Reignite

Sometimes life throws you curveballs that are completely out of your control. Yesterday I was broken the news that my grandfather had passed away unexpectedly in a car crash. I was absolutely devastated and broken given I have now lost both of my grandfathers in the last two months. It felt like I had the wind knocked out of my sails from a emotional perspective. I took the rest of the work day off and was able to take a nice walk along the beach. No music, no podcasts, just myself and the roommate upstairs. I was isolated with my own thoughts.

We have a set plan to go alongside our internal intentions. Sometimes you find yourself drifting away from some of your principles and beliefs that you hold yourself accountable on (especially 2021 self goals). It is perfectly fine and there is no room to beat yourself over it. It happens to all of us.

This is just a reminder to reignite your thoughts, reignite your principles, and most importantly… reignite your personal growth. The beauty of these principles is that you can return and embrace these things at any moment in time. What happened yesterday is the past. We can reignite our body and mind whenever we like. Why not take time to check in with yourself and do it right now?

I love you, Pat. Rest in peace.

Become Your Number One Fan

Our identity is wrapped up in what others think of us—or, more accurately, what we think others think of us.
Jay Shetty

Often times when we wake up and go throughout our day, we try to live up to what we think others think of us. We do this even at the expense of our own values. I want to say it is human nature to do so, but I don’t think it is. We have been programmed through social media to constantly be comparing ourselves to others. Applications like Facebook and Instagram are right at our finger tips at all times. Through these apps, you see Joe and Sally post 15 second highlights of their best lives. These people may or may not have consummate happiness, but for that brief amount of time when you click, we think so. Comparison is the thief of joy.

Sometimes you have to put your blinders on and filter out all the excess noise. The true way to building a meaningful life is to filter out all that outside chatter and look within. There is a lot going on in our country right now and I am not saying completely ignore the outside world / politics but you can’t let it dictate your life.

Become your own number one fan. Nobody believes in you as much as yourself. Be gentle and talk to yourself a bit more (it’s not that looney, I promise). While some thick skulled people will hate you for this, most people will love to make you part of their life to have a taste of that energy you have. Self belief is always the first step towards success. Waking up and attacking the day with this mindset will help separate you from the average person. Loving yourself = competitive life advantage? I’ll take that.

Happy Friday! Through the line, not to the line. Finish strong.

Brick By Brick

First work week of the new year. New year, new week, new goals, new energy, new failures, new results. Feet hit the floor today and I felt absolutely grateful. Woke up at 5am this morning and crushed a Peloton ride to start the work day (shoutout the homie Alex Toussaint). I am constantly trying to pitch the concept of making Mondays great again #MMGA. You can’t hate Mondays, they are 1/7 of your life. Pretty crazy when you think about it.

The ole saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. This may be true BUT they were laying bricks every hour. That’s how I plan on building my 2021. Brick by brick. Get up and lay your bricks down today. Lay your foundation today so you can establish your floor plan for the week. Everyone likes the idea of building Rome, but how many are willing to lay the bricks every single day? If it was easy everyone would do it. Be fucking great and have an awesome week.

Thursday Mood: RIDE THE WAVE

Poseidon – God of the sea, earthquakes and storms . Own the storms of your life. Show up and deal with the emotional day to day waves. DANCE IN THE MOTHA FUCKIN RAIN!

2020 is a lesson in not forcing things to happen. Work with the flow of energy rather than against it.

It really is unpredictable what life is going to throw at you. You wake up and wish for a great day, but can’t always control the uncontrollable (external events). Being able to deal with the highs and lows of the emotional coaster that comes with life is one of the biggest skills you can teach your mind to do. It is by no way easy. It is human nature to automatically act on emotion. Whether that be a good or a bad one

So I challenge you today to “RIDE THE WAVE”. If you are having a bad moment in time, remember… This will pass. For it is exactly that, just a moment in time. Sit with the feeling and remember that.

PMA

PMA – Positive Mental Attitude.

Friday after work I got absolutely zoned in on my 5K run. It was cold and rainy but I wasn’t going to let that stop be from ending the week strong. You are your own thoughts. Here is the video from my pump up speech I posted to my socials Friday night.

Bring Back Fat Shaming

*DISCLAIMER – HOT TAKE*

(This picture was taken in 1976 Florida, so cocaine diet could have had an effect)

Picture of the United States beach in the 70s. Not one fat body. Minimal sugar, no refined carbs, nothing to do outside, plenty to do inside. I truly believe someday we will look at modern day food and think of it like we do cigarettes. Over eating is as bad as smoking. Look at the picture above (again read my side note of possible factor of body weights). No Netflix, no additive sugary Starbucks drinks, no screens in sight. Our society of excess everything is the path to the downfall of many right now. Addiction to porn, drinking, drugs, smart phones etc.. We are losing our sense of moderation and it is a slow self-destructor.

Hot take, but we should bring back fat shaming.

Obesity, diabetes, heart disease.. are all connected and kill more people in our country annually than all other ailments combined. But we are not allowed to talk about this? Imagine creating a vaccine for obesity? What a world.

Maybe WALL-E (2008) was onto something… Heading in this direction.

The real pandemic today is obesity. Closing indoor dining will only promote more fast food / grab and go (chain) restaurants even more. Did you see McDonalds brought back the McRib?! Should be a crime to bring that bad boy back during a pandemic. Instead of closing gyms, close down McDonalds!

Society is going backwards with:

Body positive
Participation trophies
Fighting over who is the biggest victim
Lack of personal accountability
Fad diets
Convince

All of the above list have massive factors in our 43.6% obesity rate (cdc.gov).

We know that being obese is destructive to our own personal health, yet people keep saying ” being fat is ok, stop fat shaming!!”

Fuck that. Being fat is mediocre. Life is too short to be mediocre. Take care of yourself and your body will thank you. Take your weight and health into your own hands. Hold yourself accountable and let the benefits follow.

Everyone has the right to live however they want. This has just been a topic I have been thinking about more and more since health has come more to light in this country.

Disclaimer – If you are on medication that effects your health, this is no way applies to you.

Finish Strong – Happy December

“Almost any decision is better than no decision — just keep moving.” – Danielle LaPorte
Sometimes thinking too much can destroy momentum. Be decisive and show up!

Rabbit, Rabbit! Happy December, Bulls! Welcome to our final month in this bizarre year. Let’s finish strong. Take some time this week to set a powerful new intention on what you’d like to accomplish in 2021. These healthy intentions and aspects will help us formulate our goals and lend us the energy/guidelines we need to progress towards our dreams.

Momentum is very big. Think of your daily healthy habits as a snowball down a snowy hill (fitting for the winter season!). There is no better time to start your “2021 New Year’s Goals” than today.

Rewire Winter Blues Psyche

December is often a tough time for me mentally. The weather starts getting colder and the days start getting shorter. I have taken so much pride in my running practice since the start of the pandemic back in April. I hit another 100k running month in November. I want to find a way to keep that momentum up for the Spring, but realize it will be difficult in the cold weather. I have never been a winter runner before, but maybe this year is different? I am getting a Peloton towards the end of the month, and I have a tendency to get obsessive over things(try to channel that into a healthy obsession). Especially a community built for working out! There is something about being part of a group that wants to become the best version of themselves. You are your environment. You are who you surround yourself with. Excited to take a bit of break from my shoe to pavement running and start being part of the #SpinGang.

Take some time this week to sit with yourself and set some goals/ intentions you want to work with this month. They don’t need to be too complex and deep, but make sure you are able to do them. Don’t let it be a “challenge” or just a phase you will soon forget after this month. Focus on what we talked about above and build momentum towards the new year. Let’s have a great month!

VIDEO: MESSAGE OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I was able to get to the beach. Working in an office from dark to dark, I knew that this was probably going to be the last time I hit the beach before the Spring of 2021. So, I put my wetsuit on and got the good vibes going. This message of being grateful and staying present will also be a nice mindset to lean on today. Have a great start to the week. Have a great end of the month. Cheers!

Thanksgiving Week

Happy Monday, Bulls! It is Thanksgiving week. Monday equals, new week, new intentions, new goals, new results. It is a time to reflect on what didn’t work last week, and learn from that. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results is the true definition of “insanity”, the legendary Albert Einstein once said. CHANGE IT UP, if you had a shitty last week. If you don’t learn the lesson, you are doomed to repeat the mistake.

Some themes to focus on this week:

Act with intention – Be conscious of the way you are showing up. Make consistent action to make the things you want happen. Make decisions and take actions that are consistent with your goals and values.

Be gentle on yourself – Make a mistake? Short term memory. Get the next one. If you beat yourself up over your day to day mistakes, you are going to make yourself sick. Let it go! Life is too short to sit on these things for too long.

Be Present – Freedom of past success, freedom from past failures. Not letting the past define who you are in this present moment, not letting the fear of the future (anxiety) steer you off your present path. Do not let a shitty moment in time affect you’re whole day/week. It is just a moment in time, treat it as so. Obviously easier said than done, but practice this mindset and help rewire the brain. A little goes a long way. Be where you are. Be present.

And last but not least, BE THANKFUL – Fitting for Thanksgiving week. We often times shine light on things that we don’t have in life, and don’t give enough attention to the things we do have. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never have enough. Especially during this global dark time of COVID-19, we must appreciate all that we have because we have seen how fast it can be taken away from us. Think about the luxury of indoor dining, visiting grandparents, family visitation restriction. Find little victories and silver linings.

Be thankful for what you have and you will end up having more. I will leave you with a quote from Charles Dickens, “Reflect upon your present blessings- of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” Perfect little quote embracing our above themes of both gratitude and present.

Have an awesome Monday and make it a great week!

Everything is Change

“No man steps in the same river twice.” Because the river has changed, and so has the man. – Marcus Aurelius

Life is in a constant state of change, and so are we as human beings. To get upset by things is to wrongly assume that these moments in time will last. That type of thinking pattern is very toxic to the mental state. Work on being more kind and gentle towards your roommate living upstairs in that head of yours!

The only thing constant in a world of inconsistency is change. Bit trippy when you read that out loud a couple times. On the theme of working on controlling the controllable and not stressing about what we can’t control, I ask you this week, to embrace this concept. Flow with it. Everything is change.

Thank you reading and have an awesome Monday! Win the day.