Fading Fast?

Often our efforts to gain fitness or stay fit seem to take a detour.  Like the early morning moon in the photo they are fading fast.  What do we do to stem the tide when this occurs?

This is a difficult question that has many answers which could be right.  Based upon my experience here are a few suggestions.

First when you begin to notice the fade, give yourself a timeout.  Much like a basketball coach will take a timeout to stop theomentum of the opponent.  Give yourself a short respite from what you have been doing toward your fitness goal. 

This timeout is where you assess what is happening and the reasons for your fade.  Could it be a lack of support structures in your life, or a change of physical condition such as the onset of an illness, perhaps even boredom with the same old routine. More than likely there is a confluence of a few to several reasons that you are fading.

Once you have identified the apparent causes you must make some decisions on how to address them.  You may need to seek out a training partner to add accountability or support.  It could be time to check in with your physician and have some blood work done.  Creating a new exercise regimen or altering the course of your daily run/walk/bike may be just enough of a change to renew your enthusiasm.

A final thought in this area is don't be afraid to take a day off occasionally from your routines of life.  This shocks your body, mind, and spirit just a bit and can serve as a very necessary restart.  So in the words of legendary college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, "you better get a t-o (timeout) baby!"

If you will read the signs and take the right actions you can Do Well.  Be aware of your situation and don't allow the fade to overtake you on the road to success.

Challenge Time!

As I write today I believe that many of us like to be challenged.  These challenges come in many forms and often serve as a motivation to a specific end.  Today I want to give that impetus that some of us need to move forward, a good All-American challenge.

The Bible uses the number 7 over and over again, as in the Hebrew culture of the day it represented perfection.  If we look at the calendar we are 7 weeks until the Memorial day weekend, the unofficial start of summer.  So here is the challenge. Over the next 7 weeks:

1)  Record in some fashion the amount of water you are consuming daily.  Then work to increase that number by 50% by the end of the challenge.  If this week you find you are taking in approximately 80 ounces per day strive for 120 by the end of the challenge.

2)  Many of us are using various forms of pedometers and activity trackers to provide much needed, and immediate feedback, track your steps and shoot for a 30% increase from week one to week 7.

3)  Select one food item that is a near and dear go-to for you and abstain during the challenge.  For me this is going to be fried catfish.  (Thankfully I just fed this craving yesterday.)

4)  Set a 7 week, realistic goal, then weigh in today and record that number.  Each day weigh in and compare.  Yes there will be ups and downs, but if you will follow through on your regular exercise, not only your daily step counts, and increase hydration you should begin to see results.  Complete transparency, I weighed in this morning on my home scale at 209 with a 7 week goal of 202.  That would be one pound per week which is doable if I will remain focused.

5)  Season it all with prayer.  Pray that God will direct you to make better decisions for your life.  Pray that as a healthier servant you would better see the opportunities before you to honor Him in serving others.

Bonus challenge:  Read the book "The Traveler's Gift"  by Andy Andrews.  This is one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read, gently rocking our world's with great stories illustrating what the author Andy Andrews, calls the 7 Decisions for Success. 

I hope that several of you will take up the challenge and Do Well!

Future Vision

How would life differ if we no longer had our sight, the vision to see what is before us as we move across a room, read a book, or drive our cars?  I dare say it would be considerably more difficult. Vision also has a much broader application, that of seeing ourselves or others in a future state.  It is my belief that many of us have a much more clouded vision when we take it in this direction.  Why do we have difficulty seeing through the clouds of the future?

I would assert that there are likely many reasons for this, but primarily it stems from a narrow perspective.  As we age our field of vision narrows and this accelerates at certain points or as a result of an acquired condition.  The same holds true for our broader vision.  Rather than looking forward broadly seeing the possibilities and the potential for a very rewarding future we get bogged down with the acquired conditions of our past history.  Yes, these form who we are, and much of this history can be a positive to build upon, but when we continue to look too intently behind us at the the problems of our past, our future vision becomes diminished.

To build a more positive vision of your future it is important to recognize those historical markers that are holding us back, and then cut loose the ropes that anchor us to that portion of our past.  When we enter a relationship with God this is, in a sense, what we are doing.  We give our sins (anchors) over to Him, and look forward to His guidance and the hope of a brighter future with Him.  This principle can also be applied to our faith, family, fitness, finance and more as we recognize the things that hold us back, and begin looking forward to the transformed person that we hope to be.

 From this vision we can then build a plan to achieve this new vision of ourselves; healthier, happier, more at peace.  To do so we must recognize that the future vision we establish is not an overnight change but a destination at the other end of a journey.  Mariners set out of port with a destination in mind and as they cross the oceans they often will not set a direct course knowing the challenges that may affect their journey.  Rather they will take the best course which may be a bit more conservative or appear to be somewhat more circuitous, and then as they make their passage there will be numerous course corrections to account for obstacles, currents and changing weather conditions.

We can learn from this too.  Chart your course, understand that it may not be direct, and it may not be the fastest.  Set sail toward an empowered and improved you today, and Do Well to take the journey and course correct frequently as the winds of resistance blow against you.  You can take charge, you can reach for your vision.  Push away from the dock today and pursue your future vision of yourself, always in Christ. 

Commitment to Improve

Early in my adult life I worked as a retail store manager for Hastings Entertainment stores.  I recall that when we would have to write someone up for policy violations we used a form called "Commitment to Improve" (CTI).  Though the form name was meant portray a positive tone, it was never taken as such by those who were being written up.

As we begin the adventure that is a new year I want to challenge each of you to join me in making a commitment to Improve in some area or areas of your life. 

I have written a considerable bit about goal-setting in the past couple of months and want to make one more appeal to you in this regard.  Though plans often go astray they do provide us with a road map and a definition of success.  If we, as Christians, let others or the world at large define success we will be hopelessly spinning our wheels and likely have wedges inserted between us and God, that become far more difficult to remove over time.

Define your success, move forward toward it, and Do Well in 2016.

How to Do Well

Last week we looked at establishing goals for the coming year.  This not necessarily an easy process but it is necessary to success.  I hope that you have considered a few goals, or at least begun rolling a few ideas around in your head.

Once you put them on paper, or onto an electronic planner you are not finished.  There is a next step that many people will skip which the most successful will not, and that is to develop a strategy of how they will achieve those goals.  This again will take some time, and to be optimal may force us to confront changes in our daily actions and thought processes.  This is why most New Year Resolutions don't last through the end of the first month as we fail to confront these changes and develop these strategies.

You and I can make 2016 highly successful for ourselves if we will commit now to Do Well.  This involves the types of preparation we have discussed the past couple of weeks, along with a plan for tracking of our progress and course correction when we deviate.  It is my hope that you each have gained something from this discussion and are better prepared remembering that"With God we will. . . Do Well!"