Ready, Aim, Fire versus Fire, Fire, Fire

The odds of hitting a target
go up dramatically
when you aim at it.
-- Mal Pancoast

.. Is your BFL challenge strategy best
characterized by the saying(s):
(1) READY, AIM, FIRE
(2) READY, FIRE, AIM
(3) READY, READY, READY ... or ...
(4) FIRE, FIRE, FIRE?
.. Only the first strategy will successfully allow you to hit your target
on a consistent basis. Strategies (2) and (4) are based on pure luck.
Strategy (3) belongs to the talkers and not the doers.
.. Stick to first principles. To ’win’ at this BFL lifestyle, you’ve got
to get yourself mentally and physically ready. Then you’ve got to set
yourself some realistic and achievable goals. And then and only then
you’ve got to follow thru with your plans and ’do it.’
.. For in the end, it’s not the certificates you earn (signed or
unsigned) nor the prizes you collect that determine your success. But
rather, are you getting healthier, stronger, and happier about how you look and feel?

Observations from Day 48 - BFL Challenge 9

This past week has been an interesting and insightful one. I've had the opportunity to connect with a couple of BFLers who've been doing this for at least a year. I've noticed that others have fallen away from the program and/or are off doing other things. (I hope they're working out and eating right while not communicating via BLOG, BFL guestbook, e-mail, or the phone.) Observations follow:

* It's what you do most of the time that counts ... The more I hear this saying the more it become a truism worth remembering. A few of my friends (and I) have taken a Lenten season pledge to follow the BFL program seven days a week versus six with a 'free day.' We've talked about how this might be possible during the forty days of Lent. Most of our BFL challenges end on/about Easter. Giving up this one free day per week makes me realize just how important that free day is to ones 'mental health.'

* Measure progress not perfection ... No body is perfect 100-percent of the time. Even with special promises to oneself and ones friends, you can slip up. You just can't make this 'lack' attitude a habitual thing. Five or six BFL-authorized meals per day means just that. That's not three meals that are perfect and two meals that aren't. That's not four meals that are appropriately balanced and one that's over-the-top. But if (or when) you do 'blow it' on a meal -- and I know I've blown it from time to time -- it's time to forgive and move one.

* You can't spell inTENsity and consisTENcy without hitting a TEN (10) ... And if you have to ask yourself if you actually hit that TEN, then you problably didn't so mark down a NINE (9) in the fitness logbook.

* Doing something is always better than doing nothing ... There will be days when you've got a BIG PROJECT to complete or a REALLY IMPORTANT MEETING to prepare for. On these days I find myself trying to do something versus doing nothing and missing a workout. And believe it or not, most clients are okay with eating a healthy snack (or mini-meal) during a workshop or briefing. I actually had a client ask me where they could find the health food versus the donuts we typically offer. Imagine that?!?!

... That's it for now. Nothing profound to report. Just some (un)common sense that has been re-discovered this past week.

On sharpening the saw ...

Stephen Covey says, "Sharpening the Saw is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life -- investment in ourselves, in the only instrument we have with which to deal with life and to contribute."

I'm re-discovering Covey ... [Thank you, Yan] ... Covey's books are found on a special shelf w/in my home office. On this shelf are books I return to. These books are worth reading again and again. They contain wisdom literature.

On another shelf is found books on aikido. Yet on a third shelf are books on health and fitness ... Loaning books from these shelves represents a deep trust. When I find folks hovering around this special book case, I try to take note of what attracts them and which books they may not yet have read ... Then sometimes it's off to the used book store where I'll pick up a copy and then give it to the admirer.

Sometimes it's okay to pass along an 'old tool' to friends ... Happy Valentine's Day.

in-TEN-sity is ...

... moving more weight than you did the last time you performed this same exercise.

... working to the point of momentary musclular failure -- assuming you’ve got someone to spot you -- on that last rep of that last set.

... continuing to perform a 13th, 14th, or 15th rep when you miscalculated the weight you should have used. (Don’t forget to record this new-found strength in your log.)

... feeling and knowing the difference between hitting a ’9’ versus being hit by a ’10’. (And if you have to ask, you’ve been cheating yourself.) ... having a difficult time steering your car on the way home from the gym. (Again, always be safe.)

... not being able to easily brush your teeth or comb your hair the next morning because your arms and shoulders still hurt from yesterday.

Investing in myself

"Keeping a commitment or a promise is a major deposit into the Emotional Bank Account;
breaking one is a major withdrawal."

... from the 2005 version of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People desk calendar.

There are 46 days remaining in this current 12-week BFL challenge.

A commitment I've made for this challenge -- which coincides with Lent -- is to 'give up' all BFL-unauthorized foods. In other words, I'm 'giving up' my FREE DAYS until Easter.

Forget about wishing me any luck regarding this promise. But prayers are definitely welcome. (No, I didn't mean to be funny here.)

... On mysteries

... I guess it has been awhile since I've posted anything here on this blog. It's not that I haven't been working out or staying on course. I have. But there's been a bout with the flu. And there's been some home improvement projects. And then there's work. And other events that keep us all busy ... You know the saying. "Life is what happens while you're making plans."

... We all get wrapped up with life's little things (see any of the above) or just think about the hype that surrounds sporting events such as the Super Bowl. We read all about the 'suffering' that folks go thru while on a diet. The BFL guestbook is full of excuses, rationalizations, etc, etc. But then you think of others who are fighting to maintain a normal life in spite of truly overwhelming challenges. [Some friends of ours just lost their son. This young man was the victim of shaken baby syndrome. They cared for him for over 19 years. They persevered.] What's the big deal about gaining a pound or two or missing a workout?

... It is after seeing how others respond to true challenge(s) that I'm inspired to do better. Life's little obstacles -- the flu, a change in my schedule due to bad weather, etc. -- these are all minor in comparison. I see others rise victoriously over their more substantive challenges. It's time again to keep things all in perspective. "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger."

... It's also time to count my blessings. For there, but for the grace of God, go I.