Month: October 2019

I don’t have time?

The statement, “I don’t have time”, it the worst possible excuse for doing something. After all, we have the same 24 hours in a day. It is how we use our time that separates us.

We all know people who get an (extra)ordinary amount of things done in a day. These are the people of whom we ask: “How do they do it?” (Notice how the question is framed. We rarely ask the person directly—“How do you do it?” Why? Because, deep down, we don’t want the answer. We don’t want to hear the answer. The answer is what I quoted yesterday–“We make time for what we value most” (Dave Goethals).

Arnold Schwartzenegger suggests we sleep six hours a day, thus, leaving eighteen hours to get busy working hard. To the one who says he sleeps eight hours, he says: “Sleep faster.”

There is something to be said for not sleeping more than our body needs. From an exercise and performance standpoint, the body needs adequate time (and nutrition) to recover. So, “sleeping faster” might be easily misunderstood to mean “sleep less”. Arnold’s Mr. Olympian titles would suggest that he was referring to the former rather than the latter. In other words, Sleep more effectively. Get quality rest rather than quantity.

Along with rest, we have to address quality nutrition for optimal performance. Adequate healthy meal preparation takes time, but…. When we are “too busy” to prepare healthy meals, we resort to eating out (which consumes far more time than preparing food, by the way) or we follow the fast-food/take-out route. Consuming high-calorie, highly-processed foods saps our energy—not to mention promotes the over-consumption of calories. Restaurant eating should be considered a treat and, therefore, rewarding experience. Choose wisely. If time really is at a premium, and one cannot or does not want to invest the time in meal preparation, there are numerous services that will deliver prepared meals—measured to your specific caloric and macro needs and meal frequency. All you have to do is heat them. These are not the T.V. dinners of my childhood or frozen dinners. These are healthy, nutrient-dense, quality meals that take out the time investment of meal planning and preparation, leaving more time to “make time for what we value”.

So, the question remains: “What do you value?”

If we follow Mr. Schwarzenegger’s advice, we have 18 hours left in our day. How are we using it. There are commitments that we must honor—work, commute, family, etc. There is, however, considerable time that is wasted—social media, television, games on our phone, unnecessary e-mails, etc.

Can’t find time for exercise? Exercise faster!

No time to read? Turn off the television. Read faster! (Try audiobooks.)

No time for contemplation/reflection? Turn off the radio in the car for 15 minutes and let your soul speak to you. Take they break during the workday without picking up the phone or checking e-mail.

The point is, we all have 24 hours to use (more or less) as we choose. Choose wisely. Break down the day and identify where time is wasted. Live “faster”. Take the time to “smell the roses”, as it is said, but don’t miss the opportunity to do so by valuing that which is of little importance. Prioritize your time. Procrastinate on the things that are of little value.

Carpe momento!

Mentors (2).

“We make time for what we value most.”—Dave Goethals

I have had some awesome mentors over the years. April 6, 2017 (“Mentors.”), I shared about a good friend, Travis Beck, to whom I can credit much of my academic research. I would not be a university professor were it not for Dave Goethals who mentored me in my first academic position—who assigned me Racquet Sports as the first class I taught. (I am not very good at racquet sports, but I learned that I could teach effectively by putting myself in the place of the learner.) He also taught me about the bioenergy systems and the importance of emphasizing the hips and rotator cuff in the general physical preparedness for exercise and sport performance. Few terms pass in which I am not reminded of his influence. He is now a high school teacher in Washington state, and I finally have one of his former students in class. It is a reminder of our interconnected influence. It is motivating.

Our lives are lived forward—for others—because of others. I have been blessed to be a blessing to others.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Making the  most of our “stuff”.

“The greatest thing a man can do in this world is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given him. This is success, and there is no other.”–Orison Swett Marden

This is what is it is to be (extra)ordinary. Our circumstances are intended to make us rather than break us. We can choose to suffer or we can choose to see the opportunity to grow. This is success.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

(Un)Bounded

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.”—James Allen

Today is a choice. You can choose to take up the chains that restrain you, or you can choose to be released from bondage. Let nothing hold you back.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Same 24-hour day.

“It is the idle man, not the great worker, who is always complaining that he has no time or opportunity.”—Orison Swett Marden

I had this discussion with a co-worker the other day. As educators, parents, managers, leaders, etc., we can have three approaches to teaching the youth in our charge. We can tell them to “suck it up” like we did. (Seemingly, we all had it more difficult in our day, and we managed.) We can be a “lawnmower” and remove all obstacles (as seems to be a favored approach among parents and educators lately). Or we can take the third approach. We can be responsive educators, parents, managers, leaders, etc. That is, we can be understanding of life’s difficulties and teach the necessary skill-sets to manage the challenges—what I would prefer to call “opportunities”—in life.

Time is a funny thing. We rarely feel like we have enough of it, but everyone has the same hours in the day. We certainly have control (at least some control) over how we use these hours. What we don’t have control of is the number of days we have. So, the goal should be to use each day wisely and effectively.

Opportunity costs. Complaining robs one of opportunity. Doing gets things done.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

After the goal is achieved.

There is always a period of elation after a personal goal is achieved. But, what next?

It is easy to let up after we hit our mark—to go back to our old habits. We are a long way from the Lenten season (and, personally, I am not inclined to participate in the “giving it up for Lent” practice), but it is a perfect example of how we often respond to a period of self-sacrifice. I think it is safe to say that most end a fast or a Lenten season by binging on that from which one has abstained—chocolate, beer, pizza, etc. When we pursue goals, though, we can’t simple stop at the finish line.

Any goal worth accomplishing should be followed with a period of maintenance to establish a new “set-point”. We need to become fully committed to the new habit(s). Thus, a plan must be in place.

Sustainable should always be the goal. Don’t go out in a celebration of success and lose all that was accomplished. Don’t end a hypocaloric diet with a binge at the all-you-can-eat buffet. Don’t stop exercising when you reached your target. Whatever the goal dimension (Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Social), keep growing.

There should only be three approaches to follow success: maintain, expand, or refine.

Refine. Tweak the goal. You’ve hit a healthy milestone. Move the goal line. In some cases, the duration on the modification (e.g., diet) might be extended. Ideally, our process toward healthy behavior (being “well-centered”) should adapt as we progress. Success begets success. Baby steps toward incremental success makes growth more attainable. Be patient and keep progressing toward and ever-refining goal.

Expand. Elaborate on your goal. Success in one area of growth should fuel a desire to better oneself in other areas. Hit a weight-loss goal? Perhaps it is time to pursue that 5-k race you have wanted to do or to start lifting weights or something else that the excess body fat has prevented you from doing. Allow your success to prompt the next challenge.

Maintenance. Following any success, we want to allow a period of maintenance to allow the body system (or wellness dimension) to settle in to this new “set-point”. After achieving a weight loss goal, for example, it is important to allow a period of at least 2/3 the diet (hypocaloric or “cut” phase) length for the body to become accustomed to the new weight. (The same applies to a weight gain—i.e., muscle gain or hypertrophy training phase.) Allow time for consistency of action—habit—to fully develop. Once we have set a new “normal” (set-point) for ourselves, then we can reset the bar.

Enjoy success and keep pursuing bigger goals.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

He never knew me?

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”—Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23)

If you profess to be a Christian—a follower of Jesus—this should cause you to think.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!