Category: Self Development – General

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Just Do It…while you still can

Having some fun with the NRC – Nike Run Club app on this Saturday morning… doing a quick speed run workout to prep for my long 9-miler tomorrow.🏃

I love this app because it offers you challenges, rewards and milestones to keep you actively engaged in the sometimes mundane and somewhat tedious process of training. By recognizing your accomplishments along the way and sharing them with others you instill accountability at a level far beyond simple motivation.

Perfect weather this morning… It was cool and drizzling … it reminded me of our trip to Ireland. 🍀 I ran a respectable 8:15 (or so) mile. I probably could have finished sub 8:00 if it weren’t for the turnaround at the halfway point indicated by the dip in the middle of the graph. Lesson learned… my next Speed Run is going to be a long straightaway. I was happy to see for a brief moment at the end I actually was running sub 7:00. Not too shabby for a 51 year old dude. 😎

Keep in mind, this post is in no way, shape or form meant to impress you. In fact, there are countless individuals my age who are in far better shape then I am. However, if you look closely enough at this post and read into the embedded message, you will see that it is designed to impress upon you the necessity to get out there and take full advantage of your current level of mobility. Take heed in the wisdom of the old adage… “If you don’t use it, you lose it”

Nike likes to say “Just do it!” I tend to agree with the overall premise of this statement; however, make sure you “Just do it” deliberately, consistently, and most importantly… unapologetically. The good news is, you have nothing to prove to anyone but yourself, and that’s a good thing, considering often times we are our own biggest critic.

The bottom line is, most people have forgotten just how good their bodies are supposed to feel. My approach is, if I have to wake up in this body every morning, I want to feel as good as I possibly can and I’m going to do whatever it takes to achieve this feeling.

The question is… What are you going to do?

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Regrets begone!

Ah… regret… one of my favorite fictional characters. What do I mean by that? I’m glad you asked!

From my perspective, regret is an illusion. That is to say, it’s a fleeting emotion where we feel compelled to second-guess a decision we have made. Like any other emotion, it’s designed to come and go like the wind through the trees, but for some reason, we grasp it tightly thinking our remorse might magically change the past. Unfortunately, it never does and never will.

Yeah, regrets, I used to have plenty of them in my life. I kept them tucked away in an old shoebox in the back of my mind. Every once in awhile I would open it up and take one out so that I could feel guilty about something that I did or said.

Then, one day, I realized this self inflicted pity party was “invite-only” and since I was the one throwing the party, I simply stopped inviting myself.

Those who revel in their collection of hard-fought regrets will question whether it’s really that easy to jettison these guilty feelings and treat them as a relic of your past. The truth is, and this really is the truth, it’s much easier than you’ve been led to believe.

I can honestly say that I regret nothing in my life, not one thing! I no longer hold on to any of the regrets of my past and I don’t allow regret open passage into the present state of my existence. In other words, it’s a fictional character that simply doesn’t exist in my reality.

Why? How?

Well, my philosophy is, everything happens for a reason, including the things I have no fondness towards and if I am content with the overall shape and texture of my life as a whole, it’s safe to say that my so-called “poor decisions” have played a critical role in the creation of this amazing life.

From this perspective, how could I ever contemplate regretting anything I’ve ever done? The answer is, I can’t. Notice I didn’t say “I won’t” because that implies I’m making a decision not to regret. I said “I can’t” because with a mindset liberated from personal guilt, you literally can’t regret anymore… it’s impossible!

Pretty cool stuff right? Yeah, I thought so too and that’s why I shared it with you. I encourage anyone who’s reading this to give it a try. Just loosen your grip on the current regrets you have in your life and watch them slowly disintegrate in the palm of your open hand.

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Seek Guidance…

For the record…changing your life is not an easy task. It takes determination, perseverance and a willingness to bravely leap into the unknown. When you don’t fully understand what you’re getting into, things will feel a bit sketchy at first, but if you stay on course and allow yourself to feel awkward and maybe a little scared, you will reach your destination undaunted.

I’m going to be honest with you, a few days ago, I was feeling a little uneasy. I was at a foreboding place sparring with anxiety and immersed in apprehension. However, in the midst of this awkward feeling, I once again came to the sobering realization that I needed help. I unapologetically said, I’m not going to be able to do this alone; therefore, seeking help is not only necessary, it’s my only option.

You see, sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink of your abilities in order to realize you need assistance from someone further down the path than you—someone who can act as a guide and show you the way. Sure, everyone would love to believe that they have accomplished everything in their lives on their own and they have done so completely immune to the forces of change, but this is all a fanciful charade.

Consider this scene…have you ever been working on a crossword puzzle for what seems like an eternity and then someone walks up and takes the piece you are holding in your hand and places it exactly where it belongs in the image? It doesn’t matter if you were holding that obstinate piece for a couple hours or even a couple minutes, it’s always a humbling experience to accept assistance for any task in your life, be it mundane or difficult. But, accept help you must! Do it early and do it often if you want to make the most meaningful progress in the least amount of time.

If you have reached a veritable stalemate in some area of your life and are longing to break free from inertia, you must allow someone to assist you in putting the pieces of your life together. You may need their help with one piece or several pieces, but make no mistake, accepting the guidance of this helping hand may be the only way you will ever complete your life’s puzzle and reveal the masterpiece that lie hidden within.

Remember, the foolish slowly try to become an expert in everything they do, while the wise quickly surround themselves with expertise and inevitably become who they were destined to be.

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The silence whispers the profound after a significant event

The morning after…

As I casually sit here in a quiet, dimly lit room with our family dog, watching the squirrels chase each other around the backyard, as squirrels often do, the silence is whispering the profound, and I am listening intently to what it has to say.

I have this underlying sensation that the world is a different place now. Or, more succinctly, that my view of the world has shifted ever so slightly.

Life Experiences have this amazing power. In fact, even the ones that may appear subtle on the surface, harbor an enormous amount of potential to send your life on a completely different trajectory… a new direction—if you will… a direction driven by internal cues rather than external influences.

Now, that I have had time for this significant moment to infiltrate the character I play on a daily basis, I want to share with you my individual experience about this event.

First of all, it was truly an “event” in the most literal sense of the word. It was a function, it was a happening, but most importantly, it was a gathering… a gathering of individuals determined to create a positive impact on the world.

You see, what you have in a tribe such as this isn’t just an audience of note takers and slide viewers, you have a supporting cast in an ever-evolving production. Veteran cast members may exit stage left and go off to start a tribe of their own, while at the same time new cast members are entering stage right, trying to make sense of this exceptional world they find themselves immersed in.

The way I see it, the goal here isn’t to create a passionate group of loyal followers who all walk in lockstep to the beat of a single drum. The ultimate goal is to create a mass legion of autonomous leaders—individuals of undeniable authority and authenticity—emboldened with a distinct style all their own.

Truth be told, we all have our own unique rhythm and cadence, dare I say…endowment and it’s not just our casual prerogative to nurture this precious gift and share it with the world, it’s our sworn duty to ourselves, our loved ones and those who stand to benefit from its revelation.

There was something extraordinary that occurred yesterday and if you were there, you would have noticed it too. It was something vibrant, something compelling and if you’re into the mystical, something sincere and magical, and everyone in attendance was an integral part of it.

If you like clichés, I will call it an energy or a vibe, but the fact is, it really doesn’t matter what you call it, what matters most is that you recognize it and embrace it in your everyday lives.

Simply put, take your verve, vigor and vitality and allow it to work for you. Trust me, you have it—it’s not going anywhere. It’s there to serve you and guide you down the path of your choosing. All it asks of you is to make a choice, to make a decision and to take a small step in that direction.

Once you summon the courage to complete this one simple task, you will evoke traction from its safe slumber and invoke momentum from its dormant state. This will undoubtedly send your life on a completely different trajectory… guaranteed. It can be no other way.

Carpe Diem!