Prioritizing and Finding Life Anew in 2015 - Part Two

As the cold temperatures continue to infect the local climate, there are many hesitations that arise when it comes to training. However,  if there are good, well-thought-out, and concrete reasons for undertaking the training in the first place then the hesitation is lessened and time, temperature, laziness, and all other inhibitors will not keep you from your scheduled sessions. I told myself that until the right job comes along I am going to treat my training like it is my job. When the weather is cold you still get up and go to work. When the call time is before sunrise you still get up and go to work. When your body is sore from hauling cable all around Baltimore because some flake director tried to save money by not storyboarding each scene and therefore comes to work without a solidified shot list and has electricians running cable and lights up the block, back down the block, then back up the block again, for 16 hours, you still have to get up and go to work the next day and do it all over again. That is how I am looking at paddling. Right now, I am scheduling my days to try and become the absolute best paddler I can be, while keeping in mind that I want to be a better Christian, husband, son, and dog owner first.

Earlier in the year I read an article on Distressed Mullet that was written by Mark Colino. This article put things in a very clear perspective for me. Mark Colino's Know Your Why spoke volumes to me. I even re-wrote the article in a way that made each decision to get up and face the day much easier. Each paddle session that I had scheduled has been met. Getting up at 4:05 am to hit the pool by 5:30am wasn't an issue when I realized why I was getting up to do so. Of all the motivational articles, books, quotes, and philosophies I have read, Mark's article had the most profound affect on me. Wanting to discover my why also made me really focus on a thorough self-evaluation that I had been dreading and putting off for so long!

While a lot of my close mates give me guff for my oh-so-demanding job as a househusband, this same philosophy can apply to those who do have much more to deal with like full-time jobs, kids, school, extended-family demands, community obligations, and a combination of all or some of these things as well as any others I may have missed. If you thoroughly think through your approach to whatever it is you are pursuing and set your goals accordingly, you will be able to get up a little bit earlier or stay up a little later in order to achieve the ALL the demands you put upon yourself. The more you have to do the more you can get done. You just have to decide how much you want to pursue the endeavors you undertake. I miss a busy and hectic schedule…at times...

I'll never forget the opportunity I had to produce and direct Keller Williams' (the musician not the real estate company) first music video for his song "Play This." That endeavor demanded all of my time and energy. Leading up to the two days of shooting I slept maybe four hours a day and spent the other 20 trying to keep all the various moving parts in order and on time. That was an insane few weeks. What I noticed most was that my time management skills greatly improved and my sleep was quality sleep. I went to bed thoroughly exhausted and woke up ready to face the demands of the day. With so much to do I had to prioritize and find the most efficient way to complete tasks or I would have stressed out everyone else involved in the project. A full schedule made getting things done much easier. The demands of house-husbandry are a little bit less demanding and the budget is much friendlier, thanks to my amazing wife! With fewer demands, my time management skills are a little bit lacking. Many times I had trouble getting the few things done that my wife asked of me because I had so much time to do them. One of my goals in 2015 (besides getting a job) is to make the most of my time whether that be training, cleaning, cooking, or finally finishing that Great American Mystery Novel. I am jealous of you all getting those big paychecks and having much of your day already planned out for you!!

My point is: even though you are stretched thin with all the demands life places on us, you can do what you say you are going to do when you know why you want to do it. I finally understood this philosophy and evidenced it when I actually followed Mark's instructions and wrote down my goals and kept working on them until I narrowed them down from being the best paddler I can be to diving in deeper into my dreams as well as the desires of my heart and soul in order to be more specific as to what I wanted out of life in the months, days, hours, and seconds ahead of me in 2015. The goals of the present are to ready me for the longer-term goals of my future. I just had to get them down on paper and go from a broad narrative to being much more specific.

Keeping a journal is helping. This journal is focused on my training and how I feel from my efforts. My plan is to analyze each week and evaluate the way I feel both physically and mentally. I want to do as well as possible training in order to do well racing in 2015. I want discover what my body is capable of not only for the now but for the future because I would like to return to teaching and coaching. As I examine my own training regimens and go back over all that I have done in the previous week I can assess what might work and what might not. I want to take the knowledge I am gaining and put it to use helping others reach their goals in life, education, and athletics.

A few blogs ago I talked about writing down training goals in pencil in case a plan was missed or had to be altered. I don't feel that way anymore. I write my plan down in pen then write what I did in pen to see how it went. I am holding myself more accountable in 2015. Hold yourself accountable to the goals you set for 2015! As we get older it gets to easy to alter a plan to something less demanding or skip a session altogether. That is okay if you don't really know why you are doing something whether it is paddling, triathlons, snowboarding, or other athletic pursuits. You don't have to know why to go out and have a good time when participating in any hobby of your choosing but...if you want to do more than just go through the motions you have to set goals and make sure that they take you outside your comfort zone. If you want to achieve your goals bad enough you will accomplish what you set out to do not matter what it demands of you…because you know exactly why you are doing it. Any time I feel like skipping a session I think back to Mark's article and it helps me pile on the neoprene and get out on the water no matter what the weather report is or what the weather is doing when I walk outside my door.

Becoming part of the Hammer Nutrition team for 2015 has only helped me reach my daily goals and have the energy to fulfill the other duties that life requires. I believe in supplements to help keep the body in tune and able. I love a little melon Heed, strawberry Recoverite, Race Caps Supreme, Tissue Rejuvenator, and the peanut butter-chocolate gels to get me through workouts of multiple hours and multiple disciplines. I cannot believe the energy level I have been able to maintain while trying to get back into fighting shape! Scripture, prayer, a supportive wife, Hammer supplements, and knowing why I am doing all this helps me stay focused and energized no matter what may unfold throughout the journey.

Good luck on your own journey!