Celebration Week - looking to the future.

Todays article written with thanks and celebration of my parents - Happy Anniversary. Also, I hope all Fathers have a great day tomorrow.


Motivation:

"The toughest part of getting to the top of the ladder,
is getting through the crowd at the bottom."
~unknown

Diary:

True story, protecting names to change the innocent:

"Karen" went up to me before church to say, very loudly, "Look at you - you are a different person! You are just a different person!"

I responded rather bitterly, "No, I am still the same person." Giving her a look of contempt and pointing at my heart, "I was always this person."

I felt like she needed to know that she said was the entire wrong thing to say. Why couldn't these (type of people) be nicer to me when I was fat. Lose a few pounds and you are all the sudden approachable! OUTRAGEOUS! For fat people everywhere, I say "Good Day to you, Sir, Good Day!"

Later that same day, I was corrected by "Kevin", who overheard this conversation and had to tell me two things:

1) You have to listen to people's hearts. Most people have no clue what they are saying and a lot of conversations are miscommunicated. The intention of her comments were to say that "I have noticed your changing and I care and am happy and proud of you." People just can't seem to say this with grace and tact. For this, she was wrong.

2) Your answer was incorrect. You claim that you haven't changed, or that your changes have only been physical, but you are basically the same person. You are mistaken, wrong, and misguided if you truly believe this. Without being rude to your former self let me count the things that others are seeing in you - regardless of your weight.
a) You are forward thinking. You seem to have purpose and are planning for future events. Two years ago, you were filled with fear and doubt - in the way you approached others.
b) You are outwardly sensing. It seemed to me that before you were so focused on your problems that you glossed over other's needs. Now it appears that you are desiring to be with other people and meet them where they are. (something like this)
c) You have changed your priorities - and this shows in the way you hold yourself and in what you do and think about.

"Motivation is what gets you started.
Habit is what keeps you going."
- Jim Ryun

The sermon on Sunday was on Celebration - and asking the question "Why don't we celebrate more?" The following came up: When we are asked to come to church/school/office/a friends house/family because some work needs to be done, the whole place is filled. When asked to stay around for an ice-cream party celebrating each other, no one stays. Why are we so programmed to working to death without taking time to celebrate and enjoy life and enjoy others.

When was the last time you called someone or wrote a letter only to say "I love you and here are 3 small things you do that make me proud. God loves you, and here are the gifts that I see you have?"

Have you ever thought of having a celebration for days that are minor holidays, like Flag Day party, or Pentecost Dinner, or Anniversary of a really great project that I finished.

From a Renaissance Man perspective, "celebration" should be a regular occurence. Since projects are being monitored on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis, there should be some celebration every 3 months at the least.


So with that start of the week - with a reminder that I am changing and I should be celebrating my life and the life of others, here is how things commenced:

On Monday, I found out that I am supposed to do a self-performance review at work. Since I have only been at this place for 5 months, I do not know how this worked in the past, but I am very used to setting goals and reviewing my progress, so this should be easy - well it hasn't been done yet and time is running out. There seems to be some disconnect with my goal setting in my life and at my work - and since my job is a large portion of time, my daily hours in my life, it takes a large part of my habits. As we know, habits are what determine discipline and character, so anyone who claims (bosses love to do this) that you shouldn't take your job personally... well, I totally disagree. If I am going to spend 40+ hours a week at something, I want it to matter, and I want to be good and valuable at my role. I think that if you didn't care about your work - that would be a very sad and boring place to have to go to every day. More about setting Objectives at work below in the "Notes" section. Read on if interested.

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."
- Annie Dillard

On Tuesday, I was surprised with a "Celebration" at my weight loss clinic. I have reached the Century Mark - I have lost 100 pounds of weight while with this particular counselor. (overall, I have lost -> whatever it says in the sidebar, I guess) They had a really nice card for me with great inspiring comments and notes and a bag of goodies, including energy drinks, sugar free gum, and a Men's Fitness and Men's Health magazine. They were really great about it, and while I usually would have been very meek and off-putting about all of the praise, I decided that I would just accept and appreciate the gifts and thank them for their help. I really did like their gifts, and down deep somewhere, I really am glad that they took the time to tell me just how good they think I am doing. It is nice to get that pat on the back.

On Wednesday, I started an interview with Karl Wicklund, the 2nd podcast interview. In that first recording, two things stood out for me. 1) I told him that I hit my 100lb mark with the new clinic and indicated that he was happy I could "celebrate" my achievement with them, and that it was great that I still had some work to do - he compared it to making it base camp while climbing the mountain. Glad that you made it so far, and ready to go the next stretch! What a reminder about "Celebration Week"

Then later in our conversation he said something that I was missing. He indicated how having "Fun" was so important to him, and one of the reasons that he loves being with his wife. That they treat life with fun and celebrate daily. It almost comes second nature to them , to have fun - huh - did you hear that - let me repeat "second nature to have fun". Do you remember what the word "Habit" means - isn't it something that comes as second nature? So, "Celebration" isn't necessarily something that we put on a calendar or plan for a specific time, but it might be that "Celebration" is something that we do as part of our lives. Habits become Discipline become part of our nature - part of who we are.

"Our character is basically a composite of our habits.
Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns,
they constantly, daily, express our character."
- Stephen Covey

Today I am celebrating my family - parent's anniversary, father's day, some wonderful emails including pictures from my nieces and nephew, and spent about an hour today with two of my "foster" nieces. (Foster, because when I visit, I am called "Uncle", which I love).


So, after a week of reflecting on "Celebration", I need to be able to handle moments of joy and fun and be accepting of others who want to say something nice to me. I guess they are looking to celebrate with me, but I don't take it that way. I will *try* to accept their comments as celebratory and use them to continue to motivate and inspire.


Notes:

#Diet#

I missed a meal this week - on accident . On Wednesday, I had work - drove to my interview with Karl at a coffeeshop - then went to band practice. We practiced until 10pm, and my stomach was growling to the point that I was afraid to move much. I at a protein snack in the car, and by the time I got home, I still had a few things to do. I didn't feel like eating at that hour, so I went to bed hungry, but mostly tired.

The next day at the clinic, I was rebuked and scolded - "You shouldn't miss a meal because it will intefere with your body's metabolic cycle, and this is bad for weight loss". While I agree fully with this remark, I am not sure how someone can be scorned for just stuff that happens as a part of life. I could shelter myself and never leave the house to ensure that I make a good decision for every meal, but this is not reality.

Still, they were right, as I only lost a piltry (is that a word?) 2 pounds this week.

The stats for this week are updated on the right-hand of the blog, so enjoy. Hey, I am only a few pounds from the next major goal.


#Exercise#

I did pretty good with my workouts this week, and I have found and brushed the dust off of the "Couch Potato to 5K" training program. For those planning on running the 5K in Northfield on the 29th of September - keep ready. I will unveil the training plan on July 29th. It goes for the 9 weeks before the race and anyone/everyone is invited to do it. Get ready, I will post the training plan on the blog and you can take your place at the starting gate!


#Fine Art#

Band practice was good. We did several songs and with the band's assistance, I cleaned up a song that I wrote several years ago. It is ok, for what it is.

#Geek#

Not much geek this week -

#Money#

2 weeks in a row without spending outside my budget. This is a good thing for me.
I was fascinated with the idea of buying an electric guitar from Sunday to Wednesday, but that passed as I realized I already have a nice acoustic guitar and need to use my money for better things. It was a passing fancy. I will keep my eye open, but not pursue it unless the opportunity arises.

#Personal#

I am eating clementines again! I received an orange peeler from a reader - awesome! I got a backup peeler as well, so all is right in "the grove".

I realized something this week. It has been in the 90-degree temperature range this week, and I haven't been using Air Conditioning. I was looking at last months electricity bill, and thought it looked strange that it was about $40 less than usual, but then with a discussion during work, one of the ladies was talking about her A/C being out and getting fixed. I said "I haven't even turned mine on" and kind of did a second-take on myself. Last year, I had the A/C on starting in April or May. This is mid-June, and I haven't felt uncomfortable enough to start the air. Weird - considering that this is very much unlike me. I like things cool and comfortable. What is the deal? Maybe I will turn this into a game "How long will summer go before Chazz turns on his air conditioner? I should turn it on at least once, just to make sure there aren't any mechanical problems with it, but maybe it will need to get above 95 before I turn it on. We will see - it was just an odd thing that I thought I would write about.



#Work#

So, at work I am being asked to write up some yearly objectives.

That being said, while I do have control over my personal goals and can set a Vision (long term (1-2 years) plan) and Objectives (3-month plan), these help me set my Monthly Goals, and the these help to set my Weekly Discipline and my Daily Tasks.

My work is different. I don't get to set the Vision - and sometimes I am not even fully communicated the Vision, so I have been asked to define my Objectives for the next year. This seems backwards, and I am having some problems doing this. I know they want my Objectives to be from the company's perspective, so I have to remove my personal/professional goals, and strictly give them what I think they will be wanting me to do in the next year.


However, I am trying to take this seriously, and knowing me, did a lot of research on the subject. I did find a good website that discusses creating Job Objectives, and I am using this. What I have learned is that "When planning and writing goals for the upcoming performance period, it is important to frame them using an objective statement, and metrics guidelines"

• An Objective Statement is "Action word + key result + target date + conditions"
• Be clear and concise. Identify the precise activity/task/project that should occur. Address questions such as who, what, and when. This helps avoids confusion and conflict later on in the review cycle.
• You can't maintain or review what you can't measure. Objectives that involve quality need to be defined because these are more difficult to measure.
• Goals should be achievable and reasonable depending on your position, level and resources available.
• Objectives should be written as a tangible result or deliverable that you will produce, not just behaviors you plan to demonstrate throughout the year. Don't confuse efforts with results. Individual objectives must contribute to larger objectives of your business unit or function. If they don't, then they probably are not the most important initiatives you own.
• Objectives should have targeted project milestones and due dates to help you monitor progress.

This is a great opportunity to think about your personal goals - currently my weight loss and 5K training goals, and write a few Objective Statements. Let's review:

"Action word + key result + target date + conditions"

"Work out, follow my diary, take my vitamins and water & eat right (both quantity and quality) foods + lose 2 to 3 lbs per week + weekly + to look and feel better and to be in shape to run a 5K in under 50 minutes."

That is a start - I will maybe think about and work on these further.




more later,

Chazz

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz