You have just stumbled upon the first of many weekly blogposts that I shall be putting out starting today, and it so happens that this first sentence marks numero uno de mis resoluciones (number one of my resolutions) for the New Era. Additionally, it so happens that the theme of this first posting is all about New Year, the annual pressing of the "reset button" and making promises that we swear we won't break, while tons of advice about how to keep at it pours down on us - the proverbial giant crowd of feet all kicking the dead horse of "try and try again."
"And you can break yourself free from your hereditary patterns, cultural codes, social beliefs; and prove once and for all that the power within you is greater than the power that's in the world" - Michael Beckwith
When I found this quote, I knew I had to throw it in here. These powerful words summarize the necessary action that must take place - the action of self-liberation - in order to move forward and take to completion any goal of importance that we set for ourselves.
Don't get me wrong - I love to inundate myself with motivational quotes, positive thoughts and tidbits of advice that are all supposed to point me in the direction that I feel resonates with my objectives. However, the truth of the matter is that it's all useless without the freedom to do what I need to do and make it happen. I'm not talking about the illusion of freedom that we have - the simple fact that we are free to choose or decide as we like. I'm talking about true freedom - freedom from any and all things within ourselves, no matter how deep-seated, that hold us back or interfere with our ability to see things to completion.
I know a lot about this particular topic because I have many, many times over and again started a project only to later abandon it for any one of 9,746,378 times infinity excuses that I am able to pick from the bottomless hat of alibis (sound familiar?). Granted that there are times in your life where Life itself takes a big poop on you and you become side-railed for (seemingly) valid reasons, most of the time a good portion of us human beings become sidetracked for no real good reasons at all.
Honestly, I think that's actually fine. For a moment. In that instance that we find ourselves falling off the wagon, I truly believe it means that the following steps must be taken, and at the end of that process you will either come back to your task with a renewed sense of purpose or bring the task to a close right there (either way, you WILL see it through to some sort of completion):
Step 1) Take a step away from what you're doing.
Step 2) Reflect, review, regroup.
Step 3) Create a plan for moving forward.
Anything worth doing will take some work and put you through a process of learning and growth. It won't all be candy and unicorns, but if your passions lie in the doing, keeping in touch with the passions at your center will certainly help keep your momentum rolling. However, every once in awhile we do meet with failure, and there is no need to hate life and ourselves when failure comes. Bring yourself to closure on the failure; perhaps this failure is bringing you to a new task that you would never have found had it not been for you coming to that failure. Reflect upon your learnings and come to peace with everything that has happened, then move forward in the direction your summaries lead you.
Sounds simple enough, right?
Many times, I've come up short on the completion of projects not for lack of conscious desire or trying, but because I've failed to take the time needed in going through the step-by-step process (or I find myself stuck in one part of the process and then abandoning it altogether in favor of trying to start fresh and clean). The problem with that is what ends up happening without proper review and movement through each step:
1) Not taking a step away from the situation or the task makes it difficult to think as objectively as possible about everything (including the things that might be self-created obstacles).
2) Not spending the time to reflect, review and/or regroup leaves one open to making the same mistakes or hitting the same roadblocks over and over again due to simple ignorance/lack of learning. Additionally, not spending the time to regroup may leave a person at risk for burning out emotionally/physically/mentally. Sometimes, being in the thick of things, we don't realize exactly how much rest can help in the formulation of resolutions and added resolve to see things through.
3) Even if we do go through each of the previous steps, moving forward without a plan is like pushing off a pier into the great ocean on a tiny boat with no guidance system - it looks like freedom, but you're running a big risk at getting swept away aimlessly by the movement of the tides (and running around aimlessly is just that... aimless... the exact opposite of driven and goal-oriented). Even if you have to come back to that plan and make adjustments later, at least a plan gives you somewhat of a map to guide you on your way.
For example: I made the conscious decision to pursue my passion in life for whole-person health & fitness (see my "about me" to understand what I mean by that) in April of 2012. I'd figured that my background knowledge and experience would be sufficient to help me study for my certification exams in enough time to get me certified within a couple months. As part of the process, I even started offering consultations to friends and family to get better at program design and gain experience as a trainer from a more official standpoint. Fast forward to December 31, 2012: I have still not taken any national certification exam. While I am working as a trainer in a great gym, being coached and mentored by awesome elite fitness pros and have been growing into the field as days go by, I have not quite met my goal of becoming certified in the time I'd initially given myself.
One might say that it's okay because it's going to happen eventually, or there may even be some debate about whether a national certification is even necessary with the right combination of experience and education (the whole, "a piece of paper is just a piece of paper" argument). However, if I'm completely honest with myself, I definitely dragged ass through the process. I never truly took a full step back to really reflect upon what I was doing or what my plan of action was until a couple months ago. I floundered around, studying what I could, training, but somewhat aimless.
Once I finally took a real step back to review everything that was going on and how my daily habits were affecting my goals, I was able to take real action and map out a general plan for completing the task (since it is truly my passion to help others become better as much as I want to make myself better). It was like magic. Once I mapped things out, doors opened and I find myself so much closer to completing the goal I had set for myself than I had been since I had made the decision to walk this path.
I share this with you all not only because it's New Year's Eve, but because this one small example (among many I could spew) is relevant to everything that we make resolutions to do in the New Year. While I personally took it upon myself to forgo the tradition of making New Year's Resolutions a few years ago, instead choosing to see every day of my life as a "New Year's Day," I wanted to share with you something to ponder on in the spirit of New Year's Eve.
In the beginning of my blogpost, I called this my "New Era." I called it that because in the publishing of this post and all future posts, I feel that a new level of accountability to myself and to every person who comes across this blog has begun. It doesn't end with New Year's Day 2014 (unless death meets me before then). It is the flag to mark land for all the resolutions I've made for the next chapter in this story of my life.
Evolve with me, if you please.
---
Special shouts today go to Michelle Wilmot, FitJerk, Paul Gabriel Mihalescu, Julie Godin, Jon Goodman, Nia Shanks, John Romaniello, Rog Law, Daniel Wallen, Powerhouse Gym (Redwood City, CA), the FitoFolks, and everyone else who's contributed to my continual development/growth (whether directly or through mere inspiration) to this day on this path.
Step 3) Create a plan for moving forward.
Anything worth doing will take some work and put you through a process of learning and growth. It won't all be candy and unicorns, but if your passions lie in the doing, keeping in touch with the passions at your center will certainly help keep your momentum rolling. However, every once in awhile we do meet with failure, and there is no need to hate life and ourselves when failure comes. Bring yourself to closure on the failure; perhaps this failure is bringing you to a new task that you would never have found had it not been for you coming to that failure. Reflect upon your learnings and come to peace with everything that has happened, then move forward in the direction your summaries lead you.
Sounds simple enough, right?
Many times, I've come up short on the completion of projects not for lack of conscious desire or trying, but because I've failed to take the time needed in going through the step-by-step process (or I find myself stuck in one part of the process and then abandoning it altogether in favor of trying to start fresh and clean). The problem with that is what ends up happening without proper review and movement through each step:
1) Not taking a step away from the situation or the task makes it difficult to think as objectively as possible about everything (including the things that might be self-created obstacles).
2) Not spending the time to reflect, review and/or regroup leaves one open to making the same mistakes or hitting the same roadblocks over and over again due to simple ignorance/lack of learning. Additionally, not spending the time to regroup may leave a person at risk for burning out emotionally/physically/mentally. Sometimes, being in the thick of things, we don't realize exactly how much rest can help in the formulation of resolutions and added resolve to see things through.
3) Even if we do go through each of the previous steps, moving forward without a plan is like pushing off a pier into the great ocean on a tiny boat with no guidance system - it looks like freedom, but you're running a big risk at getting swept away aimlessly by the movement of the tides (and running around aimlessly is just that... aimless... the exact opposite of driven and goal-oriented). Even if you have to come back to that plan and make adjustments later, at least a plan gives you somewhat of a map to guide you on your way.
For example: I made the conscious decision to pursue my passion in life for whole-person health & fitness (see my "about me" to understand what I mean by that) in April of 2012. I'd figured that my background knowledge and experience would be sufficient to help me study for my certification exams in enough time to get me certified within a couple months. As part of the process, I even started offering consultations to friends and family to get better at program design and gain experience as a trainer from a more official standpoint. Fast forward to December 31, 2012: I have still not taken any national certification exam. While I am working as a trainer in a great gym, being coached and mentored by awesome elite fitness pros and have been growing into the field as days go by, I have not quite met my goal of becoming certified in the time I'd initially given myself.
One might say that it's okay because it's going to happen eventually, or there may even be some debate about whether a national certification is even necessary with the right combination of experience and education (the whole, "a piece of paper is just a piece of paper" argument). However, if I'm completely honest with myself, I definitely dragged ass through the process. I never truly took a full step back to really reflect upon what I was doing or what my plan of action was until a couple months ago. I floundered around, studying what I could, training, but somewhat aimless.
Once I finally took a real step back to review everything that was going on and how my daily habits were affecting my goals, I was able to take real action and map out a general plan for completing the task (since it is truly my passion to help others become better as much as I want to make myself better). It was like magic. Once I mapped things out, doors opened and I find myself so much closer to completing the goal I had set for myself than I had been since I had made the decision to walk this path.
I share this with you all not only because it's New Year's Eve, but because this one small example (among many I could spew) is relevant to everything that we make resolutions to do in the New Year. While I personally took it upon myself to forgo the tradition of making New Year's Resolutions a few years ago, instead choosing to see every day of my life as a "New Year's Day," I wanted to share with you something to ponder on in the spirit of New Year's Eve.
In the beginning of my blogpost, I called this my "New Era." I called it that because in the publishing of this post and all future posts, I feel that a new level of accountability to myself and to every person who comes across this blog has begun. It doesn't end with New Year's Day 2014 (unless death meets me before then). It is the flag to mark land for all the resolutions I've made for the next chapter in this story of my life.
Evolve with me, if you please.
---
Special shouts today go to Michelle Wilmot, FitJerk, Paul Gabriel Mihalescu, Julie Godin, Jon Goodman, Nia Shanks, John Romaniello, Rog Law, Daniel Wallen, Powerhouse Gym (Redwood City, CA), the FitoFolks, and everyone else who's contributed to my continual development/growth (whether directly or through mere inspiration) to this day on this path.
