Recover: Feb. 2013

So you've got a goal....now remove the barriers to success

If you read last week's message you know that I was talking through the "inertia point" some, which can show up as the lack of motivation to get started, the difficulty getting any traction toward your achievement or even the difficulty taking the next steps required to get through a plateau despite progress already made. I made the distinction between having a goal and having a specific plan to get there using my own goal of running my first (50 mile) ultramarathon in May of this year, but the relative "fuzziness" of my plan so far and the difficulty in finding time over the last few weeks with the promise of using my own goal as a case-example.....and so we pick up the story there:

My first step was to take a look at some example training plans to see where I'm at in relationship to the goal and the timeline.......not great news here....I'm a bit behind.  One training plan suggested I should be at a point where I'm running 35-45 miles per week by now.....well.....my +/-15 seems a bit low doesn't it? This is a common thing isn't it?  We get a little reality check from an outside source which throws us for a bit of a loop?  No matter what your specific goal is, the key here is to NOT stress over it.....but to use it as a reference point so we can reexamine our goal and come up with a realistic way to get there.

Although I don't always recommend this approach, I personally like to find a reference point that is more of an "ideal scenario" than a minimum standard......therefore I tend to take on something that pushes me outside my comfort zone perhaps a bit more than I'm ready for.  This allows me to think through exactly what my current barriers are and not beat myself up too badly if I don't achieve the "ideal", knowing that if I even get close I'll more than meet the minimum standard (in my case finishing the race).  

So what is your ideal reference point?  What does the very best "training plan" for you look like?  A common theme on replies to last week's email was getting stuck before reaching a weight loss goal......in this case the question becomes: What is the "training plan" for even greater weight loss?  Is it a higher fiber diet rich in fruits and veggies?  Is it weighing yourself once weekly?  Is it getting more sleep at night to achieve greater hormone balance?  Is it weaning yourself off of processed foods and added sugars?  Maybe it's time to up the ante on the exercise? Etc, etc.  The key however is understanding that there are almost countless variations on how to get to a goal......having a list of what will get us closer and what current barriers exist can help us come up with creative solutions and the "right" plan.

For me, the barriers are similar to many - time and energy.  It's hard on a cold winter day to come home and tell myself it's time to go back out and run in the cold......there are days when I just don't have the energy for it.  On the other side of the equation, with a more-than-full-time job, three very active kids and a wife who has her own long list of goals that require time and effort, there is never a spare moment, making the apparent lack-of-time feel like a very real and daunting barrier.

So how do we overcome?  There are many approaches, however for me, I usually do well when I shoot for consistency over intensity.  What I mean by that is emphasizing to myself that it's NOT all or none.....that the key is to look at my current routine, find ways to insert my new "habit" (in this case logging more miles) and make sure I can replicate it over and over and over again until it is a solid part of my routine.  Once this is done, I blab it to anyone will listen (which forces me to commit since I'm a "my word is my bond" kind of person....thanks for listening BTW) and I ask for help.....I usually talk through my latest craziness (in this case running 2x as far as I ever have) with my wife and spend a little time coming up with a very specific way to make it all fit.   The last step of barrier-proofing is when I gut-check it a little by asking is this what I "really" want? It might sound like a way of giving myself an out, but what it really does is let me go all the way in.  I ask is this really worth it to me?  Am I willing to give up TV?  Am I willing to give up leisure time on the weekends (whatever is left of that)?  How about evenings?  Willing to run in the dark with a headlamp?  Willing to reintroduce myself to my good friend treadmill?  Is it really worth it?  If these questions come up yes, I know I'm ready......however just to be sure, I create an environment where I can't fail.......more on that next week.

Mike E.

ENDURE: Feb 1, 2013

If yours has been anything like ours so far, 2013 is shaping up to be a wild ride. Nothing new in that statement I suppose, when wasn't life a wild ride? After a few connections I've made and contacts I've had in these first 25 days of 2013, I've found myself thinking about it more and more lately.

The Ups: Last weekend I had the chance to help out our Fuel Good Cafe' team with a private party & catering event at our BaseCamp31 facility. That part of our team has recently recruited a guy who has had a strong influence on my life.....my maternal grandfather who would need an extra set of hands this night. Carl (or "pop" as we know him) has a long history in the food business and, since he's recently back in the area, the Fuel Good team decided to pull him in, listen, learn and adapt everything they could in order to fit Pop's wisdom into their mission of changing lives through healthier eating experiences. So there I was standing shoulder to shoulder with my 89 year old grandfather watching him light-up as he reminisced about years-ago and some of the amazing experiences he had "back then". You could see the frustration come over him as his body (again, at 89) wasn't able to give him what he wanted and he (reluctantly) asked me to take something out of the oven or bring this pan from here to there (wisely, moving and carrying stuff is about the only thing I'm allowed to do in the Cafe) but the frustration didn't last. He smiled and laughed most of the night, obviously enjoying the familiar bustle of the kitchen.

The Downs: On the other side of the spectrum, this week I walked into a meeting where I would be talking about health and prevention only five minutes after an announcement would be made about a colleague who's life had been cut tragically short and had left a young family due to an unfortunate health event. And even though literally 10 minutes prior a guy who I've known for years and has been working hard to get a handle on his health shared with me that his positive steps were paying off (to the tune of a 50+lbs weight loss), there I stood in front of a room of a few hundred holding back some strong emotions about a tragedy. Knowing that most health-events like the one that took their coworker are preventable was helpful, but it was not enough. It couldn't change the grief in the room.......we hadn't reached this particular guy soon enough.....and by our standards, that's simply not good enough. His event guaranteed that his grandkids would never stand shoulder to shoulder with him and experience the kind of joy and happiness that I had just a few days prior.

If you've been reading along..... you know that at Pro-Activity we believe that "doing extraordinary things" (achievements) can change our lives........and when enough lives change for the better, by definition, our world also changes for the better. We know this seems mushy and soft to many people.......but, despite the downs and drops we are lucky enough to see it every single day and know it to be true.

If you've been reading along......you know that at Pro-Activity we set-out to guide people toward the extraordinary things on their life's journey by employing five simple ELEMENTS: MOVE, FUEL, RECOVER, ENDURE, CONNECT........ elements that, although in our own words, capture the overwhelming conclusions of a growing body of research on human achievement, performance, longevity, happiness and quality of life.

And, If you've been reading along (we hope) you know that at Pro-Activity we are here to help you in anyway we can, whenever you are ready. Very soon, you will see the next evolution on our (currently under construction) elements site where we strive to bring together the research and stories that can help you to live the fullest life possible.

Until then, our message couldn't be more straight forward: This year will likely be a lot like every year, it's going to be a wild ride filled with the "ups" that come with incredible achievements, and the downs that sometimes feel like the bottom dropping out. The ups won't last forever, and thankfully neither will the downs. And although falling down and staying down look and sound a lot alike, we ALL know they couldn't be more different. Despite the difficulties and challenges, ANYONE can do something extraordinary.......and we're here to support you when you're ready.

Now go do something extraordinary,

Mike Eisenhart, PT