10:10 Wellness

Anatomy of a dry spell - conclusion

Am I beating a dead horse here?  Hopefully you'll think not as I conclude this thought process with the solution.  If you read parts 1 and 2 you remember my writing dry spell.  This drought was a result of what I felt were setbacks to my mission and purpose and which rocked those beliefs that fuel my desire to write.

 

I write all this stuff and post it on a blog because I truly hope that someone will respond to it and perhaps change their course.  Many others have offered similar wisdom (cocky aren't I, calling my stuff wisdom), but receiving a message is pretty much a timing thing.  So what did I do to solve my deal?

 

First, I had to acknowledge that I was off track - accept the fact, as Zig Ziglar would say, that I had a case of "stinkin' thinkin".  I had to admit that I had a bad attitude.  For a wellness guy, with a career in sales, who's always expected to carry a great attitude, that's a challenge.  People in my position can become professional cover-up artists - and most people can see right through that.  It's about as simple as a person admitting they're an alcoholic, i.e., it ain't simple. 

 

Second, after admitting to myself that I was in a funk, I had to find the source.  Like a doctor examining symptoms from a patient, I had to diagnose what was creating those symptoms.  This can be easy.  This can be hard.  Or sometimes this can only be accomplished by someone with the appropriate skills - a counselor, therapist, psychologist, etc.  In my situation I was able to self-diagnose the problem with some quiet thought time - a luxury that many of us struggle to acquire.  I'll be the first to admit that I'd have a real problem involving an expert to help me with any mental struggles.  That's a pride flaw of mine for sure.

 

Since I already wrote that I discovered the source of my disturbance, what did I do next?  Because I truly didn't want to remain in this state, and because I had the desire to change, I faked it.  Huh?  Yeah, that's right, I deliberately thought good thoughts.  However because I went through steps 1 and 2, those thoughts now had a fertile soil in which to grow.

 

Faking a good attitude when I truly don't believe in myself or my situation results in the "hypocritism" mentioned in step 1 .  BTW, I don't think that's a word - but it should be.

 

I'll close with two lines from John Maxwell's book, The Difference Maker.  A good Chinese proverb:  "Assume a cheerfulness you do not feel, and shortly you feel the cheerfulness you assumed".  Or as editor and publisher Elbert Hubbard says, "Be pleasant until 10 a.m. and the rest of the day will take care of itself". 

A Hike to Gregory Bald

A trip I've been planning for months finally came to pass.  It was actually a two part adventure.  The first part was cycling, the second part was backpacking.  All of it was in my favorite place in the world:  Western North Carolina.  Time permitting I'll post some of the bike trip.

My cruise director for the backpacking adventure was my Bradenton friend George Isiminger.  He devised a 3 day trip in the SW corner of the Smoky Mountains National Park.  My cycling companions John and Scott and I set off from our base in Dillsboro (Cynthia & Jim's house) to pick up George at the Knoxville airport (and drop off Scott).  The highway there has to be the most winding road I've ever driven.  We stopped along the way at a convenience store.  How do you like their dumpster?!

 

Here's a few critters inside the Knoxville airport (Scott, bears, and John).

After our airport exchange (dropping Scott, getting George) we drove back to the Twenty Mile Ranger station trail head.  On the way we stopped for a spectacular dam overlook shot.

Here's our before shots.  Before we started the hike, and before I remember how to use the camera's timer:

  

Our first trail sign/marker:

Our first of many river crossings:

 

Here's John pumping our water from a stream behind our campsite the first night:

 

Here's what our first night's accommodations looked like in the morning.  Pretty posh. eh?!

 

While I took a more conservative route, here's John taking the narrow bridge crossing:

 

Here I an crossing a creek with full pack on back:

 

I found evidence of Smoky Bear:

 

When we got a little higher up the mountain we encountered blueberry bushes.  I'd never seen a blueberry bush.  I thought blueberries only came in little cardboard or plastic pint containers?!

 

We stopped a little later for a major break.  That's one when you take your pack off and reach for some fuel.  In this case I wanted to test the "Trail Monkey" concept.  You've heard me rave about my post-workout recovery drink - the Monkey Shake right?  It's the best all-natural recovery drink on the planet you know.

But Monkeys come from blenders.  So I wanted to see if I could duplicate the drink on the trail.  I had the Monkey Grinder make some single serving bags, and I bought some powdered milk to mix into it.  Here's all the various parts to this process:

 

While my trail partner George can attest to the burst of energy I demonstrated after this break, I have to admit that mixing Monkeys on the trail is a little cumbersome.  We'll get the R & D guys going on the Monkey Bar.

I know what you're thinking.  "Is that all this guy ever does is work, work, work?"  It's my cross to bear.

Before we made it all the way to the top of the mountain, the Gregory Bald, we had one last decent water stop.  So we unpacked, had a snack, took turns pumping water.

 

Thankfully, John volunteered to carry this 2 gallon jug up our last climb.

 

After this climb we arrived at our destination - the Gregory Bald.  Words and pictures can't describe the splendor of this place.  On top of a mountain at just under 5000 feet we could look down below to see the open area of Cades Cove.  In the other direction were mountains as far as we could see.  And in front of us and everywhere were blueberry bushes - loaded with berries.  Apparently peek picking time is August, but we had no trouble finding fruit.  All three of us were immediately drawn to the bushes to pick.

 

After we'd each had a couple mouthfuls of berries, we stopped for a picture:

 

Then we picked some more:

 

That's when I whispered to John "John".  I was on the other side picking when I discovered we had company:

 

Here's another shot that I impressed myself with ('cause I'm a lousy photographer):

  

George spots another one coming through the bushes:

 

Then John spots more deer.  We had a whole tribe, pack, clan, family, whatever of deer to share the bald:

 

This was truly an amazing experience, and I could post a lot more pictures but I'll cut 'er down to just a few more.  We nicknamed John the "deer whisperer" as he was able to attract a doe, feed her a few blueberries, and even get licked by the deer.  Which also birthed his trail name - Salt Lick.

 

We left the exposed and windy side of the bald to an area that had a tree barrier - so we could fire up my camp stove and make a pot of Ramen Noodles.  While here the deer found us again, and one really wanted to know what George had in his lunchbox.

    

After the Bald time it was time to find our next hotel.  This one was about a mile down the trail.  I set up my hammock, a Christmas present from Hopie, and John and I took turns:

 

 

Here's the view of our second night camp sight:

 

Here's the kitchen shot in the morning.  Bet you can guess what's in those pancakes?!

 

And here's my self portrait of breakfast over our morning fire:

 

After packing up our stuff, here we go, time to come off the mountain:

 

John snuck ahead with the camera and caught George and me making our way down the trail:

 

And here I shot John back:

 

Nearing the bottom, our trail now followed the creek which we crossed on log bridges several times:

 

Though we'd only been out there two nites, and because it was relatively cool up there, we weren't terribly ripe.  But I couldn't resist the pool we encountered.  Out came the soap and off went the clothes:

  

It was cold but worth it.  That's refreshment!

 

Now nearly at the bottom we encountered a ginormous rock formation.  Photo op!

 

Last sign out.  Whew, we made it.  And so did you.  Are you exhausted from the trip?

 

Thanks George for being our cruise director.  It was an awesome and blessed trip.  God is good!

Hopefully we can do it again next summer.  Y'all come!

10:10 Wellness Saturday July 25

Thanks to all my peeps who joined me this Saturday for a workout at the Robinson Preserve.  Coincidentally, there were 10 of us in our 10:10 Wellness group.

Have you missed Tyler Althof like I have?  Turns out the boy does have an excuse.  Or is it an alibi?  Actually it's a baby - a little man named Eli.  Congrats to Kelly and Tyler.  I expect to see Eli in a chest sack hangin' with Miss Cassidy soon.

If you don't remember, here's our youngest walker, Cassidy:

 

Some of the "action" shots from yesterday include Pete on point:

 

Donna & Julie:

 

Julie & Donna:

 

Jason at the run finish:

 

The Gazebo's almost done.  Could this be our new meeting spot?

 

Can Debbie and Sheila talk or what?  They walked too:

 

We had a record bike turnout including newcomers George (my backpacking leader) and Cheryl:

 

And here's the whole crew, just after listening to me tell the 10:10 story.  Notice the sleepy eyes, especially on Julie.  I'll have to spice up that talk next time.

 

Thanks for coming everyone!  You guys are kickin' it!  See you next Saturday.

The Dimitri Dilemma Part 2

If you read part 1, you know that I have a buddy, Dimitri, who has a bit of a fitness challenge.  He loves and excels at board sports, surfing in particular, but he's now engaged in a busy lifestyle between work and family.  As a consequence he doesn't get to spend very many days chasing waves.  Now he complains that he's struggling to stay in shape.

 

The reason I called Dimitri's situation a dilemma is that he doesn't enjoy more traditional (and more accessible) exercise.  He doesn't care for running, cycling, swimming, weight lifting, or any team sports.  Those are for "jocks" like me.  He's a surfer dude.  If you grew up in Florida or any other coastal location with waves, you remember that dichotomy of our high school  population.  Our groups didn't mix much.  Ironic now that one of my favorite people in the word to hang out with is a surfer dude.

 

I was excited to hear that D wanted to take me for a workout last week.  We made our usual carpool run of the Florida Keys trying to generate a little business, and I spent the night at his house when we returned.  His workout would be stand-up paddling which is pretty much what it sounds like.  You stand on an over sized surfboard, the paddle board, and you paddle along with a long, carbon fiber in our case, paddle.  You get the upper body benefits of kayaking, combined with the balance and core benefits of standing on a floating board.

 

I was more than a little doubtful that we'd make this morning date because we stayed up late, we had a somewhat early breakfast meeting to attend, and D's not much of a morning guy.  Imagine my surprise when my surfer bud arose just after sunrise.

 

 

With very little preparation, unlike my cycling trips for example, we were out the door and on the way to the beach. 

 

 

Do you see that vehicle in the middle?  Dang it's sexy!  Anyway, Dimitri lives about 100 yards away from the Atlantic Ocean in Pompano Beach, Florida.  His neighborhood has a very cool beach access park with a gate that's electronically activated with a device that D carries on a lanyard.

 

 

Once through the gates we crossed the boardwalk and carried the boards to the waters edge.

 

 

 

After a couple minutes instruction by the master, we were off.  Good news is that I have a sweet new waterproof camera that D was able to clip to his lanyard and snap shots out on the water.

 

 

 

Within minutes I noticed my feet and shins starting to burn.  The act of balancing on that board was a bit of a shock to my untrained triathlete feet.  After getting the hang of the balance and paddling thing, we crossed the Hillsboro Inlet to a jetty.  From here we had to carry the boards over the jetty to get to the other side where some small waves were breaking.  Dimitri was able to surf them.  I avoided 'em.

 

 

There's a lighthouse at the inlet.  Here's a picture with the sun in our photographer's face.

 

 

Here's me on the final stretch back to the beach.

 

 

Here's Dimitri's underwater foot self portrait shot to test my camera. 

 

 

After about 45 minutes we were done.  Unlike a gym workout when you look at your watch to see how much longer you have to go, this was a situation where I was dreading the watch 'cause I wanted to play some more.  That's why I don't spend much time in a gym.

 

 

Notice the name "Laird" on my board?  Laird Hamilton is one of the pioneers of "SUP'ing" in addition to a storied career in big wave surfing and living well.  He published a book recently that's on my reading wish list.

 

As for the dliemma thing, my boy Dimitri is on to something.  The SUP workout was definitely good for my core and also did wonders for the "balance muscles" of my lower legs and feet.  The catch though is that you gotta do a whole lotta SUP'ing to burn some calories.  Throw a little resistance training in there, like weightlifting or the 10:10 anywhere workout, and you've got a good off-season routine.

 

Keep it up D!

Are You Real?

I know on occasion some of you scratch your heads and wonder (or email me) "what were you thinking?"  This is one of those occasions.  While researching a book and website called "Thin Within", I discovered some content that I really liked and found helpful - especially for me, a guy that could be accused of having sharp edges.  It actually comes from a children's book.

 

The best children's stories offer many lessons for adults as well. One of these is The Velveteen Rabbit. It is a tale about a stuffed rabbit and his love for a little boy. One day, while on the nursery shelf with the other toys, Rabbit initiates a conversation with Skin Horse, who was "old and wise and experienced."
 
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

 

"Does it hurt?"

 

"Sometimes." For he was always truthful. " When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

 

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up, or bit by bit?"

 

"It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time.  That's why it doesn't often happen to people, who break easily, or who have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.

But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

 

I hope you know someone who is "Real".  They're very cool to hang out with.  I happen to live with one.  Only by the grace of God has she been able to stay with me!

 

"The Word For You Today" is a devotional booklet I receive from my church.  It's also available online thanks to a church in Michigan.  Today's message is "Being real".  Kinda ties in to our story.

Anatomy of a dry spell - Part 2

If you read the first part, you recall that I went through a period where I wasn't writing creatively.  To me that means crafting something out of nothing as opposed to writing that's more like reporting.  I hope that makes sense.  It just occurred to me that we can spend our lives in the same way.  I can choose to "think" to help direct and create my desired life, or I can just go through the motions and respond to all that life throws at me.  Isn't that what separates man from animals?  One of my "good" beliefs is that I have the power to choose which path I take.

 

You may also recall that I wrote that I'm most fulfilled when I'm accomplishing stuff that's consistent with my purpose.  A bunch of years ago I followed the advice of a motivational guru and committed my purpose to paper.  As a disclaimer here, please know that absolutely nothing I create or advise here is original.  Everything that pours out of me was originally poured into me by another.  That's another of my good beliefs, and the reason I avoid so much of the crap on TV.

 

So I did the exercise at the end of a chapter and wrote what I felt was my purpose:  lead people into healthy lifestyles and activities they can get excited about.  I believe we should all go through this exercise, committing our purpose to paper that is, but let's save that for another time.  Though my purpose can change, I'm still so far away from achieving it that to change would be to quit.  This purpose has now become one of my beliefs.

 

To use some of the descriptions mentioned in part 1, this belief is a foundation, a path, and fuel for my life.  As long as I maintain this belief, I'll think the right thoughts and take the right actions.  What happens when I start doubting this belief?  This is exactly what happened to me and was the cause of my dry spell.

 

No need to share the gory details, but I had a setback with my 10:10 Wellness mission.  One of my strategies to accomplish the mission wasn't working.  Being the positive thinker I am, I ignored that reality and pressed on with my original strategy.  And I continued to fail.  An objective outside source would've been able to observe my strategy and results and conclude that a new strategy was in order.  He or she wouldn't advise me to abort the mission.  They'd analyze what wasn't working, and they'd devise a new plan.

 

Reminds me of an old and valuable lesson that I've chosen to accept.  We don't produce success or failure, we produce results.  Our minds then attach the label.  Tony Robbins taught me that a long time ago.  Too bad he wasn't around when I was floundering.

 

My little brain took the leap that the ineffectiveness of one of my 10:10 strategies was failure.  Because I have lots of other responsibilities and commitments besides 10:10 Wellness, no one would've noticed that the flame of one of my passions was nearly snuffed.  I was still working and still playing but something was missing.  The birds stopped asking me to take their picture.  The colors weren't as brilliant in the morning sky. 

 

If you had asked how I was doing, I'd tell you "I'm good".  And I was.  Fine that is.   Funny, one of the songs I chose to use in my 10:10 Wellness opportunity video is "More Than Fine" by  Switchfoot.  "More than fine, more than bent on getting by.  More than fine, more than just ok.  When I'm wet with the sunshine - I want more than just a good time..."

 

The good news is that I finally "snapped out of it" and realized I had a case of stinkin' thinkin'.  I'll tell you how that happened next time.  Thanks for checkin' in.

Anatomy of a dry spell

This one's a little different - even for me.  I mostly write/blog about some of the fun stuff I or we have done, and I share some lesson that the experience taught us.  That's a good blueprint.  And you'd think that as long as we're doing fun stuff, the lessons would continue to flow. 

 

You probably didn't notice, but I haven't created any "creative" content since May 19 when I wrote about the exercise dilemma that one of my friends is facing.  I definitely had a dry spell.  The juices weren't flowing, and after a couple of weeks of this I realized something was wrong.  Ordinarily, I can't help but write.  Writing topics pop fast and furious into my exercise stimulated brain.  Thankfully for you most of these ideas are discarded, or you'd really think I'm a nut case.

 

The good news for me and for those of you who are kind enough to tune into my thoughts on occasion is that the dry spell ended - the idea factory started production again.  So abrupt was this return of mental output that it caused me to notice.  And wonder.  What happened?

 

I don't want this to read like me examining my belly button; but I do want it to read like the blueprint I mentioned.  A little post-mortem mental autopsy revealed a definite "cause of death".  Hopefully these reflections will be of use for those of you who've had a case of the "blahs" or worse.

 

I've accepted something about myself that may seem curious to many.  I'm a high achiever.  Before you race to the delete button because you don't want to listen to the kook brag about himself, please let me unpack that - especially because I believe we're all high achievers in one thing or another.  What I've come to learn about myself after years of contemplation is that I'm happiest and most fulfilled when I'm doing something.  And to be more specific, I'm happiest when I'm accomplishing something.

 

As you would expect, the accomplishment thing isn't random.  Pulling weeds from my yard, while necessary and productive, doesn't produce a feeling of fulfillment.  On the contrary, I often grovel at these kinds of chores, and I experience anxiety when doing them because they pull me away from what I feel called to do.  But when my actions and accomplishments are aligned with what I feel is my purpose, I'm energized.  Check that, I'm freakin' coming outta my skin on fire when that happens! 

 

Conversely, if my actions aren't consistent with or contributing to my purpose, then I feel like a slug.  No news here.  So back to my dry spell.  I wasn't creatively writing.  You could say I wasn't taking any action.  Well, what precedes action?  Thinking.  I wasn't thinking about or noticing those instructive experiences that often make for decent reading.  If I continue on this progression, peeling the layers of the onion so to speak, the next question to ask myself is "why wasn't I thinking or noticing those experiences?"

 

It's not like the world stopped.  The roseate spoonbills (I like to call them pink birds) were still doing their bird best in the park.  God was still artfully creating spectacular sunrises and sunsets for me to experience.  The mommy and daddy cardinals were truly showing off in my backyard (ok, I did notice these guys, but I'll save that for another time).  Life, in all its splendor, was blooming all around me, but I didn't much care.

 

After thinking about my thinking, I was able follow this textbook progression to the next milestone.  Besides what we may experience and notice in our environment, what is it that feeds our thinking?  Good or bad, right or wrong?  Give up?

 

It's our beliefs.  It hit me like a ton-o-bricks.  I've read and listened to many great thinkers and writers who've taught me the value of our beliefs.  And value is too light of a word to describe the power our beliefs have on us, or me anyway.  There're a lot of words that have been used to describe the effect of our beliefs.  Anchor, prison, distraction, barrier, curse, wall, ceiling, locked door, mountain, cliff, chasm.  Those are some of the "bad" descriptions - the limiting beliefs.

 

How 'bout the "good" words?  I can say that some of my beliefs are like power, fuel, fire, jet engines, and turbo chargers.  My beliefs can be a rock, foundation, fortress, or refuge.  When planning, my beliefs can be a map, compass, milestone, marker, or path.  In matters of execution my beliefs can be a tool, sword, doorway, or support.

 

The point is if you truly believe something your actions will reflect that.  Good or bad.  If you were absolutely convinced that the world would become flooded wouldn't you start building an arc like Noah?  And if you were so completely convinced and believing, wouldn't you be able to ignore or deflect the criticism of others?  I know I do.  The hot brunette refers to this predisposition of mine as "Chris's World" where my thoughts and actions sometimes seem to disconnect with reality.  It's a happy place for me really.

 

Earl Nightingale, the father of the spoken word record used to say "what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve".  In the gospel of Matthew Jesus told his disciples "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer".  I'm sure all the religions of this world note the power of belief.

 

So back to my writing dry spell.  Was there something about my beliefs that caused it?  You're darned tootin' there was.

 

And oh my gosh look at the time.  You and I need to get back to work, play, or sleep.  Check back next week if you want to hear how I solved my case of writer's cramp.