Wow I really outdid myself the last couple of weeks with daily workouts of Power & Hot Yoga, Weights, Runs, Walks, Dancing, and various Group Exercises. I’m stronger, faster, and tougher, but also more hungry, tired, and exhausted.
After a Hot Yoga on Wednesday and 3 hours of Salsa that night, I managed 5 hours of sleep. Damn adrenaline induced insomnia! The next day, after a workout, I decided that a couple of group exercise classes prior to dinner would be challenging. After the first class, 24 Hr Set, I was exhausted. Should have left then. But decided what the heck, and stayed for the Yoga class. By then my arms and legs were literally shaking, and my back ached. Poses that normally would have been a piece of cake became a Herculean feat. I literally collapsed a few times. But I got myself up, and kept going. When it was over, I was numb, but glad!
Lesson: Eating, Pacing & Resting are good before extreme exercise.
I am building some habits that will supercharge my life. They include daily:
- Exercise
- Read
- Write
- Reflect
- Wake Early
It’s not easy and takes discipline. But I think these foundations will help me to achieve my goals faster. To make sure that I don’t forget, initially I’m writing them down, and checking with each accomplishment. Once they become ingrained as habits, I will be able to do them routinely as I get up each morning.
Went on a short vacation early in the month with parents to Leavenworth, Wenachee, and Lake Chelan. Bought a lot of apples & went fishing. I caught my first fish after much effort and some good advice from a couple of old dudes who had decades of experience. Overall it was a relaxing trip.
It took a long time, but I’ve gradually learned to become better at controlling my emotions. Now this doesn’t mean being a robot and lacking a personality! Instead it’s about maturity & avoiding outbursts, which are usually stupid.
When hurt, we tend to thrash out instinctively. It’s wired into our gazillion of years of evolution for survival. But for the most part, we aren’t always in a life or death situation. So calm down, relax, and consider 4 steps when dealing with disturbing situations:
- Cool down: Walk away. Take deep inhales & exhales.
- Laugh it off.
- When calm, reflect how you can learn from this.
- Then take any action if still necessary.
These should help a person avoid a LOT of regrettable stuff, become wiser & happier.
It’s nice at this time of the year. The garden has improved dramatically in the past decade. It provides a nice walk and some relaxing sceneries.
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I’ve given long rides to people where I felt generous and just let everyone off the hook,not paying the gas money, often at huge expense to myself. But I’ve noticed a pattern perhaps it was a reluctance to ask for the money as if that’d be rude. And that’s really stupid. Because in all fairness it’s my money! So now, I just ask for it. And I’ve found that there really isn’t any difference in people’s reactions.
Often we do things that are easy, enjoyable, and expedient, instead of the challenging, difficult, and time consuming. It makes sense. But sometimes it causes us to procrastinate on the important things, and focus on the trivial. That’s why I’ve found exercise to really helps to build a strong mind & body. It helps to overcome the inertia, and helps me to be more action oriented. In contrast, I’ve found that when I slowed down, it’s often hard to regain momentum. So be more disciplined and do the things that are important and will have the greatest potential impacts to improve our lives.
Growing up, I’ve always a fondness for reading. They help me become more imaginative, wiser, intelligent. Never really liked the text book though. Instead my favorite are the ones that I’ve discovered on my own. These days I still read, but I’ve found that Audiobooks are a great way to catchup especially when you’re busy. It’s pretty easy getting them from a bookstore, or simply a library. Reading can be a lot of fun and informative. These days I read more non-fiction books that help me understand the world. But every now and then, I go back to a fiction piece of work and become absorbed in a good story.
Last night was the conclusion of the DNC’s nomination convention. Mr. Obama gave a pretty good speech in both content & delivery. Deflecting criticism of being ambiguous about what Change means in his campaign, he outlined some concrete goals such as
- Universal Health Care
- Withdrawal of troops from Iraq
- Energy Independence in 10 years
One particular surprising point is his the promise to trim government spending along. His voice alternated from deep & strong when talking about foreign policy to soft & gentle when talking about domestic lives of the American citizens. It definitely struck an emotional resonance with people. The recognition of patriotism in both candidates was a smart move to neutralize an implicit attack from McCain’s campaign. Overall he set the stage for a clean & honorable debate that is refreshing compare to the bare knuckle, hit below the belt style politics favored by George W. Bush for the past 8 years.
I look forward to hear more clarifications from him, and the response next week from John McCain.
Most people kind of bounce through life aimlessly like a pinball game. And before they know it, years if not decades passed with nothing really accomplished. To me, being successful is to do something every day that will take me closer to my goals. Each step is a springboard for the next. And slowly, but surely, I will arrive at my destination. I no longer try for shortcuts in life, but instead make sure that the direction that I want is clear, and move towards it. Each day could be my last, but I will move forward with confidence that things will turn out for the better, and methodically build the life that I desire.