Answering questions With everything

I was asked, why I started, where do I see myself in a year and what my plan was. All great questions. In order to fully understand all the answers to these questions a bit of information about me will be required. So bear with me and here goes.

I have always been in so so shape. Early 20s to late 20s I was big, lean, and built. A wonderful life happened, (18yo son, 12yo daughter) and my needs were no longer number one. From late 20s to late 30s (which is now) I have maintained I'd say about 50% of my former glory lol. Until about 3 months ago.

In my career it is EXTREMELY competitive. Probably the most competitive profession in civilized nations all the way from getting hired to promoting within the ranks. This year I decided that over the next 10 years I was going to up my game. I realized that I could not go to my grave with regrets of not having done enough in my life. See I'm not a guy who plays for participation ribbons. I play to win, period. It is just a matter of me making the decision and what obstacles are in my way that I need to take out. Some people may disagree with that type of attitude. I know I have certainly ran into many people that say "all you can do is your best". I disagree. I will do my best. If I fail, I will find out what is required, make my best better and do it 1000 times until I get where I need to go. Back to 3 months ago.

The promotional exams were announced by the department and there was one position available. I decided this year was time for me to advance my career. 31 people tested for 1 position. #1 was the only spot and failure was not an option. If I didn't promote, this exam wouldn't come back around for another 2-3 years. Being stuck in a lower rank that long can be devastating to your career path and even more so to your retirement. So for 3 months I dedicated my life to the promotional exam, all while building a home, moving, and studying. It was a complete onslaught of *kitten* everyday. I had no idea building a home, and financing after the new regulations was going to be such a pain. The last time I bought a home it was already built and 9 years ago. To shorten it up, I scored #1 and reached my goal. I also had an unintended consequence. I gained 15ish lbs lost a lot of strength, and felt in the dumps health wise from spending 12-16 hours a day 5 out of 7 days a week studying. I would do push ups and stuff but none of it was enough. I watched what I ate but still eventually sedentary lifestyle just over runs you. That is "why" I am doing it. It's time. It's my next accomplishment ahead of me, set by myself.

Where do I see myself in a year? So much goes into that. Seems simple enough but to me, everything is interconnected. For the purpose of here I will keep it to physical goals.

Goal 1 - 1/6/16

Weigh 170 lbs by losing the weight I have gained. This will be some muscle but mainly dead fat weight.
The date is the day I fly out for my brothers' (1 of 3 and the youngest) wedding. I'm not in it. It's small. It's just a date that is significant to me and I have found that having significant dates that matter for some reason or another seems to me more effective then "3 months" or something to that effect.

Goal 2 - 3/17/16 Saint Patrick's Day

Muscle up. This is a compound exercise that is a pull up continuing up over the bar and doing an arm extension to the point where your waist is at the pull up bar.

As I have grown older and wiser I have come to value compound exercise. I can do more work in less time and be productive doing more important stuff (school work for my degree, spending time raising my kids) for the rest of the day. It will become my new baseline. I will have roughly 10 weeks to build up strength and technique. Dead weight will be off so most of my body weight at that point will be functional making my goal easier to obtain. Once I do one, I will always be able to do them and when I get close to not being able to (everything in life is cyclical to a point) then I will realize I need to focus more on my physical ability.

Goal 3 - (date undetermined)

Prepare for a marathon that qualifies me for the Boston Marathon. I have ran a 1/2 marathon. I want to run a full marathon with some intent. My family is from Boston. Too early to determine exactly when the date is because qualifying for 2017 starts in 2016. Just a matter of which one I am going to choose based on when I will be ready.

That's where I see myself in a year. A guy who does mainly calisthenics, stretching, and cardio with an athletic ability that keeps me happy, healthy through my remaining years, be able to accomplish my goals and ambitions. I'm pretty sure that was a run on sentence. I think a lot of my sentences are run ons. Grammar has never been a strong point of mine.

My plan translates into how. While most might expect a physical fitness plan, in my opinion that is a distant second in importance to a mental plan. So I will rewrite something I wrote a few years ago that talks about dealing with....... "CHANGE"

I started a book (writing) a few years ago and wasn't quite sure if I had what it took at the time to be successful at it. I felt I lacked the natural writing ability. It seemed a bit forced at the time although the premise, analogies, and stories were good. My ability to organize it the way I wanted seemed well, so so I guess. I tabled the project to make my "best" at that time "better" and revisit the book. Here goes.

As a firefighter we train and perform duties daily on overcoming obstacles. You could say we are masters at it. It's really all we do. We train on a specific task of gaining access to a building called "Forceable Entry" which has 4 steps to breaking through tough doors. Really tough doors. I realized that these 4 steps to gaining access to a building are the exact same 4 steps we mentally go through to become our new selves. When we step up to a door we have two tools, an axe and a Haligen bar. If you don't know what they look like, no matter, it's the steps that are important.

The first step is to SHOCK the door. We basically take this perfect door and hammer it three times with everything we have to "loosen" the door. Once at the top, middle, and bottom of the door. We let it know we are are coming through. The feeling of the door when we hit it lets us know what's its made of (literally and figuratively), and how hard is it going to resist us. It does however weaken. The change required to meet your goals is a shock when we first start. Changing ourselves is like the door. It wants to resist. It wants to be stubborn but once you decide the new you is breaking through, it begins to weaken.

The second step is GAP. It is where we take the Haligen Bar and create that first small 1 inch hole through the door right where it latches. This is the hardest of the four steps by far. It takes your whole body, strength, and technique to get that gap created. Like the door we are the same. The first initial separation of who we see our selves as now and who we are becoming is the toughest. Its tough to build the habits required for change. Change is required to overcome obstacles that stand in the way of accomplishment. With everything we have we work for that first small gap that tells us we are beginning to win. It's the first light of who we are on the other side that begins to shine through.

The third step is SET. It gets easier here. We created that first gap of separation and now we exploit it by hammering our bar with the axe into that gap. It's repetitive and long but it really weakens that door. This is where we spend most of our time moving towards our goals. It requires patience, discipline, and consistency. Once we have set that bar where we want it, it's time for our work to pay off on the forth step.

The fourth step is FORCE. With the bar set where you want it, the time is right to slam the bar against the door busting it open to reveal what's on the other side. You have accomplished the goal. You have broken through your obstacle and now you reap the rewards. For us maybe its a cat, dog or in some cases a person really grateful you didn't give up.

I wrote this a few years ago. It's the way my brain works I guess. I teach something similar to my daughter but in a manner using real life attributes required in life and not the Shock, Gap, Set, Force analogy.

1. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is therefor not an act but a habit.
2. Dreams remain dreams without goals.
3. The road to achievement of your goals requires discipline and consistency.
4. In life this translates to good, hard working habits
5. Work twice as hard as everyone else and you will receive half of what they have, God will take care of the rest.
6. Doing do anything for a participation ribbon. Do it to do and be your, period.
7. NEMO•VER•EST•QUI•MUNDOM•
NON•REDDAT•MELIOREM
Latin for (as we would word it in English, not the literal translation)

"What is a man if he does not make the world a better place" (in her case woman)

So... That's how essentially. My brain and what spins in it to get me from point A to point B. There's more certainly. I can't say it's great but it's there.

Last thing as I know I have certainly worn out my welcome on this response. If you knew me, the only way you would know any of what you see here is if you read it. I don't talk about it (except in private with my family) with other people as I feel actions and WRITTEN words mean more when you are referring to something you believe, live by, or designed to live life to your full potential.

If you made it this far, thanks for staying with me. Hope you got something form it. I did because I wrote it down