Month: April 2018

A visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum; discussions of religion, education, millennials (and their parents, teachers, etc.), “The Tragedy of the Commons”, and other social issues, over the last few days, have been given me cause to think about the issues confronting our society.  It is easy to grow pessimistic.

I don’t believe we will ever legislate our way out of these problems.  The only way things are going to get better will be when we recognize that our problems are Spiritual.  They are Spiritual and, to some greater extent, religion is to blame.

I don’t equate spirituality with religion.  Religion affects and is a by-product of one’s Spiritual well-centeredness (or lack thereof).  The Spiritual dimension to being well and whole refers, however, simply to the belief that we are all part of something greater than self.

I call myself a “Christian”.  More specifically, a “follower of Christ”.  Christians are taught of salvation, resurrection, a “new heaven and earth”, a “personal relationship with Christ”, grace, and redemption.  These can easily become self-centered.  Christians also believe it their mission to “save” others.  While these may well be a part of the teachings of Jesus, there is a tendency of Christians to focus on John 3:16 and neglect the following verse in which Jesus professes to have come not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17).  If I am to be Christ-like, it is my responsibility to (do my part to) save the world—to bring a “new heaven and earth”.  This is the heart of Spiritual well-centeredness—of “I am third”.

If we are going to make the world a better place, we must deny self and sacrifice for the benefit of others.  This is contrary to the entitlement that we all demand.  This is contrary to the blame we put on others.  The problems of the world are all because we deny our own culpability.

Responsibility is not an easy path.  It is the “Tragedy of the Commons” in reverse.  One must be willing to risk giving back and doing their part to preserve the Commons, while others continue to take.  It is caring less about what others are doing or not doing and doing what one perceives to be his or her proper and personal course of action.

It is easiest to blame and demand others be made to change.  History demonstrates, however, that leadership is doing the uncomfortable as an example to others.  Each of us doing our small part by taking personal responsibility can have a compounding effect.  Thus, let us all take claim of our own responsibility and begin to change.

Be your best today; and be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

I learned just over a year ago about the passing of a mentor and friend, Travis Beck.  I am greatly indebted to Travis for all he taught me.

I had the opportunity, this passed week, to meet with two of Travis’ former students and visit their labs at Oklahoma University and Oklahoma State University.  I was there with two of my own student researchers who were presenting at an undergraduate research conference.  The few days in Oklahoma got me to think about legacy.  More specifically, my legacy.  What am I paying forward?

I believe success—true success—can only be measured in the distant future.  What kind of impact have I had on my student and colleagues?  What kind of children have I raise?  What will I be remembered for?  Will I be remembered?

I can look back over my life and recount the many teachers, coaches, neighbors, colleagues, and friends who have had an impact on my life.  I am the product of these.  I am grateful for the affect they had on me.

Am I passing it forward?  Often, I have doubts that I am.

As a college professor, I am very concerned with the benefits of “my” degree for the students who invest their time and money attending my classes.  I had quite a few discussions with the students who accompanied me over the few days in Oklahoma about the real value of the degree and the opportunities that come with the degree.  Surely, any degree is what the graduate makes of it.  My desire is to lead students to the brightest possible futures.  For many over the years, I have felt a part of their success as physicians, physician assistants, physical therapists, PhDs, etc., as well as top notch athletic trainers, strength & conditioning coaches, and leaders in the fitness profession.  Sadly, as I reflected, I began to feel that the numbers diminish as the years have passed.  In other words, I feel decreasingly effective.  This bothers me.  It bothers me a lot.

My friend, Travis, reminds me of the “coaching trees” that are often discussed among NFL football coaches.  He came from a graduate program that has produced a significant number of researchers who have go on to affect even more researchers.  The former students, with whom I visited, will undoubtedly carry on this tree and affect others who will spread the branches.

My tree is yet to be determined.  Perhaps it is greater than I think.  Perhaps I am not aware of the branches that are forming before my eyes.  Perhaps my vision of “success” is wrong.  Whatever the state of my tree, there is tomorrow.  Each day is an opportunity to impact the life of someone (or lives of some ones).  Yesterday has passed.  Today, however, is an opening to be affective.

Carpe momento!

Having goals is essential.  Having excuses is not.  We accomplish what we choose to accomplish.

Ask my students, and it would seem that I can’t get through a lecture without using the phrase “opportunity costs”.  I use it frequently because I to drive home a message.  I want firmly embed in their minds that everything we do either progresses us toward our goals or away from our goals.  There is no median approach.

Minimize the things—and the people—that sap you of the time to do the things you must.  Choose to use your time on the things of greatest significance, not necessarily on the things that are most “important” and/or “significant” (Rory Vaden).  Do the things that add value to your life (and the lives of others).  Prioritize growth—personal and that of others.  Invest in the Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social dimensions.  Everything we do has a cost.  Choose wisely!

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

Time in a Bottle

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I’d like to do
Is to save every day
‘Til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I’d save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That you’re the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That you’re the one I want to go
Through time with

Writer: Jim Croce

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”—C.S. Lewis

The other day, a friend shared the above quote except as: “Global warming, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”  It was pointed out that (as quoted) it was not a CS Lewis quote. As well, it was noted of the Christian teaching that God will replace with a new heaven and new earth.  My friend found this view a bit scary—and rightfully so.

I believe that God will replace with a new heaven and new earth, but I also believe that the subsequent attitude among many, if not most, evangelicals is that we therefore do not have to worry about the environment.  Worse is the idea that we can actually hasten Christ’s return by letting the world take its course.  John’s “Revelation”, after all, paints a picture of “wars and rumors of wars”, etc. at the end of times.  I believe Jesus message emphasizes stewardship—caring for our world.  It may very well be that it is the responsibility of Jesus followers, themselves, to bring the “new heaven and earth.”

There is too much going on in our world to sit back and wait for the “new heaven and earth.”  We, individual and collectively, need to act.  It isn’t just global warming or the fact that whether or not carbon emissions are the source (in my opinion, it is a revelation that fossil fuels are a limited resource and we will run out).  It is also the increasing rifts of division that are separating people, the sense of entitlement, the social isolation, and all the other growing problems that are plaguing humankind—and all of creation.  We need to act in a positive fashion to make a “new heaven and earth”.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Women make you weak.”—John Durham

My high school football coach had a lot of memorable sayings.  (This is probably true for most coaches in the ‘70s.)  He was even quoted in Sports Illustrated when he said (after one of my team’s games): “I told them to watch the fake, and that’s what they did.  They watched the fake.”  I am often reminded of one of his favorite phrases—“Women make you weak.”  Holding hands and playing kissy-face with your girlfriend in the hallways at school (which was never a problem for me, sadly) was a ticket to doing shoulder rolls after practice.  What I learned from the statement, though, is that coach wanted us to avoid distractions.

Years later, I continue to use the phrase.  In teaching a weight training course a number of years ago, I was leading the class in “100s” (a series of partnered push-up involving 3-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-3 repetitions).  Midway through the exercise, I see Jonathan on one hand waving at a girl across the gym—“Women make you weak.”  Same school, I had another student who would often miss open weight-room hours because “Nancy (his girlfiend) wanted to hang out.”

Now, of course, women can and do make men strong, and the quote could equally be “men make you weak”.  The point is that there are things that can distract us from the opportunities we have to better ourselves. These we need to identify and eliminate.  They may be people or that may be activities.  They are anything that take time and effort away from our growth plans—Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and/or Social.

The people and activities in which we invest ourselves—or allow to have power over us—make or break our success.  “Opportunity costs.”  Choose wisely!

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.

“All I have to do is just take one little step at a time, and I can do anything!”—‘Bob Wiley’ in What About Bob?

New term and I get to teach one of my favorite courses—“Exercise Motivation & Adherence”.  Day one and I have already used the phrases: motivational interviewing, self-efficacy, and, of course, opportunity costs.  I think teaching the course helps keep my own motivational challenges in perspective.

I have the quite nonacademic practice of showing the movie, What About Bob?, in this class.  I love how characters depicted by Richard Dreyfus (Dr. Leo Marvin) and Bill Murray (Bob Wiley) can so effectively demonstrate the core concepts we will be learning.  Dr. Marvin’s Baby Steps, after all, is really just the application of the concept of shaping and Skinner’s Learning Theory.

Success begets success.  Small regular successes have an accumulative effect.  If one wants to change behavior, one must start small and start today.  “One little step at a time”!

What are your trying to change?  The “well-centered fitness” approach to Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social growth is incremental.  One kind word at a time.  I repetition at a time.  One page at a time.  One positive thought at a time.  One positive interaction at a time.  We strive to be our best today—a little better than we were yesterday—and we are better tomorrow.

I love the concept of baby steps.  If the goal seems too big, break it down.  Daily successes lead to long-term great success.  Adding 5 lbs a week (about the smallest possible increment) to one’s squat results in a 260 lb gain in strength!  Walking an extra 0.5 mile a day results in an approximate 18,250 kcal expenditure resulting in a possible loss of 5.21 lbs.  Cutting one sugared pop/soda a week is equivalent to burning 8,320 kcal or 2.4 lbs.  Reading less than 4 pages a day is all one needs to do to finish Tolstoy’s War & Peace in a year.  So, what is holding you back?  Break it down and take baby steps.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

“Entitlement is the opposite of enchantment.”—Guy Kawasaki

There are those who are always asking and those who never ask.  Personally, I prefer a bit of a balance.  Those who never ask rob us of an opportunity to show our love.  Those who always ask drain us.

Those who are always in need may indeed have legitimate needs, but when we focus only on our needs and expect others to rush to save us, we deprive ourselves of all that give us strength and happiness. It is downward spiral to depression, anger, bitterness, and isolation.  To be truly happy, one must learn first to stand for one’s self.

Guy Kawasaki is correct.  Enchantment cannot share the room with entitlement.  We cannot be happy when we feel the world is indebted to us.

Troubles will certainly come.  There will be times when we are dealt a crappy hand (and, for some, it may feel like an endless run of crappy hands).  We may at times legitimately need help and may need to ask.  If, however, we cry out for help at every problem, we will find that one by one we will drive away the will of others to come to our aid.

Know that when we have a need that no one is obligated to help.  We must do first what we are able.  Once we have tried for ourselves, then and only then should we reach out.  When we help another, we should do so with no expectation of return.  When we are helped, we must receive with gratitude—for gratitude is perhaps all we have to offer in return.  Most importantly, we must pay it forward and move beyond recipient to giver.

The golden rule—do unto others as you would have them do unto you—is an admonishment to help others.  Nowhere does the golden rule tell us to expect others to follow the rule.  Such an expectation—i.e., entitlement—will only further weaken us Spiritually, Physically, Intellectually, Emotionally, and Socially.  Accepting the challenges in life as opportunity will give one the strength to face whatever life might bring.  Doing so will enable one to do for himself or herself.  When the greater challenges come—as they certainly will—there will be far more people standing ready to help.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“The only thing faster than light is the darkness.”—‘Mrs. Which’, A Wrinkle in Time

Today is Easter (Resurrection) Sunday in the Christian Church.  I watched the latest A Wrinkle in Time film with my family, the other day.  I couldn’t help but see a Jesus and Spiritual theme to the move—a theme of universal connectedness and light v. darkness.  While not my usual type of movie, I enjoyed it.  It was timely in this period of great divisiveness and entitlement.

The above quote from Oprah Winfrey’s character, Mrs. Which, really struck me.  It parallels my post from yesterday, “Do Good” (which, by the way was inspired and written before I saw the movie).  It fits with the quote: “Any man may easily do harm, but not every man can do good to another” (Plato).  This is one of those Celestine Prophecy moments where I feel led (by the Light, perhaps?) to consider this.

There is a battle of light v. darkness and good v. evil.  Whatever one’s religious or spiritual inclinations, it is impossible to deny.  The concern remains, which will win.

There is a call for warriors in this world—not unlike the story theme of A Wrinkle in Time.  The call is not to battle darkness with darkness.  Rather the call is to be the light.

Darkness may be faster than light, but yields no power against the light.  Turn out the lights in a room, and, while it may appear pitch black for a moment, if there is a way for light to enter, light will find its way.  I struggle with my family turning on (and leaving on) lights in the house.  I try to tell my children to let their eyes adjust, and they will be able to see.  I am realizing that I am missing a teachable moment.  If only I can get them to see that the light is there if they are patient and just let it in.

A single candle can add much light to a room.  I am always moved by the church tradition (often at a Christmas service) of illuminating candles one by one in a darkened room.  Quite quickly, the room becomes filled with light.

Society is becoming overwhelmed with darkness—protests, angry memes on social media, social segregation, technology addiction, divisiveness, etc.  There is a call for warriors to bring light.  Do good.

“We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us thru that darkness to a safe and sane future” (John F. Kennedy).  Do good.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.