I’ve been missing my camera lately. Haven’t been able to take a lot of time to get out and shoot lately.
Last weekend, I went to the Arnold Sports Festival just as I do every year. Needless to say, there are plenty of opportunities to shoot interesting things there. Those photos will be up when I get the time to do all the editing. This isn’t the kind of thing I want to talk about in this post though. This one is about learning to recognize the less obvious opportunites.
Filed under Lifestyle, Philosophy, Photography, Planning and Productivity
At no other time in the history of the world has there been the access to information that we have right now. Whatever your interests, there is a huge body of knowledge that can teach you almost everything you want to know. Unfortunately, that backfires on people from time to time, usually in one of two ways. Continue reading
Filed under Lifestyle, Philosophy, Planning and Productivity
It seems like it’s almost required to have a post around Thanksgiving, talking about what you’re thankful for. In fact, it’s popular for people on Facebook to post something every day of November with something different they’re thankful for. The idea is a good one, I have no doubt about that. It seems to me that the problem is the rest of the year getting forgotten.
Now, everyone talking about something they’re thankful for every day of the year would get really annoying. At the same time, I’m not sure that people really take the time to think about that from December through October. If you get some benefit out of doing this during November, might you also get some benefit out of continuing for the rest of the year? Continue reading
Filed under Lifestyle, Philosophy
So I’ve done a few posts about how I figure out what I want to do, the goals I have for myself. How do I make sure I’m making the right kind of progress? After all, what’s the point of doing something if you’re not moving closer to your destination or, worse yet, moving the wrong direction? Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Planning and Productivity
I’m a pretty motivated person. I’ll admit that hasn’t always been the case but I learned to push myself and go for something big. It makes me a little sad sometimes to see people not really reaching for something great, just what they think they can do. There’s a group on Fitocracy called “Fitness Bucket List” where people put up lists of the things they want to do, their Holy Grails of fitness.
Now, I don’t want it to seem like I’m disrespecting anyone, I respect the hell out of anyone who’s making an effort to better themselves; we are the elite. What I’m seeing is a lot of people who just want to do things like “one pullup”. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. There are a whole lot of people who can’t do any.
To me, that just doesn’t seem like a bucket list type item.
Working toward that first one is a great milestone, but why stop there? Why not make the goal something like 3 sets of 10? Once you hit that first one, you know you’re on the way and it’s time to push through.
One of the things I want to do is 10 pistol (one-legged) squats per side. I can’t even do one right now, but that isn’t going to stop me from shooting for 10. It’s a high bar and a lofty goal but that’s exactly why it’s there. I’m setting my bar where it’s reachable but is still a big challenge.
I want to visit all 50 states and every NHL arena; people do things like that all the time, but it’s not going to be quick or easy. I’ve set that bar high enough to give me something big to reach for.
There’s no shame in anything you want to accomplish if it’s for bettering yourself. Just don’t be afraid of setting your bar higher. Without a doubt, you’re capable of way more than you give yourself credit for.
Filed under Philosophy, Planning and Productivity
Ron Swanson is one of the greatest philosophers of the modern age. I find myself offering this advice to people with increasing frequency.
Filed under Lifestyle, Philosophy
The first step, that is. Sometimes, it’s not only difficult, it’s also scary as hell. A lot of the time, references are made to Lao Tzu, who said “a journey of 1000 miles must begin with a single step”. There are other variations, depending on the translations, but you get the idea. Before you can get anywhere, you have to start going. Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Planning and Productivity
Filed under Lifestyle, Philosophy
You wake up one day and realize that you’re not satisfied with where you are. Ten years ago, you had dreams and knew where you wanted to be. Now you’re faced with the realization that you’re not there.
You’re not alone here; it happens to everyone. I know it happened to me a couple years ago. I’d hit a really low spot and knew that something had to change. I knew that I wanted something better and that I was determined to never get anywhere near that again. It’s easy to say you’re going to change things.
It’s way harder to actually do it.
Filed under Philosophy, Planning and Productivity
“There is no failure, only feedback.”
This is one of the presuppositions of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and it’s become a favorite of mine since I first heard it. While the overall claims behind the practice are sometimes a little far fetched, there are a great number of great pieces of common sense wisdom. My experience has showed me that this is one of the most important.
Filed under Philosophy, Planning and Productivity
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