Baby Steps

This poster hangs in my office.  By day, I'm a school counselor, working with kids and families to help solve their problems....to get them to arrive at their own answers for themselves, and give them the motivation to do so.  

By night, I'm a dad and a husband and I try to model such a positive attitude to my kids.    

The other part of me is passionate about eating well and keeping fit.  I say PASSIONATE because I'm not obsessed about it.  While I think about it a lot, I have my ups and downs.  I ebb and flow like everyone else.  I think the difference is, I thoroughly enjoy working out.  I enjoy just about everything about it.  And who doesn't love eating?  (Those who need a counselor is the right answer.)  So because of this, I come to my point before I digress too much......

I've been injured as you may have read in prior posts.  As I fight through this injury, I have found myself craving foods I normally do not eat much of anymore:  chips, cheese, sweets, Chipotle!!!  I've also had a tough time accepting that I can not run right for now.  I've struggled with not being able to do the prescribed weights, movements, etc. of my Crossfit workouts.  For instance, yesterday.......The workout called for the following:

5K run

100 kettlebell swings.  

I can't run yet.  Grrrr!!!  So I took to a 5K row instead.  I can accept that.  But I usually swing a 50 lb. kettlebell.  Lin, the coach and owner of Crossfit Carmel says, "Dude.....swing a 35 lb. kettlebell.  You don't want to tweak that groin any more."  Stubborn me goes over the 44 lb. kettlebell and all seemed well.  Lin, being the great coach that he is says, "Dude....trust me."

And so I did this....

  

Low and behold............28 minutes later............I felt like.......

Well.....maybe not so patriotic, but it was a GREAT WORKOUT and it wasn't what was prescribed, called for or the RX for the day as is the Crossfit jargon.  But it was MY WORKOUT.  So after three weeks of an injury that isn't going away any time soon, I've learned the following:

--Focusing on eating is paramount no matter what I do for a workout.

--It's MY workout.  Focus on me and not keeping up with or beating someone else. 

--Injury is a part of life.  Letting things heal will only lead to a healthier life.  

--Good coaching is undervalued, overlooked, and not appreciated enough.  

--Listening to those I trust is very important and often taken for granted.

And the most important thing I've learned through this injury:  

Staying balanced does not just come to me.  I have to work at it and it takes baby steps!

Zen Motivation

My dear wife has had this for many years now.  I used to cuss at it as it leaked sand all over the counter, table, and floor.  That was then........

This is now.....Our family Zen Garden.  It doesn't live in a very good spot, but I'm convinced in our Forever Home it will prominently live on display.  

Zen Gardens

For centuries, Japanese Zen masters have cultivated gardens of harmoniously arranged rocks and white raked gravel - creating silent havens for peaceful contemplation.

By cultivating a miniature Zen garden - reducing for a moment the day’s problems to a few waves of sand against the rocks - one may come away feeling as if the rest of life has become simpler.

---http://www.zengarden.co.za/

In my younger, less mature days, I failed to allow the peace and simplicity the garden could bring to my day, my life.  However, there is something to be said for life experiences allowing new ideas and motivation to cultivate.  A few minutes per day reflecting, scraping, designing, and just being are good motivators.  Perhaps playing this in the background with that (Sorry Jim....it's not quite DBT....I'll get there.)

And so this brings me to another recommendation for you.  

http://zenhabits.net/

I wish there was some kind of button or picture to provide you, but this guy is so simple (here's info. on him), he doesn't put one there.   This is one of the best blogs I've stumbled upon lately.  The tag line says it all...

"Smile, Breathe, and Go Slowly."

It's packed full of great motivating, real, and simple stuff.  It should be a part of your day.  It makes a difference in mine.