When I first started writing this blog, I think my outlook on running was in a little different place than it is today.
I was tired of lining up for a race and being twice as big as most of the runners who were expecting to be competitive in that particular event. I was tired of lining up at the back because I wasn't an elite runner and feeling in someway that I didn't even belong there.
Let me just say... it was all in my head. Oh sure, there are runners who would take a look at me today and figure there is no way I'm running this race! It just that those people are the "few and far between", not the norm.
Generally, the running community is incredibly warm, friendly and supportive to runners of all shapes and sizes. Go to a group of runners and ask a question about a running problem you're having and most of the time they will share openly and genuinely try to help.
I've spent a fair amount of time in discussion rooms on sites like Active.com (a great resource) reading the concerns, questions and general thoughts of new runners or folks trying to get back into running after long lay-offs from activity.
The underlying theme of most of the posts is that people are just looking for advice and sometimes good old-fashioned encouragement.
With that in mind, this blog has become a place for just that. I try to keep it entertaining and yet mostly, I hope that it truly is informative and encouraging.
If you are someone looking to get into running or walking, whether it be for the first time ever or the first time in many years, this blog is here to empower you to take those first steps and to learn how to make health and fitness a lifestyle not just an occasional distraction.
Any and all honest and sincere feedback is always welcome.
If you have questions or write on the discussion board, I will try to tailor the blogs to the topics of interest.
Don't get me wrong... I still enjoy lining up at the back of the pack in races and seeing the looks on peoples' faces when the big guy passes them, its just not the overall theme of this blog! :-)
Thanks for checking out this blog!
Showing posts with label responsibility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label responsibility. Show all posts
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Pay Attention!
You may have heard this joke in one form or another already, but here it goes:
There was a man who deeply believed in God.
One day a flood was approaching his house. A car came, the driver said come with me and be saved from the flood. The man refused saying "No I will wait here, God will save me."
The waters rose to his porch. A boat came, the captain said come with me and be saved from the flood. The man refused saying "No I will wait here, God will save me."
The water rose to the roof. A helicopter came, the pilot said come with me and be saved from the flood. The man refused saying "No I will wait here, God will save me."
The flood raged and the man drowned. At the pearly gates he asked God, "Why didn't you save me"
God said "I sent you a car, then a boat then a helicopter"
Most of us go through life wanting things to be better or changed in some way. We want more money, better health, improved relationships, a nicer house, a new job... and the list goes on.
The problem for most of us is that we spend so much time focused on the distractions in life that we don't see the solutions when they arrive. Life, or if you believe as I do God, sends us answers all of the time. He'll send you that little hint here or there. Or a big event that demands we do something. And we go frantically cruising through life, never catching the clues as they come along. We get so focused on what we don't want that we don't ever see that what we really do want is passing right in front of our eyes.
I decided that after twenty some years I wanted to change careers. I felt I wanted to make a difference in peoples lives. I was inspired to follow my life long love of fitness and become a personal trainer and personal coach. I spent a fairly substantial amount of money buying the best training programs I could find. I bought the "home study" versions because I had a very busy career and felt this would be the best way to get things done.
I still remember when the first kit arrived. I was like a kid in a candy store! Eyes wide open, jaw dropped, I rifled through the package. I was absolutely beside myself with excitement. I had a couple of things to do around the house before I could get down to it, but I decided I would get started that first night with my studying.
And study I did! That first night, I literally studied through the night. I mean I found myself at the kitchen table still going strong at 5 o'clock in the morning. Soon though, the studying became too much. As the material became more difficult, I found myself spending less and less time moving towards my goal. The other study materials arrived and received the same treatment. Soon they became nothing more than a cluttering distraction on the kitchen table.
Deep down inside, I knew that this was what I really wanted. I knew it was time for a change in my life and the time was now... or maybe I should say when it was convenient.
I did what most of us do when we want change to happen in our lives. I got all excited and certain. Made my plans. Took a couple of steps in the right direction... and then faded like somebody an overused light bulb. Soon I stopped paying attention to opportunities. I mean I had the chance to do some really great things. I literally had people coming up to me and asking for my help with personal coaching or personal training (you think those might have been clues I was moving in the right direction?) and we'd talk for a few minutes and then the subject never came up again.
A Myth...
"Before you can do whatever it is you want to in life, you must be fully educated and prepared, before you get started!"
With a few exceptions, such as, if I needed brain surgery, (I would prefer someone who spent the time getting the education prior to the operation), it is more important to get going than it is to learn more. Too many of us spend too much time being prepared. In fact, we spend so much time focused on preparation that we miss the opportunities when they arise.
A Question...
"Do you think if I had taken on one of those people who had asked me to help them with personal training that I would have screwed them up because I wasn't completely finished with my certification?"
The answer is a resounding, NO! The truth is I have been involved with weight training and running all of my life and have a pretty strong knowledge base to begin with. The certification for me is really more of a trophy to hang on the wall. Maybe more of a "Proof of Who I Am" that people can look at hanging on the wall or posted on my website to add a little bit of credibility to those who don't already know me. Certainly for me who has been training people in a different environment for a whole lot of years, that certificate would not suddenly make me a different person more knowledgeable and capable than I was without it. I already had those qualities.
I have over analyzed myself to death and in the process, missed opportunities that have been knocking on my door which could have ultimately resulted in much greater results. I am as guilty as you are of ignoring the "Hints and clues" of life which lead to the life we really desire for ourselves.
So what do we do?
I believe there are two things that happen;
One is we finally come to the understanding that we need to do more than we analyze. If we let ourselves be open to what's going on around us, many times the answer will come right up and sit down next to us (sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically). Being a even a little less analytical will allow you and me to go with our first instinct instead of waiting until everything is exactly perfect before we do anything. It will open us up to the subtleties of life, allowing us to get more guidance from our daily living. This in itself will empower you as you move through life.
Sometimes we just don't get it and the clues and hints of life aren't sinking in. For me personally, I believe that if it's important enough to God and we aren't paying attention, the type and severity will increase.
I am case and point. After everything I shared with you earlier about changing directions in my career and life, I found myself fluttering aimlessly back towards the profession I had been in for almost twenty-five years.
Why?
Any number of reasons could fit here. Perhaps, "Path of Least Resistance" is the best description. And then... I had a heart attack! No, not metaphorically, literally! When I talk about the type and severity increasing, I think now you can understand what I mean!
My personal belief is God sent me a car, a rowboat and a helicopter and I ignored them so He then sent an aircraft carrier to snatch me out of the water whether I wanted it or not!
Now let's say for a minute you don't buy the fact that this was the doing of God. I'm sorry if you don't, but let's make that assumption. Let's look at it from a purely psychological perspective... shall we?
We all operate primarily in two planes. The Conscious and the Unconscious. I have witnessed these two at work and at times at odds with each other.
When I ran my first marathon, at 252 lbs, after literally training ten times over the course of a year in preparation, my conscious mind thought I was nuts. Your conscious mind is that part that deals largely with the here and now, in the moment kind of stuff, based on all of the latest data.
The data for that first marathon looked kind of like this:
This is really cool!
Look at all of these people!
If that guy can do this, so can I!
Pain!
I've only gone a mile!
I'm thirsty!
More pain.
I'm never going to make it.
Is my leg really cramping at only mile 10?
I can't do this.
Did we make the right turn here, cause there's only about three runners as far as I can see?
I'm happy.
I'm sad.
I'm stupid.
Call your brother, he's got to be finished already.
I want to run but all I can do is walk.
I don't think anyone will finish behind me.
Two more miles to go, I don't think I can make it.
Last quarter mile I better run to the finish line.
Hey there's my brother.
There's the finish line.
I'm going to make it!
I want to cry at this point.
I'm never going to do this again!
When's the next marathon?
At some point in time over the years leading up to my first marathon, I had committed to myself that this was something I absolutely at all costs was going to do. When my brother finished his first marathon in March of that year, there was simply no turning back. At that point I had permanently and indelibly planted in my unconscious mind that this was a MUST not a should for me. In fact, I signed up for my first marathon on the day my brother completed his first.
The unconscious mind is that infantile part of our mind that takes what we truly believe and firmly implant as a must, and not knowing anything but this is what we are supposed to do, makes it a reality.
In the case of the marathon, my unconscious mind would have run me into the ground if that's what it took to do something it believed was a life imperative for me. In the case of the career change, speaking purely psychologically and knowing how powerful the mind-body connection is, I got the same result.
My unconscious went; "Tim, we're going to do this and if you won't slow down and change directions... I'll do it for you!" "Ignore this if you can!" And obviously, it's kind of hard to ignore a heart attack.
Psychologically, if you implant something deep enough in your belief system, your unconscious mind will do whatever it takes (sometimes even dangerously) to make the belief a reality.
So which ever theory you subscribe to, the bottom line is the same.
Pay Attention! Allow yourself to be open to the hints and clues of life. Act on them knowing that the knowledge and answers will come to you along the way.
And know that if you really believe it should be... the "indicators" of life will continue to grow in intensity until you do something.
Personally, these days I prefer to take action on the simple inklings or nudges in life instead of waiting for the "Big Events"!
I want my "Big Events" to be celebrations, not major traumas!
There was a man who deeply believed in God.
One day a flood was approaching his house. A car came, the driver said come with me and be saved from the flood. The man refused saying "No I will wait here, God will save me."
The waters rose to his porch. A boat came, the captain said come with me and be saved from the flood. The man refused saying "No I will wait here, God will save me."
The water rose to the roof. A helicopter came, the pilot said come with me and be saved from the flood. The man refused saying "No I will wait here, God will save me."
The flood raged and the man drowned. At the pearly gates he asked God, "Why didn't you save me"
God said "I sent you a car, then a boat then a helicopter"
Most of us go through life wanting things to be better or changed in some way. We want more money, better health, improved relationships, a nicer house, a new job... and the list goes on.
The problem for most of us is that we spend so much time focused on the distractions in life that we don't see the solutions when they arrive. Life, or if you believe as I do God, sends us answers all of the time. He'll send you that little hint here or there. Or a big event that demands we do something. And we go frantically cruising through life, never catching the clues as they come along. We get so focused on what we don't want that we don't ever see that what we really do want is passing right in front of our eyes.
I decided that after twenty some years I wanted to change careers. I felt I wanted to make a difference in peoples lives. I was inspired to follow my life long love of fitness and become a personal trainer and personal coach. I spent a fairly substantial amount of money buying the best training programs I could find. I bought the "home study" versions because I had a very busy career and felt this would be the best way to get things done.
I still remember when the first kit arrived. I was like a kid in a candy store! Eyes wide open, jaw dropped, I rifled through the package. I was absolutely beside myself with excitement. I had a couple of things to do around the house before I could get down to it, but I decided I would get started that first night with my studying.
And study I did! That first night, I literally studied through the night. I mean I found myself at the kitchen table still going strong at 5 o'clock in the morning. Soon though, the studying became too much. As the material became more difficult, I found myself spending less and less time moving towards my goal. The other study materials arrived and received the same treatment. Soon they became nothing more than a cluttering distraction on the kitchen table.
Deep down inside, I knew that this was what I really wanted. I knew it was time for a change in my life and the time was now... or maybe I should say when it was convenient.
I did what most of us do when we want change to happen in our lives. I got all excited and certain. Made my plans. Took a couple of steps in the right direction... and then faded like somebody an overused light bulb. Soon I stopped paying attention to opportunities. I mean I had the chance to do some really great things. I literally had people coming up to me and asking for my help with personal coaching or personal training (you think those might have been clues I was moving in the right direction?) and we'd talk for a few minutes and then the subject never came up again.
A Myth...
"Before you can do whatever it is you want to in life, you must be fully educated and prepared, before you get started!"
With a few exceptions, such as, if I needed brain surgery, (I would prefer someone who spent the time getting the education prior to the operation), it is more important to get going than it is to learn more. Too many of us spend too much time being prepared. In fact, we spend so much time focused on preparation that we miss the opportunities when they arise.
A Question...
"Do you think if I had taken on one of those people who had asked me to help them with personal training that I would have screwed them up because I wasn't completely finished with my certification?"
The answer is a resounding, NO! The truth is I have been involved with weight training and running all of my life and have a pretty strong knowledge base to begin with. The certification for me is really more of a trophy to hang on the wall. Maybe more of a "Proof of Who I Am" that people can look at hanging on the wall or posted on my website to add a little bit of credibility to those who don't already know me. Certainly for me who has been training people in a different environment for a whole lot of years, that certificate would not suddenly make me a different person more knowledgeable and capable than I was without it. I already had those qualities.
I have over analyzed myself to death and in the process, missed opportunities that have been knocking on my door which could have ultimately resulted in much greater results. I am as guilty as you are of ignoring the "Hints and clues" of life which lead to the life we really desire for ourselves.
So what do we do?
I believe there are two things that happen;
One is we finally come to the understanding that we need to do more than we analyze. If we let ourselves be open to what's going on around us, many times the answer will come right up and sit down next to us (sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically). Being a even a little less analytical will allow you and me to go with our first instinct instead of waiting until everything is exactly perfect before we do anything. It will open us up to the subtleties of life, allowing us to get more guidance from our daily living. This in itself will empower you as you move through life.
Sometimes we just don't get it and the clues and hints of life aren't sinking in. For me personally, I believe that if it's important enough to God and we aren't paying attention, the type and severity will increase.
I am case and point. After everything I shared with you earlier about changing directions in my career and life, I found myself fluttering aimlessly back towards the profession I had been in for almost twenty-five years.
Why?
Any number of reasons could fit here. Perhaps, "Path of Least Resistance" is the best description. And then... I had a heart attack! No, not metaphorically, literally! When I talk about the type and severity increasing, I think now you can understand what I mean!
My personal belief is God sent me a car, a rowboat and a helicopter and I ignored them so He then sent an aircraft carrier to snatch me out of the water whether I wanted it or not!
Now let's say for a minute you don't buy the fact that this was the doing of God. I'm sorry if you don't, but let's make that assumption. Let's look at it from a purely psychological perspective... shall we?
We all operate primarily in two planes. The Conscious and the Unconscious. I have witnessed these two at work and at times at odds with each other.
When I ran my first marathon, at 252 lbs, after literally training ten times over the course of a year in preparation, my conscious mind thought I was nuts. Your conscious mind is that part that deals largely with the here and now, in the moment kind of stuff, based on all of the latest data.
The data for that first marathon looked kind of like this:
This is really cool!
Look at all of these people!
If that guy can do this, so can I!
Pain!
I've only gone a mile!
I'm thirsty!
More pain.
I'm never going to make it.
Is my leg really cramping at only mile 10?
I can't do this.
Did we make the right turn here, cause there's only about three runners as far as I can see?
I'm happy.
I'm sad.
I'm stupid.
Call your brother, he's got to be finished already.
I want to run but all I can do is walk.
I don't think anyone will finish behind me.
Two more miles to go, I don't think I can make it.
Last quarter mile I better run to the finish line.
Hey there's my brother.
There's the finish line.
I'm going to make it!
I want to cry at this point.
I'm never going to do this again!
When's the next marathon?
At some point in time over the years leading up to my first marathon, I had committed to myself that this was something I absolutely at all costs was going to do. When my brother finished his first marathon in March of that year, there was simply no turning back. At that point I had permanently and indelibly planted in my unconscious mind that this was a MUST not a should for me. In fact, I signed up for my first marathon on the day my brother completed his first.
The unconscious mind is that infantile part of our mind that takes what we truly believe and firmly implant as a must, and not knowing anything but this is what we are supposed to do, makes it a reality.
In the case of the marathon, my unconscious mind would have run me into the ground if that's what it took to do something it believed was a life imperative for me. In the case of the career change, speaking purely psychologically and knowing how powerful the mind-body connection is, I got the same result.
My unconscious went; "Tim, we're going to do this and if you won't slow down and change directions... I'll do it for you!" "Ignore this if you can!" And obviously, it's kind of hard to ignore a heart attack.
Psychologically, if you implant something deep enough in your belief system, your unconscious mind will do whatever it takes (sometimes even dangerously) to make the belief a reality.
So which ever theory you subscribe to, the bottom line is the same.
Pay Attention! Allow yourself to be open to the hints and clues of life. Act on them knowing that the knowledge and answers will come to you along the way.
And know that if you really believe it should be... the "indicators" of life will continue to grow in intensity until you do something.
Personally, these days I prefer to take action on the simple inklings or nudges in life instead of waiting for the "Big Events"!
I want my "Big Events" to be celebrations, not major traumas!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Make Today What You Think It Should Be!
Title catch your attention?
Want to learn how?
Guess what?
You already make every day exactly what you think it should be. The only difference is that your level of expectation may be a tad bit lower than it ought to be. If you wake up, get out of bed and stub your toe on the bedpost you might already be predisposed to thinking the day's not going to be that great. If you don't do something to change that outlook you probably won't be disappointed. On a day in and day out basis you get exactly what you expect out of life. Not what you wish for, but exactly what you believe is going to happen.
I've said this before, but it bears repeating; whatever you focus on is exactly what you get. The problem is that most of us don't spend enough time focusing on the results we want and as such we end up getting the things we don't want because that's what we're focused on.
So how do you make the important distinction in your focus and make the change?
Start with something simple. Write down those things that you want from life. This does not have to be your giant elaborate list of goals, just the things you'd like to have happen on a daily basis. Things like; being happy, having a great day, being a good friend, being healthy. Write these things down on a card and keep it with you all the time. Review it in the morning and several times throughout the day. Every time you feel yourself having negative focus, take out the card and read it.
Life is meant to be lived, not survived!
If you spend all of your time focused on the way you don't want things to turn out you will miss the fact that they are actually going the way you want them to. I know this sounds overly simple and quite frankly it is. Get up tomorrow and decide that you are going to have a great day.
Guess what?
If that's what you focus on... that's what you will get.
Why?
Because the little bad things that happen to all of us over the course of a day don't really add up to much of anything in the middle of a really great day. Just think about it. Remember a day when something really good happened to you and it seemed like everything was going your way? There were probably some negative things going on at the same time, but you just didn't even notice because you were focused on the great stuff!
So, my challenge to you...
Decide what you want today to be like and make today what you think it should be!
Talk to you soon!
Want to learn how?
Guess what?
You already make every day exactly what you think it should be. The only difference is that your level of expectation may be a tad bit lower than it ought to be. If you wake up, get out of bed and stub your toe on the bedpost you might already be predisposed to thinking the day's not going to be that great. If you don't do something to change that outlook you probably won't be disappointed. On a day in and day out basis you get exactly what you expect out of life. Not what you wish for, but exactly what you believe is going to happen.
I've said this before, but it bears repeating; whatever you focus on is exactly what you get. The problem is that most of us don't spend enough time focusing on the results we want and as such we end up getting the things we don't want because that's what we're focused on.
So how do you make the important distinction in your focus and make the change?
Start with something simple. Write down those things that you want from life. This does not have to be your giant elaborate list of goals, just the things you'd like to have happen on a daily basis. Things like; being happy, having a great day, being a good friend, being healthy. Write these things down on a card and keep it with you all the time. Review it in the morning and several times throughout the day. Every time you feel yourself having negative focus, take out the card and read it.
Life is meant to be lived, not survived!
If you spend all of your time focused on the way you don't want things to turn out you will miss the fact that they are actually going the way you want them to. I know this sounds overly simple and quite frankly it is. Get up tomorrow and decide that you are going to have a great day.
Guess what?
If that's what you focus on... that's what you will get.
Why?
Because the little bad things that happen to all of us over the course of a day don't really add up to much of anything in the middle of a really great day. Just think about it. Remember a day when something really good happened to you and it seemed like everything was going your way? There were probably some negative things going on at the same time, but you just didn't even notice because you were focused on the great stuff!
So, my challenge to you...
Decide what you want today to be like and make today what you think it should be!
Talk to you soon!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Stop Saying You Don't Have Time!
The more I talk to people about what they want out of life the more I hear the same thing coming up over and over again... "I don't have any time!"
All I can say is STOP IT!
We all have the same number of hours in each day, so why is it that some people consistently do what they want and others don't? It's simple... they stop the excuses.
Think about it.
What did you do last night?
Maybe you had plans to get home and work on something you wanted to accomplish, but then everything just kind of got in the way. You walked in the door and you needed to unwind from a stressful day so you decided to just sit and watch a little television and then you'd get right to it. Next thing you know its two hours later and now you're surfing around on myspace and im'ing with your friends and you still haven't started whatever it was you planned on doing when you got home. Now your friends call and they want to go for a couple of drinks and who are you to stand in the way of a good gathering so it's out the door and several hours later when you return home exhausted it's really too late to start anything new so you head off to bed... but you'll get started tomorrow after work.
Don't you get it?
We all have time; it's just what we decide to do with it.
No matter what you say you want out of life, if you are doing anything but exactly that, you're lying to yourself. Doing something else or doing nothing at all is the same as saying that your goals and dreams are not really your goals and dreams... they're just fantasies.
You have got to decide what it is you really want out of life and go for it like there is no tomorrow and you can't stand another minute of your life without it! That my friend is the only way you are going to get more time for the things you want in life.
You won't get more time because you quit school, quit your job, get a different job, or end a relationship. You will get more time by doing the things you want to be doing instead of avoiding them. You will get more time by getting up a little earlier and taking time for yourself. You will get more time by going for it with all of the passion you can muster and not accepting anything less from yourself than you know you are capable of.
That is how you get more time for the things you want in life.
Stop Saying You Don't Have Any Time!
All I can say is STOP IT!
We all have the same number of hours in each day, so why is it that some people consistently do what they want and others don't? It's simple... they stop the excuses.
Think about it.
What did you do last night?
Maybe you had plans to get home and work on something you wanted to accomplish, but then everything just kind of got in the way. You walked in the door and you needed to unwind from a stressful day so you decided to just sit and watch a little television and then you'd get right to it. Next thing you know its two hours later and now you're surfing around on myspace and im'ing with your friends and you still haven't started whatever it was you planned on doing when you got home. Now your friends call and they want to go for a couple of drinks and who are you to stand in the way of a good gathering so it's out the door and several hours later when you return home exhausted it's really too late to start anything new so you head off to bed... but you'll get started tomorrow after work.
Don't you get it?
We all have time; it's just what we decide to do with it.
No matter what you say you want out of life, if you are doing anything but exactly that, you're lying to yourself. Doing something else or doing nothing at all is the same as saying that your goals and dreams are not really your goals and dreams... they're just fantasies.
You have got to decide what it is you really want out of life and go for it like there is no tomorrow and you can't stand another minute of your life without it! That my friend is the only way you are going to get more time for the things you want in life.
You won't get more time because you quit school, quit your job, get a different job, or end a relationship. You will get more time by doing the things you want to be doing instead of avoiding them. You will get more time by getting up a little earlier and taking time for yourself. You will get more time by going for it with all of the passion you can muster and not accepting anything less from yourself than you know you are capable of.
That is how you get more time for the things you want in life.
Stop Saying You Don't Have Any Time!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
It All Begins With One Thing!
Think about a time when everything seemed to work for you. A time when you had a plan and it actually worked out the way you wanted it to.
What happened?
Why were you able to accomplish this particular goal, while day in and day out you struggle to complete just about everything you set out to do?
Why doesn't everybody accomplish every goal they have?
If you're one of those people (most of us), who struggles with goals and frustration, don't panic! There is a way out. And it's not your fault!
There are literally thousands of books, articles, audio series and seminars on setting and attaining goals available for you today. Most of them are reasonably accurate in their description of the steps to a goal.
The problem with most of them is where they list the most important step. What is that step? What is it that keeps most of us from reaching our goals?
Let's take a look... shall we?
I'm not going to cover the goal setting process here, rather I'm going to say this about it...
the goal setting process is exactly that... a method for figuring out what you want in life and how you will go about getting it.
We are taught through different methods to figure out what we want, decide how to do it, decide what's most important to do first, figure out who can help you (if you need help), and then finally as a subscript to the whole beautiful plan you've created the final step is...
Take the first small step.
An entire 360 page book can be filled all the way to page 359 with how to figure out what you want and then finally, almost as an afterthought, the author suggests that you take a small step, the first step towards your goal.
It's like saying that it's not actually important to achieve the goal, it's just the figuring out that matters!
What?
I am a firm believer in having a clear vision of what's important to you in life and I think it's a shame that most people don't ever have any idea, however, knowing what you want alone is about as fulfilling as as going to a fine restaurant, ordering their best steak and then when they bring it to your table just sitting there staring at it.
What's the point?
Whatever you want in life. Whatever you don't have or want more of or really believe is important in your life, will never come to be unless you do something to move you towards that end!
A new car, a healthy body, a great relationship, an incredible career... none of those things are just going to fall out of the sky into your lap! Yes, fortunately, cars don't fall out of the sky!
The "Last" step in most people's goal setting programs is taking action. WOW! The last step? It's no wonder most folks read a goal setting program and come out with a big list of ideas and not much more!
I love reading and listening to Tony Robbins. The reason? Not because he's a guru. Not because he's so full of energy! No, the reason I enjoy him is because right from the very begin of any program he presents, he is encouraging you to get moving and take action.
And, yes I know, if you do something it could be wrong, but how will you ever know if you don't try?
If you sit around waiting for everything to be perfect or until you know all of the answers or until you think it's the right time... ten years from now you will be in the same place wondering what went wrong!
Do you really want to be sitting around ten years from now making a new list of the same goals you made ten years ago but never went after?
Or...
Do you want to look back ten years from now absolutely amazed at what you've accomplished in life? Do you want to sit sadly wishing for a different life or do you want to look back gratefully at the incredible experiences you've had in life on the journey to your goals?
Don't you want to be sitting down ten years from now setting new incredible goals that are based on the higher level you created for yourself because you actually took action?
I know for myself... that's what I want! And I know that the only way that's going to happen is to DO SOMETHING NOW that will move me in the right direction. And I think you do too!
It doesn't have to be the perfect first step. You just have to take action!
What are your goals?
Whatever they are... do something! Get up and go for a run or go to the gym or read that book or unplug that TV or hire a Personal Trainer or get a life coach or apply for that new job (even if they don't have a help-wanted ad) or sit down for a conversation with your loved one or whatever it is... do something now!
I promise... you'll be amazed!
What happened?
Why were you able to accomplish this particular goal, while day in and day out you struggle to complete just about everything you set out to do?
Why doesn't everybody accomplish every goal they have?
If you're one of those people (most of us), who struggles with goals and frustration, don't panic! There is a way out. And it's not your fault!
There are literally thousands of books, articles, audio series and seminars on setting and attaining goals available for you today. Most of them are reasonably accurate in their description of the steps to a goal.
The problem with most of them is where they list the most important step. What is that step? What is it that keeps most of us from reaching our goals?
Let's take a look... shall we?
I'm not going to cover the goal setting process here, rather I'm going to say this about it...
the goal setting process is exactly that... a method for figuring out what you want in life and how you will go about getting it.
We are taught through different methods to figure out what we want, decide how to do it, decide what's most important to do first, figure out who can help you (if you need help), and then finally as a subscript to the whole beautiful plan you've created the final step is...
Take the first small step.
An entire 360 page book can be filled all the way to page 359 with how to figure out what you want and then finally, almost as an afterthought, the author suggests that you take a small step, the first step towards your goal.
It's like saying that it's not actually important to achieve the goal, it's just the figuring out that matters!
What?
I am a firm believer in having a clear vision of what's important to you in life and I think it's a shame that most people don't ever have any idea, however, knowing what you want alone is about as fulfilling as as going to a fine restaurant, ordering their best steak and then when they bring it to your table just sitting there staring at it.
What's the point?
Whatever you want in life. Whatever you don't have or want more of or really believe is important in your life, will never come to be unless you do something to move you towards that end!
A new car, a healthy body, a great relationship, an incredible career... none of those things are just going to fall out of the sky into your lap! Yes, fortunately, cars don't fall out of the sky!
The "Last" step in most people's goal setting programs is taking action. WOW! The last step? It's no wonder most folks read a goal setting program and come out with a big list of ideas and not much more!
I love reading and listening to Tony Robbins. The reason? Not because he's a guru. Not because he's so full of energy! No, the reason I enjoy him is because right from the very begin of any program he presents, he is encouraging you to get moving and take action.
And, yes I know, if you do something it could be wrong, but how will you ever know if you don't try?
If you sit around waiting for everything to be perfect or until you know all of the answers or until you think it's the right time... ten years from now you will be in the same place wondering what went wrong!
Do you really want to be sitting around ten years from now making a new list of the same goals you made ten years ago but never went after?
Or...
Do you want to look back ten years from now absolutely amazed at what you've accomplished in life? Do you want to sit sadly wishing for a different life or do you want to look back gratefully at the incredible experiences you've had in life on the journey to your goals?
Don't you want to be sitting down ten years from now setting new incredible goals that are based on the higher level you created for yourself because you actually took action?
I know for myself... that's what I want! And I know that the only way that's going to happen is to DO SOMETHING NOW that will move me in the right direction. And I think you do too!
It doesn't have to be the perfect first step. You just have to take action!
What are your goals?
Whatever they are... do something! Get up and go for a run or go to the gym or read that book or unplug that TV or hire a Personal Trainer or get a life coach or apply for that new job (even if they don't have a help-wanted ad) or sit down for a conversation with your loved one or whatever it is... do something now!
I promise... you'll be amazed!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Do You Really Believe That?
(I originally posted this back in June 2008 and it bares repeating.)
Why did you get up this morning and go to work or go for a run or whatever else you might have done?
I bet you answered something along the lines of; because I have to or maybe ; because I get to or maybe; because it's what I've always done.
And if you did, you just confirmed one of the universal truths in our lives. Most of what we do in life is based on our beliefs!
What if you could completely change what everything in your life thus far means?
What if you could take any situation, event or even a thought and turn it into something completely different?
Imagine if you could take an event... let's say, getting fired from your job (normally a negative) and turn it into the best thing that ever happened to you!
How would this change your life?
Would it open new possibilities?
What if you could really believe deep down inside that what ever you wanted in life you could have?
What if you could take a $135,000 debt and turn it into the springboard that launches a whole new opportunity in your life? An opportunity so empowering that you became almost unstoppable in your thinking and beliefs!
The Good News is that the way you experience everything in your life is based completely and wholly on your beliefs. And... you can change any experience in your life by changing your beliefs.
The only bad news here is that until you and I change that one belief; that everything we believe is in our control, we won't be able to use this powerful tool to our benefit.
So, if you're willing... let's begin!
Let's start by exploring where our beliefs come from. Virtually from our very earliest days in this life or as soon as we begin to be aware of the world around us, we begin to assign meaning to the things in our environment. Early on it may be as simple as; that heartbeat is where I came from or that voice is where I get my food from.
A little later it may be; if I cry I get attention (some of us never lose that one even in adulthood).
Why do we formulate beliefs?
Every second there is so much information being thrown our way that the only possible thing we can do other than being totally confused is to begin to organize our world. By generalizing what different types of input mean, our brain can quickly decide what needs to be received and processed and what can be filtered out and ignored. An example is when we learn that touching a hot burner on the stove causes pain, we need to take action to avoid it. We create a belief that says something like; hot burner equals pain.
If you think about being able to change what you believe, this is a great place to begin. Did you know that the mind is so powerful that it can actually manifest physical affects on the body?
In one test they were able to convince a person that a piece of ice would cause a burn and that individual actually experienced blistering where they came in contact with the ice. Simply by changing the meaning of a sensation, they got a whole new set of physical manifestations.
If this is really possible and it is, imagine the wealth of potential you have for changing meanings in your life! The opportunities are absolutely endless.
How does this all work?
Why does one person have a terrible day just because they didn't get bacon on their breakfast sandwich at the drive thru while another suffers a serious life altering accident and comes out with all kinds of possibilities and opportunities?
Its all in the meaning you assign to events in your life. So let's look at one event in my life and see if I can help you understand what I'm talking about.
A month ago, I had a heart attack while out for an extended bike ride. Most people would agree that this could be considered a life-altering event. It would have been very easy for me to have a nice little pity party after such a traumatic thing like this and I had to act quickly or it could have gone that way in a hurry.
Thoughts flooded my brain as I tried my best to make sense of this whole situation. To add to the complexity of things, I had been in the process of changing career paths and as a consequence not only was I not working, I did not have any insurance.
If this happened to you how would you evaluate things?
Being totally honest, my very first reactions were not what I would describe as stellar. I believe in full disclosure whenever possible so I'd like to share some of those initial thoughts with you.
What would people think of the guy who was supposed to be a runner having a heart attack? I was honestly concerned about my credibility as a fitness trainer and personal trainer.
What would this do for my dreams of running an ultra marathon?
Should I just go back to my old career path and forget my dreams? At this point, I was closer to my previous career of 25 years than I was to my new venture. It wouldn't be giving up it would be acting responsibly.
How could I ever talk about life improvement or success or empowerment with this hanging over my head? Again the credibility issue was looming big time!
How on earth was I ever going to handle the $135,000 bill I had just been presented with? This one will get most people's attention, I think.
How could this happen to me? Why me? How am I ever going to get back on my feet again? I'm trapped! There is no visible way to overcome this, I'm just going to spend the rest of my life in a job I hate paying off a huge bill.
Not very empowering thoughts for a guy who is arguably one of the most positive people you will ever meet! I wrestled with this for a couple of weeks maybe a little more. It was tough, I mean really tough!
Little by little, I began to come out of my haze. Instead of turning on the TV, I listened to Cd's by people like Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar and James Ray. If I was going down, it was going to be a spectacular, full blaze of glory!
And then the questions began to flow!
What else could this situation mean?
I know everything's not perfect right now, but what can I be happy about with this situation?
How can I use this experience to never ever let it happen to anyone else again?
What can I create so that when other people are faced with a similar event they have a road map out?
What do I really want?
What's pretty cool about everything that's gone on in the last three weeks?
As I began to ask these questions and dozens more, I began to get different answers. The meanings I had given my heart attack just a few weeks earlier changed and they changed dramatically!
I began to realize that I could use this in an incredibly empowering way. My feeling of doubt about credibility went flying out the window when I began to realize that there is probably no better person in this world to talk about how important your health and fitness are than the guy who has had a heart attack. I mean, if anybody understands the importance if good health, it's probably that guy wouldn't you think?
I had been working on some writing projects on and off over the last five years. Suddenly my fingers began to fly as the words flowed from my brain like an erupting volcano. Don't tell my cardiologist this, but there were several sleepless nights where it was just me and the keyboard all night long producing page after page of quality writing.
Ultimately what happened is I changed what things meant to me. I went from believing that I was trapped by an event that I didn't have any control over in the first place to; this heart attack that I brought on myself (nobody sat there and forced me to eat poorly and smoke cigarettes) was going to be the springboard for my new and empowering future. I was finally going to lose the weight, get in the best shape and even more importantly use all of the lessons from this experience to powerfully impact the world that I live in.
This was a dramatic change in my beliefs and the Good News is that anyone faced with the same situation could make the same belief changes to get different results.
Let's look at one more, simple example that you can do yourself which can make a huge difference in your life.
If you ask, in fact I did, what most people want in life invariably between 8 and 9 out of 10 will say something along the lines of; to be happy. Are you in that group?
What has to happen in your life in order for you to be happy? Does something need to happen in order for you to have happiness?
Asked these questions most of us will come up with at least a small list, for some it's a monster list of things that must happen before they can be happy.
Bull!
Happiness is a state of mind which means that at any time you can decide to be in that place and you can go there. Happiness is not an event and yet we treat it like it will only happen if X,Y and Z all occur simultaneously and then only in the presence of a full moon!
Think about how you feel when you're happy. How do you stand or what's your posture like? What are you thinking about? If you can describe those things to me, then why couldn't you at anytime think about what makes you happy, put yourself into that same posture and be happy?
Try it! You'll like it! If you were successful, you just changed your beliefs about what it takes to be happy. And even more importantly you now know how to be happy at anytime. So who's fault is it if you're not happy?
That's right, it's yours and that my friend is a very empowering belief! Knowing that other people or events don't have control over you gives you incredible power in your life!
So, if you really believe something and it doesn't empower you... change what it means.
Change your beliefs and you will change your life!
Why did you get up this morning and go to work or go for a run or whatever else you might have done?
I bet you answered something along the lines of; because I have to or maybe ; because I get to or maybe; because it's what I've always done.
And if you did, you just confirmed one of the universal truths in our lives. Most of what we do in life is based on our beliefs!
What if you could completely change what everything in your life thus far means?
What if you could take any situation, event or even a thought and turn it into something completely different?
Imagine if you could take an event... let's say, getting fired from your job (normally a negative) and turn it into the best thing that ever happened to you!
How would this change your life?
Would it open new possibilities?
What if you could really believe deep down inside that what ever you wanted in life you could have?
What if you could take a $135,000 debt and turn it into the springboard that launches a whole new opportunity in your life? An opportunity so empowering that you became almost unstoppable in your thinking and beliefs!
The Good News is that the way you experience everything in your life is based completely and wholly on your beliefs. And... you can change any experience in your life by changing your beliefs.
The only bad news here is that until you and I change that one belief; that everything we believe is in our control, we won't be able to use this powerful tool to our benefit.
So, if you're willing... let's begin!
Let's start by exploring where our beliefs come from. Virtually from our very earliest days in this life or as soon as we begin to be aware of the world around us, we begin to assign meaning to the things in our environment. Early on it may be as simple as; that heartbeat is where I came from or that voice is where I get my food from.
A little later it may be; if I cry I get attention (some of us never lose that one even in adulthood).
Why do we formulate beliefs?
Every second there is so much information being thrown our way that the only possible thing we can do other than being totally confused is to begin to organize our world. By generalizing what different types of input mean, our brain can quickly decide what needs to be received and processed and what can be filtered out and ignored. An example is when we learn that touching a hot burner on the stove causes pain, we need to take action to avoid it. We create a belief that says something like; hot burner equals pain.
If you think about being able to change what you believe, this is a great place to begin. Did you know that the mind is so powerful that it can actually manifest physical affects on the body?
In one test they were able to convince a person that a piece of ice would cause a burn and that individual actually experienced blistering where they came in contact with the ice. Simply by changing the meaning of a sensation, they got a whole new set of physical manifestations.
If this is really possible and it is, imagine the wealth of potential you have for changing meanings in your life! The opportunities are absolutely endless.
How does this all work?
Why does one person have a terrible day just because they didn't get bacon on their breakfast sandwich at the drive thru while another suffers a serious life altering accident and comes out with all kinds of possibilities and opportunities?
Its all in the meaning you assign to events in your life. So let's look at one event in my life and see if I can help you understand what I'm talking about.
A month ago, I had a heart attack while out for an extended bike ride. Most people would agree that this could be considered a life-altering event. It would have been very easy for me to have a nice little pity party after such a traumatic thing like this and I had to act quickly or it could have gone that way in a hurry.
Thoughts flooded my brain as I tried my best to make sense of this whole situation. To add to the complexity of things, I had been in the process of changing career paths and as a consequence not only was I not working, I did not have any insurance.
If this happened to you how would you evaluate things?
Being totally honest, my very first reactions were not what I would describe as stellar. I believe in full disclosure whenever possible so I'd like to share some of those initial thoughts with you.
What would people think of the guy who was supposed to be a runner having a heart attack? I was honestly concerned about my credibility as a fitness trainer and personal trainer.
What would this do for my dreams of running an ultra marathon?
Should I just go back to my old career path and forget my dreams? At this point, I was closer to my previous career of 25 years than I was to my new venture. It wouldn't be giving up it would be acting responsibly.
How could I ever talk about life improvement or success or empowerment with this hanging over my head? Again the credibility issue was looming big time!
How on earth was I ever going to handle the $135,000 bill I had just been presented with? This one will get most people's attention, I think.
How could this happen to me? Why me? How am I ever going to get back on my feet again? I'm trapped! There is no visible way to overcome this, I'm just going to spend the rest of my life in a job I hate paying off a huge bill.
Not very empowering thoughts for a guy who is arguably one of the most positive people you will ever meet! I wrestled with this for a couple of weeks maybe a little more. It was tough, I mean really tough!
Little by little, I began to come out of my haze. Instead of turning on the TV, I listened to Cd's by people like Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar and James Ray. If I was going down, it was going to be a spectacular, full blaze of glory!
And then the questions began to flow!
What else could this situation mean?
I know everything's not perfect right now, but what can I be happy about with this situation?
How can I use this experience to never ever let it happen to anyone else again?
What can I create so that when other people are faced with a similar event they have a road map out?
What do I really want?
What's pretty cool about everything that's gone on in the last three weeks?
As I began to ask these questions and dozens more, I began to get different answers. The meanings I had given my heart attack just a few weeks earlier changed and they changed dramatically!
I began to realize that I could use this in an incredibly empowering way. My feeling of doubt about credibility went flying out the window when I began to realize that there is probably no better person in this world to talk about how important your health and fitness are than the guy who has had a heart attack. I mean, if anybody understands the importance if good health, it's probably that guy wouldn't you think?
I had been working on some writing projects on and off over the last five years. Suddenly my fingers began to fly as the words flowed from my brain like an erupting volcano. Don't tell my cardiologist this, but there were several sleepless nights where it was just me and the keyboard all night long producing page after page of quality writing.
Ultimately what happened is I changed what things meant to me. I went from believing that I was trapped by an event that I didn't have any control over in the first place to; this heart attack that I brought on myself (nobody sat there and forced me to eat poorly and smoke cigarettes) was going to be the springboard for my new and empowering future. I was finally going to lose the weight, get in the best shape and even more importantly use all of the lessons from this experience to powerfully impact the world that I live in.
This was a dramatic change in my beliefs and the Good News is that anyone faced with the same situation could make the same belief changes to get different results.
Let's look at one more, simple example that you can do yourself which can make a huge difference in your life.
If you ask, in fact I did, what most people want in life invariably between 8 and 9 out of 10 will say something along the lines of; to be happy. Are you in that group?
What has to happen in your life in order for you to be happy? Does something need to happen in order for you to have happiness?
Asked these questions most of us will come up with at least a small list, for some it's a monster list of things that must happen before they can be happy.
Bull!
Happiness is a state of mind which means that at any time you can decide to be in that place and you can go there. Happiness is not an event and yet we treat it like it will only happen if X,Y and Z all occur simultaneously and then only in the presence of a full moon!
Think about how you feel when you're happy. How do you stand or what's your posture like? What are you thinking about? If you can describe those things to me, then why couldn't you at anytime think about what makes you happy, put yourself into that same posture and be happy?
Try it! You'll like it! If you were successful, you just changed your beliefs about what it takes to be happy. And even more importantly you now know how to be happy at anytime. So who's fault is it if you're not happy?
That's right, it's yours and that my friend is a very empowering belief! Knowing that other people or events don't have control over you gives you incredible power in your life!
So, if you really believe something and it doesn't empower you... change what it means.
Change your beliefs and you will change your life!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
And We Wonder Why We're Obese!
I will never ever suggest to you that being healthy is something you can do in just a few short minutes a week!
Why?
Because it's just not true!
Unfortunately, there are loads of people who in an effort to get you to read their material, will tell you pretty much anything you want to hear! They will manipulate and twist the truth to make it suit their intended outcome whether it be just to get you to read their article or maybe to get you to buy their products and services.
Take a recent headline for an article on Reuters.com:
"Want to get healthy? Exercise 7 minutes a week"
Come on!
Now I'm sure the author will say if you read the whole article you will have enough information to make an educated decision about what was presented to you. And if you read the whole thing you will, as long as you fully understand that they are specifically talking about improving your bodies ability to utilize insulin.
Again unfortunately, most of us don't read complete and boring articles about studies... we read headlines!
No, it is not the authors' fault if you see their headline and don't read the article, but any writer worth their salt knows that we have so much information (about 2 billion bits per second) thrown at us that we make lots of quick assumption about what we read.
And maybe I am wrong about the writers' intentions. Perhaps they really felt that telling people about a study which monitored 16, early twenties, young men for an astonishing 2 weeks, while they worked out vigorously for 30 seconds twice a day, thereby improving their body's ability to utilize insulin, was vital information and therefore merited utilizing whatever method is possible; including a deceptive headline, to get people to read.
I say that is, pardon me: crap!
Nearly two thirds of Americans are overweight! This is not bad... its horrifying! We are a nation of quick-fixers. We want everything now and we don't want to work for it. That is sad. We wonder why we have wide-spread health issues. We are daily bombarded with misinformation and half-truths, all designed to grab our attention without any regard to the damage that they do to our health.
We used to be a caring nation. And an active nation. And a responsible nation. What happened?
Believe me when I say that I would not ever want anyone to be censored on what they can say or write. Its part of what makes this nation great. I just wonder; what ever happened to responsible journalism?
Is it really so important to get people to read your article that you have to present a headline that is so far from the truth that it really doesn't match the article?
If you read the article, it does not make the claim that this is a cure for all your health issues, it's just the headline, which is honestly, all most readers will ever see and read!
That's all I've got to say for now!
Why?
Because it's just not true!
Unfortunately, there are loads of people who in an effort to get you to read their material, will tell you pretty much anything you want to hear! They will manipulate and twist the truth to make it suit their intended outcome whether it be just to get you to read their article or maybe to get you to buy their products and services.
Take a recent headline for an article on Reuters.com:
"Want to get healthy? Exercise 7 minutes a week"
Come on!
Now I'm sure the author will say if you read the whole article you will have enough information to make an educated decision about what was presented to you. And if you read the whole thing you will, as long as you fully understand that they are specifically talking about improving your bodies ability to utilize insulin.
Again unfortunately, most of us don't read complete and boring articles about studies... we read headlines!
No, it is not the authors' fault if you see their headline and don't read the article, but any writer worth their salt knows that we have so much information (about 2 billion bits per second) thrown at us that we make lots of quick assumption about what we read.
And maybe I am wrong about the writers' intentions. Perhaps they really felt that telling people about a study which monitored 16, early twenties, young men for an astonishing 2 weeks, while they worked out vigorously for 30 seconds twice a day, thereby improving their body's ability to utilize insulin, was vital information and therefore merited utilizing whatever method is possible; including a deceptive headline, to get people to read.
I say that is, pardon me: crap!
Nearly two thirds of Americans are overweight! This is not bad... its horrifying! We are a nation of quick-fixers. We want everything now and we don't want to work for it. That is sad. We wonder why we have wide-spread health issues. We are daily bombarded with misinformation and half-truths, all designed to grab our attention without any regard to the damage that they do to our health.
We used to be a caring nation. And an active nation. And a responsible nation. What happened?
Believe me when I say that I would not ever want anyone to be censored on what they can say or write. Its part of what makes this nation great. I just wonder; what ever happened to responsible journalism?
Is it really so important to get people to read your article that you have to present a headline that is so far from the truth that it really doesn't match the article?
If you read the article, it does not make the claim that this is a cure for all your health issues, it's just the headline, which is honestly, all most readers will ever see and read!
That's all I've got to say for now!
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