Day 403 - Leadership 199 / Trait 7 of 14: Initiative

I sincerely hope all are brimming with enthusiasm after yesterdays post. My engine was stoked red hot from the moment I hit the 'publish-post' button until I hit the bed last night. In between I knocked out a great day at work and got in 4.1 miles of walking cardio.

Lets get another great day off the ground with another leadership trait. Links to those we've covered thus far...
Leadership 199 / Trait 6 of 14: Enthusiasm
Leadership 199 / Trait 5 of 14: Endurance
Leadership 199 / Trait 4 of 14: Decisiveness
Leadership 199 / Trait 3 of 14: Courage
Leadership 199 / Trait 2 of 14: Bearing
Leadership 199 / Trait 1 of 14: Dependability

Our seventh trait…

Leadership 199 / Trait 7 of 14: Initiative

Defined: Taking action in the absence of orders.

Discovered: The word that sticks out like a sore thumb in that definition is "orders". Seems a bit strong in reference to getting healthy, losing weight, as nobody is ever there truly ordering us to do what needs doing. Yet, we receive help, encouragement, validation from others for our intentions and efforts. Some of that input we seek, some comes uninvited.

The context we need to apply to the word "orders" here is this; orders are nothing more than our plan to get healthy. However we've decided to do it, e.g. weight watchers, px90, canned physician/nutritionist program, surgery, sacrificing the neighbors pet to the goddess of six-pack abs; whatever it is our plan is the orders we've chosen to follow.

While "orders" sticks out like a sore thumb, it is the word "absence" that we need to notice.

We have our plan, we have all of that input from others, we have opportunity and the means to seize it all around us. The only thing that is absent now, is our taking action. We will only seize that which we want if WE take action...
if WE take those inputs from others we depend on and take action to filter them for what will help/work for us...
if WE believe in our plan so much that we enthusiastically put it into action...
if WE respect fear, embrace courage, and dare to take action to achieve victory...
if WE take "action"; while "orders" sticks out like a sore thumb, and "absence" needs to be noticed, "action" needs to be our result.

At the start, middle, and beginning of each day, it is up to US to take action, or choose inaction. No matter how loud our plan, our inputs, our opportunities, NO MATTER how loud they scream at us to get up and take action; it is YOU/I that must take the initiative to take action to make this day a better day than yesterday. This week better than last week, month, year, etc. until we have achieved our goals. Then we can take a celebratory breath before we seek new goals to act upon.

Da-Point: Achieving what you want starts and ends with you taking action to get it.

I said this on twitter yesterday, I am sure someone else authored it but I do not know who to give credit to; "We get old too fast and get smart too late in life; use each day to feel young & grow wise"

Initiative, what are we waiting for?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 352 - New Week, Plan-Awareness-Family

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New Week, starts today; all weeks start on Monday's in my book. The calendar may say Sunday, but Sunday is part of the WeekEND, not WeekNEW.

New Week, it happens every seven days without fail, ready for it or not, it is here for you!

Are You Ready For It?

Myself, I am ready for this week. How do I know? Because I have a trio of things working for me.

ONE - Plan... I have a plan for the week, it is as follows...
Eating plan contains a F/C/P nutrient mix of 25% / 25% / 50% with no more than 2000 calories a day.
Exercise plan consists of 3x Cardio, 3x Weights & Stretching with each of those six.
Employment plan focuses on leading via accountable goal setting, open communication, mutual trust and just recognition.
Enjoyment plan starts today attending my daughters soccer game, and everyday this week I'll have fun at work, home and on the blogs.

TWO - Awareness... I am aware of what is to gain for executing my plan, and what is risk should I choose not to.
Anything I/we need and want is attainable if I engage my plan honestly and earnestly.
Everything can end in a heart beat if it's certainty is taken for granted or assumed.

THREE - Family... I have the rich fortune of a supportive family. My immediate family I've spoken of here previously on several occasions. Recently, motivated by the need to rally support in my cancer battle, I made my situation known to my family coast to coast. The word I sent out saw some supportive words returned to me.

An Aunt of mine who engaged in this same battle in the 90's shared a very strong & sound approach to the beast, she said, "I chose to assume that I would beat it and refused to allow the fear to grow any more than I couldn’t help." 
-Strength and Strategy decides battles, wins wars. I find her approach to contain both and I embrace it.

Another Aunt of mine offered very unique aid in my quest for both health and victory, she said, "So I could drink a liter of water for you or eat your brussell sprouts. I think your plan is sound, just keep at it and keep laughing."
-Anytime someone offers to eat brussell sprouts for you, take them up on it I say. While those veggies will certainly benefit her more than I, her reminder to keep laughing is key to getting well and staying well.

Like I said, I have the rich fortune of a supportive family.

How about you?... Have a Plan for the week?... Are you Aware of the stakes?... How does that someone, or many someones, in your Family support you?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 334-335: We Deserve a PBR

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For most of life PBR meant Pabst Blue Ribbon, good stuff if flavor is not key to your beer drinking experience. Oh, and NO, I did NOT pose for that photo!

Today & in recent years PBR is a popular acronym in the business world including I.T. (Information Technology) the industry I work in.

P-Plan, reduce time/cost associated with determining how to build what we've been tasked to build; e.g. physical vs virtual platforms, online vs nearline data storage, blah blah more i.t. speak

B-Build, increase throughput/capacity to deliver more builds; e.g. standard vs custom, pull vs push processes/methodologies, blah blah more flavor of the day speak

R-Run, reduce time/cost associated with keeping what we've built running; e.g. preventative vs predictive maintenance, system redundancies & availability, blah blah more captain obvious speak

This week I spent 3 hours at work immersed in PBR. During this time my mind wandered & began to ponder how PBR correlates to my health mission. Here is what I came up with...

P-Plan, Reduce my trigger-finger mindset to fire off excuses and increase my knowledge; learn best practices to lose weight & keep it off. In other words you can only do what you plan to do, don't leave success to chance or accident!

B-Build, Create a schedule & menu consisting of a variety of exercise & foods to build a healthier me. In other words create a healthy lifestyle to live!

R-Run, Consistently, one day at a time, Do what I know I am supposed to do; don't just want it, don't just plan it, DO IT! In other words maintain the plan which I have created changing the approach as needed to prevent slipping back into the days of excuses and complacency.

Hey, you deserve a PBR, now go get it!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 297 - Fill In The Blanks

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Fill In The Blanks...

This week my eating plan contains _________ .

This week I will take a box of toothpicks and _________ .

This week my exercise will consist of _________ .

This week when I stumble from plan I will immediately _________ .

This week I will take that odd-sock from the laundry and _________ .

This week I will challenge myself to try _________ .

This week I imagine myself punching the snot out of _________ .

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 290 - Anatomy Lessons Hurt

Strong, and Sore; Alert, and Anxious; this is how I am feeling coming into this new week. Nacho the cat you see there is not any of these things; he works out with me often and here you see him catching his breath between sets of leg-lifts.

Back to me; Strong in mind and body today, the exercise of late has had allot to do with this. I find success in exercise does more to boost confidence than success in eating. Do both successfully and we see both confidence and pride carry us to even greater success. 

Some soreness is with me from yesterday's workout. I focused allot on my back yesterday and I achieved that goal apparently as either my latissimus dorsi, infraspinatus, or both on both my sides are letting me know they had a 'great' time. Yes I had to look up the name of the infraspinatus muscle; getting an anatomy education as I get healthy here.

My alertness refers to my being very conscious at present that my expectations of myself are increasing. The last two months of 2010 I coasted to a very-very-very slow weight loss, almost could call it maintenance over some specific weeks. January 2011 ends today and it has been a good month. One where I picked up the pace a tick or tock but as I noted in yesterday's weigh in post while my pace of loss is slow and steady by design I am aware that it is slower than I'd like.

That is where the anxiousness comes in, I intend to kick it up a notch or skosh. To succeed I need to focus on more consistent eating, maintain my steam in exercise, and be certain to enjoy the ride. I know I can do just that, and I am anxious to see it through. A little anxiety is not a bad thing, it shows that the topic at hand has my attention.

Last week was a decent week and I believe in part due to my pre-planning last Monday. That helped me to set up myself for success. Now, in the end it was decent success, not great, because my execution was not as crisp as needed for greatness.

Building off that for this week we will again start with some pre-planning on this Monday. Here are my plans for the three balls I feel I must juggle weekly to have a great week...

Eat with passion! We have set up the menu for this weeks dinners. As well my breakfasts are ready to be had and lunches at the office cafeteria can & will be healthy. We've approached this weeks dinner menu with a passion for healthy foods that are also foods we love; a winning combo!

Are your meals for the week planned?

Exercise with purpose! This week will see me do as follows; WEIGHTS on Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday. CARDIO on Monday, Friday & Sunday. Each weight session will be full body in general but have a specific area of focus as well. My purpose here is to learn more about what I get out of what I put into the exercise; I don't just want to do the exercise, I want to get to know it!

What is your exercise plan for the week?

Have fun with all I do! I am not fretting what the weather will be this week, or what deadlines loom at work, or what teenage drama will crop us at home; whatever comes my way I know I can not only handle it but have fun getting through it all. I am so done with dreading the realities of life. In nearly every pitch thrown at us fun can be had, that is if we have the proper definition of what fun really is. A topic worthy of more thought another day. 

Got fun in mind for this week?

 ENJOY!

 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 283 - RIP Jack, and Here I Come!

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Let's take a moment to say goodbye to a health & fitness pioneer, Jack LaLane.

Jack passed away yesterday at the age of 96.

NINETY-SIX, we should all be so lucky, and maybe we will if we make our own luck as Jack did.

Another week is here for us to take by the horns and break as we see fit... are you ready? If yes, cool - so am I! If not, Huh; why not?!

This picture below sucks because it shows my thinning head of hair (those of you who have come to know me understand that is jest as I could careless what my hair does; remember this photo).

But it was a cool action shot of me on the elliptical yesterday a split nano-second after I stumbled, my left iTouch ear bud fell out of my ear and I snared it with my teeth... yeah, I got skills!

Feeling good today, the cold that kept me tame for a few days has abated and I am amped for this week. This coming week is no different than any other before it, except that it is here. So, with that bit of obvious nonsense out of the way, what is the plan for this week?

Eat like a champion! Our menu is planned for this weeks dinners, I have what I need for breakfast and snacks, and I know what I need to do at the office cafeteria for lunches. Are your meals for the week planned?

Exercise like an veteran! Yep, I have been exercising now for what, 8'ish months?... I used my fingers so I think I counted that correctly. So I know what I need to do, but I also acknowledge I need to step it up and plan out when I will exercise, and I have; WEIGHTS on Monday, Thursday, Saturday. CARDIO on Tuesday, Friday, Sunday. What is your exercise plan for the week?

Have fun like a kindergartner! No, that does not mean I am going to make any macaroni-noodle art. But it does mean I am going to make meals fun by enjoying the company I keep, making meals together with my gorgeous wife, and I also already know the cool n'healthy meals I have planned. As well I am going to have fun exercising. My iTouch is ready to rock me through them, I am going to challenge myself on form and consistency start to finish, and I am going to try to exercise with my hot n'sexy wife too (read into that what you will). Perhaps a kindergartner wouldn't consider all of that fun, just think of me as a mature-kindergartner. Please tell me you have plans to have some fun this week; PLEASE!

Ready or Not, Here I Come!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 3 - Portion & Balance

Yesterday was good day. I ate at good intervals and ate well portioned & balanced meals. For good portions sizes I am shooting for simply trying to follow serving sizes as recommended on packaging. For good balance I am shooting for meals that aren't too high in anyone of either fat, protein or carbs. Having dieted many times before I have a decent sense of when a food item or a meal is unbalanced; at least I think I do.

At present I am not following any specific diet plan or any of the zillion commercially sold programs. In the past I have tried and followed a few. Some worked well for a while, others didn't. But I failed them all in the end; yes I chose to abandon those efforts and cannot say that any of them would not have worked through to my goal had I chose to stick with them. Therefore we (my wife & I are as we are trying to lose weight together) have decided to take it day by day by just eating better. She is being a bit more strict than I am as she has established a daily target of no more than 1,200 calories. For me that number seems low and I want to believe if I stay away from the food that is obviously too fatty, carby, or both; and maintain portion discipline then I should be Ok. Should be that is; perhaps wishful thinking on my part.

To help hedge my thinking I am keeping a food log in a small notebook. If I don't see the progress that I need I can go back to that and calculate the nutrition information and see where my thought here may be flawed. As a hedge to giving into temptation to eat poorly when we are hungry and don't know what to eat we have decided to add some menu planning discipline. Basically coming up with a list of menu choices for breakfast & dinner daily, we both eat lunch in our respective work cafeterias, and sticking to what we have planned. This should help the madness of grocery shopping too; I hate grocery shopping so anything that gets it accomplished quicker is all good in my eyes.

Portion & balance is what is on my mind today. I hope my thinking on them is right and will contribute to my success. Should know in a week or so.

Responsibility 199... Gotta do it!!