you forward. Finally, have a very Merry Christmas, reminiscing on the blessings of the previous year. And may God grace you with a prosperous and dream-fulfilling New Year!

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Gratitude!

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Leading up to Thanksgiving, many people begin to talk about what they are thankful for. While it may seem cliche, I wanted to talk about what I am grateful for in my life. It seems that during the holidays many people force themselves to express what they are thankful for. But should we really have to force gratitude? Furthermore, why should we confine our expression of gratitude to just one holiday? Gratitude should be something we focus on year round. In fact, I try not save this gratitude for one day out of the year, I try to focus on it every day. It’s how I start and end my day.

One of the reasons I love the holiday season is because, starting in mid-November, people begin to prime themselves with the mindset of thankfulness. That collectively changes the mentality and compounds the effects of positive thinking. If you’re willing, it’s easy to cultivate a positive attitude during the holidays through gratitude (again, if you’re willing). The challenge is making this attitude of gratitude last throughout the year.

One of the hardest things for me to do during the day is wake up (or be woken up) and leave the peaceful comfort of the bed with a positive attitude. I don’t care how hard I try, I will never wake up with an immediate spring in my step and cartoon bluebirds singing on my shoulder. Instead my first desire becomes to through my alarm clock through the first solid object I see and get back to bed. However, with that attitude present first thing in the morning, it begins an upward battle to change my perspective on what the rest of the day will bring. One of the ways I thwart this and reinforce a positive attitude for the day is to immediately begin listing ways in which I am grateful, either in prayer or meditation. I try to visualize clearly this gratitude as it enters my mind, thus drowning out any negativity or clutter that may exist. It’s always beneficial to revisit this list once more before bed time. 

Unfortunately, while a lot of gratitude exists around the holidays, so too does negativity and stress. But don’t be absorbed by negativity, instead be the tip of the spear for gratitude! If you actively practice gratitude daily and cultivate a positive attitude, you will find yourself attracting the positive and blocking the negative. Furthermore, you can bring a little holiday joy to the rest of the world all year long. 

There is no doubt that a positive attitude is contagious, and there is no better way to spread good will than to lift up other people in your life. So with that in mind, I’ll share my “top 10” gratitude list with hopes that some of it may rub off!.

I am grateful for…

1. My family and friends, who have supported me immensely despite my insanity. The number of people in my life who say “go for it!” far outweigh, and therefore drown out, the people who say “you can’t”.
2. My wife who, in addition to practicing what’s listed in #1, will additionally kick my butt into gear and find new ways to encourage me and others.
3. My kids who inspire me much more than I would hope to inspire them.
4. The fact that unhealthy obsessions and compulsions – such as drinking, smoking, or eating copious amounts of refined sugar – are no longer with me, and that today I can enjoy life without these things much more than I did with them. 
5. God’s grace. There is no doubt that today I live in unmerited favor. On a daily basis I want to do my best to glorify Him rather than myself.
6. My willingness to seek out the positive and inspiring rather than be consumed by the negative. 
7. Freedom.
8. The ability to provide a warm, safe environment for my family.
9. That I have the opportunity to practice a healthy lifestyle on a body which I had previously squandered. I am fortunate to be able to find absolute joy and peace in discovering fitness and health.
10. That today I am relieved of anxiety, depression, and discouragement.

Additionally, I am grateful to all of you who have taken the time to follow me here and read this little blog. I enjoy doing it, and hearing the feedback. Have a very happy and grateful Thanksgiving!

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The Big Show on the Big Island

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All too often we use the “Superbowl” to describe an event  which marks the apex of that particular pursuit. A culmination of hard work paying off in the form of a championship event. “It was the Superbowl of Texas Hold ’em tournaments”, or “this chili cookoff is like the Superbowl of all semi-outdoor culinary events”. Some people describe the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in much the same way. However, I would argue that while it is a “championship” (and pros and top age-groupers treat it that way), for many I have read about it is a celebration of an achievement. The act of getting to Kona was the achievement in and of itself. For the vast majority of the people racing, they had to qualify at a previous Ironman event and place at the top of their age group. The championship race is the capstone to that achievement.

Courtesy of Ironman.com

The Ironman World Championships are taking place Saturday, October 12, and I would recommend tuning in. I have not had the privilege to have qualified or raced in this event, although I hope to one day, but it seems clear that “celebration” is what this week is all about. And rightfully so! The people that are there have accomplished an extraordinary feat. Not only did these athletes swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run a marathon, they did so faster than the vast majority of the other people racing in that event. Their reward? To do it all over again on a more challenging course against some of the best athletes in the world. In addition, many have overcome significant obstacles to get there. I have yet to find as many inspiring stories in other sports as I do with this one.

When it comes to the pros, there’s a couple examples which demonstrate this. First, was Julie Moss’ crawl to the finish in 1982, when her body gave out. Despite having nothing left in the tank and losing her lead, she literally crawled to the finish to complete the race.

There was also the “Iron War” between Dave Scott and Mark Allen. Allen had been chasing Scott for many years, but had come up short. In this race their splits were nearly identical, but Allen was able to pull it off with only a few miles left in the race. He then went on to win 5 more World Championships. Allen had adjusted his training style due to his previous performances, and was focusing on developing a strong aerobic base (through heart rate work). This is what allowed his fitness to improve dramatically, and it is one of the main reasons I am using his coaching services through Mark Allen Online.

This is not to overshadow the countless stories of inspiration which come from the age group fields. The amount these individuals have to overcome in many cases is extreme – training while having full time jobs, physical challenges and disabilities, and even terminal disease. My descriptions can not do them justice, and there are too many to count, but below are a couple videos. This embodies the spirit of the celebration of the Ironman World Championship.

This championship offers amateurs the opportunity to race on the same field as pros. It allows those with the desire to achieve a challenging goal to celebrate their accomplishment with other like-minded people. While in its simplest form it is simply a long distance triathlon, on a grander scale it serves as a platform to inspire people, to challenge people to give the best of themselves and to achieve greatness. It is the fact that this race tends to leave the world a little better than it was before that makes it so great. It is my goal to one day qualify, celebrate, and be a part of the positive energy that exists in Kona at that time.

To conclude, I wanted to share a few race reports from age groupers that qualified for the World Championships. They may be a bit long, but they are well worth the read. These are, for all intents and purposes, “normal” people, with jobs, responsibilities, etc. They were able to work really hard and achieve this seemingly insurmountable goal. As a snapshot in time, these individuals are fit, fast, and worthy of the top spot, but leading up to this they had to conquer their own obstacles.

The first is Christopher Borden who qualified in Ironman Canada (I’ll be racing there next year!) Here is the link to his race report

Next is David Rowe who has an entertaining race report about Ironman UK and his surprise Kona qualification (spoiler alert!). Here is the link to his race report

Finally, another race report from Ironman Canada by Elliot Kawaoka. Here is the link to his race report

If you would like to enjoy any of the coverage of this celebration, tune into www.ironman.com on Saturday, or wait a couple of weeks to see the coverage on NBC. You can also find previous years’ coverage by searching Ironman Hawaii on youtube.

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Letting Go

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In a recent article I wrote for MindBodyGreen.com, called “6 Signs You’re Working Out Too Hard“, I talk about the importance of taking rest from training when your body is telling you you’re overtraining. Well, that is sound advice when it’s presented to the anonymous masses, but what if it’s me that’s overtrained? Would I be just as willing to take that advice as I am to dish it out? In many respects it’s easier said than done.

It gets back to issue of humility, acceptance, and patience – the three values I am attempting to employ strictly as I venture forth on this road to physical, mental, and spiritual fitness. Shelving these values in any aspect of my life puts me at risk of shelving them in other areas of my life as well. Allowing my ego to get in the way of better judgement gives the ego leverage over other areas of life. If I was to tell myself to push through my symptoms of overtraining, what’s to stop me from trying to take control of everything else I have no power over? This is where two very powerful words come into play and are extremely useful as a mantra during meditation, prayer or deep breathing. “Let Go.”

This seems very trite, but the words can be powerful in changing attitudes and perspective, whether you are letting go of your will to God, the universe, nature, or supernatural power. Letting go means to surrender (which implies humility, patience, and acceptance over the things we have no control over), not to give up (which means to quit).

An earlier version of myself had significant control issues. My insanity led me to believe that I had the power and authority to control people and situations, which of course led to anger, self pity, and depression when things didn’t go my way or how I had planned. Learning to let go was a key ingredient to my inner peace.

Letting go is still a daily practice for me, for life situations big and small. I believe that, subconsciously, what prompted me to write the article above was that I was starting to feel some of the symptoms I listed, yet I wasn’t taking the right steps to allow my body to recover. Instead I was continuing the intensity of the workouts, and growing more frustrated that my pace was slowing a bit, and was feeling tired and achy. I was practicing Adam’s will, not God’s.

If you step back and think of how we wish to control certain aspects of our lives, you can begin to see just how crazy it is to do that. Did I actually think that by ignoring the symptoms and powering through an obvious burnout that I would suddenly and magically start feeling better? That’s crazy, but it’s also a default for a lot of people. I’ve seen it often that people get burned out and then quit altogether. Instead of “surrendering” their will early on and practicing humility, patience, and acceptance, they “give up” when things don’t go their way. This is certainly the insanity I used to live by. And I firmly believe that practicing these three principles can lead people to more joyous, healthful, and fulfilling lives.

Today I’m grateful that I am willing to surrender. I’m grateful that my mantra is “Let Go” because it hasn’t failed me, whereas my attempts at control have failed me many times over. I have never been let down by practicing humility, patience, and acceptance.

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Fail Well

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I have spent the last couple days at the Global Leadership Summit organized by the Willow Creek Association, listening to speakers such as Colin Powell, Liz Wiseman, and Mark Burnett talk about leadership. The speakers are mainly “exceptions” – those who fulfilled their specific calling despite their own challenges – and the program itself is designed to influence how well we lift each other up. One of the underlying messages this year, in addition to how we can influence and inspire, was failure.

The cynic in me would say that the conference is another program designed to make money and push a spiritual agenda. The cynic in me would also often be the one to fail once and quit.  I no longer look at these influential people with a cynical eye toward the fact that for every one of their success stories there are 999 others which have resulted in failure. Their failures are what have made them the people they are, and it’s how they failed that helped them ultimately succeed.

Bob Goff stated yesterday, we are called simply to “Love God. Love people. Do stuff”. To have an impact, the “stuff” we do will invariably bring criticism and pain, and the more “stuff” we do, the more we fail. When we fail well, we learn, and we get better.

Failure is not an option. It’s a necessity. There is room in God’s Will for failure, as long as it is an experience which makes us stronger and pushes us further down The Path. 
I needed to hear their stories this week. I was coming off a new low point after my performance at last Saturday’s race (yup, here comes that tiny violin again). I had a lot of physical pain, and a lot of toxic ideas running through my head. I had failed in that race, and failed so bad it hurt. My pride was shot, I felt weak, and critics were quick to jump on my new found vulnerability. I was told that perhaps triathlon was not for me, and that I shouldn’t be taking on these risks because I’m not good enough. 
I had failed, and I had two ways to react to this. I could accept the ideas of the critics, or I could learn from failure and continue, knowing that success comes at the end of the race.
Brene Brown, one of the speakers today, quoted Theodore Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt.
I am learning a lot about influence and inspiration and the distinction between the two. Influence can be wonderful, when the message is wonderful. But the message can also be toxic. Critics try to influence from their perspective in the cheap seats, but they don’t inspire, instead saying things like “I wouldn’t do that!”  
To inspire means to encourage action on the part of others to give the best of themselves willingly, enthusiastically, creatively, even through failure. I want to choose to stay in the arena. I hope to inspire more than I influence. 
Of course now I welcome the vocal critic because I know it makes me stronger. I make a list of those that say I can’t, and a list that say I can, and both lists will help me succeed. Those who say I can are my support, while those who say I can’t I look forward to proving wrong. However, it’s the silent critic that I have trouble with. It’s what others are saying in my head that tears me down a bit more. As I struggle to reach more people and am met with apathy, I recognize my limitations.
I was beat down a bit, but I got back on the bike this week, albeit a bit aprehensively at first, but more confident as the ride went on. As I peddled, I rode over all my fears and feelings of lack of worth, and my attitude became better. My faith was strengthened because of my action.
As I reflect on Mr. Roosevelt’s words, it is clear that we can choose to participate, be vulnerable to failure, and experience triumph, or we can choose safety, inaction, and regret. Are you in the arena or in the cheap seats?
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Out of Time

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“I don’t have time for that.”

That statement is the perfect embodiment of a self fulfilling prophesy; the mantra by which many of us live by to justify how we prioritize our lives, often in stressful and unhealthy ways. It is a statement which may be used to demonstrate one’s importance and status in some area, such as work, yet it is what enables us to shelf lofty and otherwise fulfilling ventures which may provide us greater joy, peace, happiness, and health. It may too even be a statement used as a comfy blanket to shield us from our fear of change or taking a leap of faith.

What this process of self improvement has taught me is that the statement is a big, fat, stinking bowl of malarkey.

I know that I was on that boat for a long time, truly believing that I didn’t have enough time in the day to do “X”, whether it be volunteering at a local charity, getting more exercise, going back to school, being of service to others, or just getting into a new hobby. I felt like work and family dominated my life, with little time for myself (yeah, poor me! The guy with no time for himself somehow learned to play the tiniest violin). But let’s consider what the average day looked like for me back when I had “no time”. It typically consisted of me waking up at around 6 am (often hungover) and not wanting to get out of bed (sign of depression). I would reluctantly go to work where I would be tired all day. I would come home at around 5 pm and have dinner with the family, and finish the night off by sitting zombie-like in front of the TV absorbing radiation and colors for the last two hours of the day before I hit the pillow to complete the cycle (often this was passing out after copious quantities of wine and/or beer). You can see how happiness fitted into this.

How did I seek my happiness? Typically it was through my paycheck. I sought fulfillment and happiness through my employment, and was constantly working toward, and anticipating, the next merit pay increase or promotion which would grant me brief euphoria, which quickly faded into insignificance. Not that employment shouldn’t make one happy, but I was seeking it as the only source of fulfillment. When it didn’t give me what I wanted, I sought joy from alcohol. And the result was destructive.

One of the first excuses I used as I attempted recovery was that “I don’t have time to do the work.” It was already ingrained in my psyche. What I quickly learned was that it is entirely possible to make time for anything which you choose to make a priority. I made sobriety my priority, and the world did not come crashing down. I was able to still effectively do my job, and spend quality time with my family. The benefit was that I began seeing dramatic improvement both spiritually and mentally. I then found time for meditation and prayer.

After about a year, it became apparent to me that I could make time for anything with which I believed I could find fulfillment. That’s when I felt the urge to test this to the extreme by training for multisports.

Is it possible to find significant time for the things you enjoy? I believe it is, and it is about changing our perspective. Time is relative. Albert Einstein famously said “When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.” Even if this is a bit tongue in cheek, it certainly holds some truth. To put it another way, when we spend a lot of time doing something we don’t enjoy, it may seem like we don’t have time for anything else. Our perception is that it consumes all our time and energy, thus we don’t have time for anything else. In reality, we can create time for what gives us energy and gives us fulfillment. 

My day is a lot more filled now, but it’s fulfilled. I start my day a lot earlier now, at times around 4 am, but because I practice healthier habits and look forward to the day, it’s not hard to get up. I start the day out with a run, bike, or swim, which gives me energy for the day. I still commute an hour each way to work and work a full day, but can often take my lunch break and do more for myself. I find time for prayer and meditation, and time to focus on my recovery. My family and I find time to grow our own vegetables, and cook healthy meals. I even find time to write about my experience. The best part about this is, while I am busier now than ever, I am more joyous and free. And I am confident I can find time for other things if necessary.

The aforementioned Albert Einstein was even able to find time to play the violin and take sailboats out on the lake while writing his special theory of relativity. 

Even the leader of the free world can find a little free time… 

President Bush and friends being chased by mean ol’ Mr. Cheney and his high pressure hose

Wearing hot pants and sweating profusely, the VP shows a poor (pre-PowerPoint) representation of global warming on his T-shirt

So when you find yourself presented with a situation where the spirit moves you, and you say “I would love to do that!”, let there be no “buts.” And certainly, don’t deprive yourself because you think you can’t find the time. If you look hard enough, you will find it.

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