Checkup From the Neck Up

Checkup From the Neck Up

The title of this piece is a phrase that I have heard frequently when listening to the work of Zig Ziglar.  If we want to improve our mindset there are few better resources than Mr. Ziglar’s works, and now his son carries on much of the legacy with a podcast based around these works as well.

For most of us getting caught in the riptides of life is a recurring problem.  But why?  Perhaps we are slow learners, or maybe hard-headed, or any number of other reasons.  The keys to getting out of this cycle are to recognize we are in it, address the core issues, and then proceed to implement strategies for change at these basic levels.  This is followed by ongoing evaluation and adjustment.

If only it were that easy.  We have a seemingly innate aversion to self-evaluation and that word, change.  As I have stated before often the biggest changes in our lives come from a series of small changes.

Last week for example in my article titled “Shifting Gears” I indicated that we are more likely to succeed when we don’t attempt to change everything at once, but rather master small changes sequentially, layering them one upon another.  As a part of that I told you I was going to work on my fitness by increasing the number of active minutes per day in my life.

In order to achieve this I made one change that allowed me to increase my activity first thing in the morning, rolling back my alarm clock (Ziglar “opportunity clock)”.  Prior to this past week I typically set my workday alarm at 5:00 a.m.  On Monday I rolled it back to 4:55 and then on Tuesday to 4:50.  This gave me additional time to spend on either my morning walk (weather permitting) or on the exercise bike without disrupting the household flow with my wife and daughter.  The goal I had set in my S-Health app on my phone was 100 active minutes per day, which had been set at 90 minutes per day previously.  Here is a rundown of a few key stats from that experiment:

Past Week Previous Week

Active Mins. Active Mins.

Sunday 90 59

Monday 88 74

Tuesday 100 79

Wednesday 94 73

Thursday 92 74

Friday 71 67

Saturday 113 105

Time Slept Time Slept

Sunday 7:05 7:10

Monday 6:55 6:50

Tuesday 6:30 6:50

Wednesday 6:20 6:45

Thursday 6:20 6:45

Friday 7:40 8:15

Saturday 6:40 7:05

Daily Steps Daily Steps

Sunday 9125 5747

Monday 8876 7146

Tuesday 10,707 7616

Wednesday 9710 7109

Thursday 9110 7224

Friday 6811 6555

Saturday 10,736 10,298

Sunday Morning Weight

January 29 210 pounds  (Obese)

January 22 213 pounds  (Obese)

As you can clearly see I made progress!  The one area that suffered was my sleep time which was on less 6 of the 7 days.  However, the activity levels were up significantly.  I can report that I also had more energy throughout the day on those workdays where this experiment is primarily aimed.  Along with the increased energy levels was a more positive attitude and higher productivity.  The only blip on the radar that looks a little funky is Friday, and that one has to do with sleeping very poorly Thursday night and opting not to exercise that morning though I did still manage to exceed the previous week’s activity levels even without the planned exercise time.  I am going to call it an initial success, now onward and upward to week two and solidifying this as routine.

It is my hope that this recounting of my week did not bore you or turn you off, but rather intrigued you and helped you see what a small change can mean.  No it is not a lifestyle, yet, but I am back headed in a positive direction for my health, and that is most definitely a good thing.  I have work to do, and can make an educated guess that you probably do too.  Let’s take action together for a better level of fitness, so that we can better serve God, our families, our communities and be better students, employees, and friends.

This week move that clock back 5 minutes and use that time to better yourself either in exercise, faith building, or knowledge growth.  You will be better for it, and once you get over the initial mental block you will be glad you did.  Make today GREAT!!! Then improve each day.  This is how I got a “checkup from the neck up” this week, and you can too.

#5minutesclosertosuccess