Every coin has 2 sides - what are the chances?

Motivation:

"What distinguishes us one from another is our dreams,
and what we do to make them come about."
~Joseph Epstein

Diary:

I remember the clinic warning me about "taking a break" from my weight loss and health program. They indicated to me that I would be harder to stop and start over, than it would to just grit your teeth and drive through it.

At the time, I scoffed this idea, but now I am seeing why this may be the case. I am finding the 2nd time around - setting goals, getting motivated to workout and prepare my daily meals and supplements - it is sort of a hassle.

I have been watching the NFL playoffs, and thinking about the coin toss at the beginning of each game to decide which team starts with the ball first. Heads or Tails - Heads or Tails - there is the same chance every time. Even if you flip a coin 100 times, and they all come up Tails, there is still a 50/50 chance that the next flip will be Heads. The same way with starting up a new year of personal goals. Just because you succeeded or failed with last year's (or last months / last weeks / yesterdays) goal and milestones, doesn't really matter - except for perhaps your attitude and confidence.

With a new cycle, you still have -> input in -> output out. If you do all the things that made you successful the first time, such as daily planning, regularly setting and reviewing goals, repeating good habits, purchasing and using good materials (groceries, supplements, etc), and keeping a diary or calendar of your progress. If you stay committed, just like you did last year, this will help you to make strides this year.

I am seeing the challenge of a sequel. Rocky was a great story, but how do you get motivated to be "Rocky II"? The questions and fears that you may have had before about "can I do this?" are somewhat gone - you did it before, you surely can do it again.

Maybe you need to make a new bigger goal, or a different type of goal. Maybe think horizontally in your life. If you made a change or progress in one part of your life, do you feel like adding a goal in a different part of your life? I am excited to find new ways to motivate myself and stay committed while trying to reach new milestones. For example, getting excited about running a 5K again this year seems like a task right now, especially when the outdoor view I have is of a gray sky, snow on the ground, and a forecast of 7 degrees below zero and wind chill factors. What can I do to remind myself of my "Beat 32:00" goal - to take tiny steps now, knowing that when summer is around I need to be in full stride so that I can smash the milestone and feel great doing it. It is a mental challenge, as I know I can do it and will enjoy it, but right now it is difficult to visualize. This is where faith and hope come in. I need to continue to dream and have faith in the dreams, while understanding where I am - January, Winter, over my ideal weight and fitness level.

SIMPLE IS NOT EASY

Recently, I had a discussion with a couple of friends of mine about "Simplicity at work" and what our "roles" are at the office. One role we agreed that we fulfill is being a listener. A lot of times, I don't have the answer to the problem or question we are having at work, and a coworker just needs a sounding board, or a person there to interact with or lean on. It is an important, but simple role to play - because while it seems like we are doing nothing (actively doing nothing) in reality listening can be a very difficult activity to do well. It requires focus, attention, and empathy, three things that can be difficult for many to do.

During this discussion, we thought of things we can say when we don't have an answer. "Ok" is good, it implies an understanding of the situation and empathy, "What can we do to make this better?" is sometimes a good question to ask, as it may spark some outside the box thinking, which can be helpful in finding the next steps to do, or can help in fortifying the relationship.

My favorite idea from this conversation was "Take Your Time". "Take your time" is maybe the most simple way to acknowledge someone who is having problems with something and needs to get it off their chest. It does a couple of things in a relationship. First, it puts CONTROL in the hands of the other person. You have indicated to them that you are interested in listening, and will give the TIME that they need to fully explain the situation, and you are willing to listen to the whole story. You hopefully have made them comfortable to think through the problem and consider options that were not visible in a hurried mode. I love "take your time" as a response to "do you have a second to help me" or "can I discuss this problem I am having". I want to try and say "take your time" at least once per week. This should be a simple thing to do, but remember that SIMPLE IS NOT EASY. It will take some removal of EGO and PRIDE on my part, which is difficult. I think the return on this investment, however will be great. It is unmeasurable, however, as relationships and your position in a relationship isn't really measurable by # of hours spent or amount of help given.

So, I challenge you to start giving up yourself in new ways and let me know what you find to be the results.




more later,

Chazz

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