Tired and want to go back to sleep? Suck it up, put on the running shoes, and get after it. You’ll never regret it, you’ll only regret NOT doing it.
Feeling wore out after work and want to sit on the couch? Suck it up, grab your yoga gear, and get to the studio. You’ll never regret it, you’ll only regret NOT doing it.
When in doubt get moving, get some exercise.
Appreciation:
For over 5 years I’ve had the same watch on my left wrist, my Garmin Instinct. It was on sale for $249 and I figured it would be exactly what I needed for the next two or three years before it slowly fell apart and the battery died. Instead this bad boy has been kicking butt and taking names while showing ZERO sings of slowing down. The original battery is still going so strong that I still only charge it once every two weeks or so. This watch is a beast!!!
Over the past 5 years my Garmin Instinct and I have done the following:
20.6 million steps
10,800 total miles
1,124 miles hiked
2,500 miles run
All that use and abuse and there isn’t even a scratch on the face. The only work I’ve done on it is replacing the band.
In a world in which everything seems to be made to be replaced within a couple of years this watch has been one of the best investments I’ve made. Cheers to Garmin for making such an incredibly durable and useful product!!!
Presence:
This moment right here – what a few seconds of awesome.
Gavin’s pole vaulting coach shared a video quote that’s stuck with me for the past couple of days.
Let’s not forget who wins every single pole vault competition… The bar.
Be resilient. Learn to fail, or fail to learn.
@logan_vaultcrew
Every single pole vaulter ends their day when they fail to clear the bar at a certain height for three straight attempts. Technically, the bar always wins eventually and the vaulter always loses. What a wonderfully succinct way to learn that failure is okay so long as we learn from it AND get back up and try it again.
Appreciation:
Clothes shopping is not necessarily what I would include in my list of fun things to do on a Thursday night, but that’s exactly what Gavin and I did AND I actually had fun doing it with him. We joked around, enjoyed some chill conversation, somehow got the mission accomplished without frustration, and then knocked out some grocery shopping just for giggles!
There’s always something to get done that’s not the most exciting activity ever, but there’s still always a choice to make – what mindset will I do it in. I easily could have been frustrated and crabby, instead I chose to have fun and enjoy the bonus quality time with Gavin. 🙂
Presence:
LOL – I have to admit that one of the best moments of presence came this evening as I started typing my blog when a cute and adorable puppy kept whining and insisting that I rub her belly. She even went so far as to try tapping my hand away from the keyboard to get me to move my hand from my laptop to her belly. She was ultimately successful in her endeavor and I enjoyed the snuggle time.
When two people are actively working together in a growth mindset the results are very productive. There is no judgement, no frustration, no ego, or any other types of obstacles. Only possibility, open dialogue, open and constructive conflict, and productive dialogue exist. So much positive progress when the growth mindsets are aligned.
Appreciation:
There’s a balance to be found between play and planning. Over the past 6 weeks or so I’ve been working out in the gym quite often and it’s been a wonderful mix of all types of new exercises. I’ve had the opportunity to focus on lifting for strength, for muscle, and for endurance in an extraordinarily wide array of all kinds of exercises focusing on pretty much all major muscle groups. This was exactly the play I needed to help me see weightlifting as fun again. There’s not really a clear goal other than just getting back into the habit and stoking my passion for fitness again. I’ve already seen some awesome results and have been feeling great! 
Now it is time to focus on my long term goals. I want to be in the type of physical condition so I can be a 94 year old dude hiking and backpacking eight plus miles per day in the mountains. To get there I’ve got to get myself in fantastic backpacking shape now complete with a very solid base of skeletal muscle mass to keep me moving. Now is the time to take what I’ve learned from play, set a clear objective for the short term (3 months) and then set the clear path to get there.
Without play I wouldn’t have been motivated to work on the long term plan and would not have had so many more exercises to choose from. Without the plan all the play is great, but I would likely keep gaining muscle mass in places I don’t need for backpacking and hiking and would have a lot more weight to carry – all of which actively hurts progress towards my goal.
Today is all about balance – play and plan – a dichotomy that leads to success.
Presence:
Lots of road time for Becky and I today! Not only our long car ride, but we also had road time on our morning run. Throw in some trail time we had while we took Leia for a walk and it was a day of many moments shared together. I’m grateful for the extreme moments of presence shared together today – especially when we had exactly two seconds of sunlight peek through as we neared the exit for Lewiston. Even when we are doing some not so exciting adulting we can still be present and enjoy time together – and plan future vacations 😉
This was from a trip to San Francisco – we happened to catch a sunset in a low tide on the ocean!
We never step in the same river twice, we are never the same person when we read a book another time. This proved very true today as I started reading one of my all time favorite books, Essentialism by Greg McKeown. Over the years I’ve read this book on “the disciplined pursuit of less” several times and each read has brought new insight.
Today was no different. Within the first few chapters I had an epiphany moment that helped me see a solution to a challenge in a very different way. It connected to a couple of ideas I’ve been working through in other projects. Crazy how perspective works, isn’t it? The answer has always been there, I just wasn’t ready to see it yet. I’m very thankful for the advice I learned long ago to read and re-read the books that hit home the most.
Appreciation:
The movie Inception revolves around the idea of planting an idea in someone’s head while they are dreaming. This idea grows and grows and becomes a core of who they are and how they react. Over the past week or so an idea has continued to grow and grow and is taking on more and more of my thought processes. It is a challenge I’m working through, but coming at it from another direction (which is why I started re-reading Essentialism in the first place). While I stay focused on and up to date with the work I need to do this project appears randomly in my brain and connects to what I’m working on at that time and shines a different light on both projects. This cousin of an earworm – I’ll call it a “brainworm” – appears and reappears throughout the day and I’m finding myself jotting more and more notes and ideas to myself about it. Tomorrow I’ll have time blocked out specifically for it and I’m excited to see how it all plays out!
Presence:
Due to scheduling challenges I had two weightlifting workouts planned for today. I hit a solid push workout this morning and then a pull workout after work. I am feeling completely spent now and I still have a leg lift and cardio workout ahead of me tomorrow. Honestly, the reason I am putting this in the presence section is because the workouts helped me be present throughout most of my work day. In the morning I had more energy from working fresh off my workout. In the afternoon I was able to push through some things knowing that I had heavy stuff to throw around after work. All in all, more presence today as a result of lifting!
It is easy to start throwing out solutions and trying to fix things. The most difficult part of the problem solving process? Figuring out the exact problem that needs to be solved. This can be more difficult as I tend to want to skip steps, make assumptions, and sometimes don’t take the time to fully understand the problem in advance. 
Today contained a wonderful reminder to pause and be sure to define the problem clearly before attempting to solve it. Pause, dig deeper into the issue. Find as much detail into the root cause of it as possible. Be sure to understand the timeframe we need to work within. Ask more questions than seems necessary, and then ask at least a few more. Frame the challenge as a question. Validate the definition with others involved. Attain agreement on the issue. Then, and only then, take action to solve the problem.
Appreciation:
What I’m most grateful for today are the ongoing additions to my dream list. The most recent addition came today as I telling Becky about a story from the book I’m currently reading – The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter. Throughout the book the author shares several vignettes from around the world talking through everything from hunting to talking with spiritual leaders and scientists about happiness to crazy exercise tactics. One in particular got me all types of excited and I’ve added it to my list.
How epic would this be to see in real life? The country of Bhutan is one I would love to visit for a variety of reasons (including being one of the happiest nations on Earth) and this would be the crown jewel of the trip for sure!
My dream list keeps on growing and each time it leads to more dreaming and more smiles!
Presence:
There are a handful of paths I could take on this topic today, but the one that really sticks out the most is during my lifting workout this evening. My trainer has added many new exercises and lifts to my practice and it has kept me very much on my toes. Up until a week and a half ago I’d never done a deadlift. Today I worked on a different variation of it, the sumo deadlift. 
While on the platform I situated my feet much wider than normal, only inches from the plates on the barbell. My hands grasped the bar in a much closer grip than I’ve become accustomed to. Without turning my toes in and while keeping my entire foot in contact with the floor with even pressure I bent my knees to get my butt as low as possible. With a very straight back I slowly lifted the barbell until I was able to lock out my hips. I then slowly reversed the position and settled the weight to the ground before doing it again.
This process of making sure I had everything in the right place and moving at the right time took all of my mental focus. Time almost seemed to slow as I thought through each portion of the movement, part of me walking through the checklist, another part of me feeling my body in space, and then another part of me watching my form in the mirror to adjust as needed to get the form right. All focus was in that one lift, one after another, until the set was completed. As I cycled through the remaining sets I duplicated the experience.
What a moment to stay so present, focused, and in a state of flow!
Thankful for Forty 