Change Your World

When one listens to the news these days you can get the impression that there is nothing we can do the stem the decline of our collective position.

I wonder how far back we’re going to get knocked in terms of the size of our economies and asset values – ten, fifteen, twenty years? This week's article is not about fear, it is about living.

While it makes sense to be realistic, and work with a sense of purpose, unrelenting negativity can cloud our thinking and, more importantly, greatly reduce our quality of life.

To balance the negativity in the media, I recommend periods of silence and retreats to nature.

The reason the blog is a little late this week is because I was on a training retreat in Southern Arizona. The break did wonders for my perspective, as well as my motivation to keep moving forward.

A quick announcement, we are considering a number of different options for Summer Camp. All will be based in Colorado.

If you'd like to find out more details about what we are considering then drop me a line. I will send out a letter to everyone that expresses an interest in the coming days. Timeframe is July/August 2009. The event will be open to ALL experience levels as well as short/long course athletes.

Thursday, I was on-the-road for eight hours scoping out a classic Arizona bike ride (Kitt Peak via Gates Pass). I was riding solo so had plenty of time to think! The photo to the right was taken from Gates Pass looking out to Kitt Peak (click any of the photos to blow them up).

The pictures spaced out in this blog are unique because I stopped during a ride to take photos. I can’t remember the last time I stopped to enjoy the view when cycling.

Last year, one of our campers (Mark “the body” Cook) shared an insight that we should all deeply appreciate the camp because we never know if we’ll be back. I would take it further, there will come a time in all our lives when our physical world shrinks due to age, I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue to explore the world.

While we plan on repeating our up-coming camp, we never really know what life has in store for us.

In the current climate, it is possible to be paralyzed into a position of fear where we stop living our lives. That would be a shame. We can be prudent, productive AND living with meaning.

In 1993, I decided to go for a walk. At the time, I was living in London and about 40 pounds heavier than I am as I write to you. I was at the stage where I was losing touch with my body. If you have been heavy then you can relate to the tipping point when we lose confidence in our ability to impact ourselves.

We feel powerless, take no action and, thereby, guarantee a lack of improvement.

I had two conversations that reminded me that whether the issue is our health,
or our economy, it is important to remember that the most effective way to improve our situation is to improve ourselves.

The first conversation was with an athlete who told me that the most difficult period for him to change his eating habits is weekends and when he is with family. Remember one thing…

Focus on changing yourself and loving your family.

Our families need our love a lot more than they need us to eat potato chips! We do not demonstrate love by enabling those around us to avoid self-improvement. Likewise, we will only be able to lead from a basis of consistent self-improvement. My great teachers don't lecture, they simply are.

When we make changes in:

• …the way we eat and drink
• …the way we live
• …the way we dress
• …the amount of exercise we do
• …the job we do…

Any major change that we might make to improve our lives, or simply, try to create some space for something better to come along… when we make changes we are going to make the people around us uncomfortable.

There is a strong social bias against people that make changes – remember the impact on John Kerry, when he was painted as a flip-flopper.

Ultimately, for change to be successful, or effective, it needs to be driven from within. As an example, my journey to “being fit” required me to change a decade of habits. Going deeper, for me to improve in the area of listening to people is likely to require changing 35 years of programing! That's not going to happen overnight, or in a month, or in a year. It's going to be a lifelong journey.

When you start to see the world around you changing, you will know that you have started to be successful in changing yourself.

Denny and I have been fortunate to be hosted by Doug Friman. As well, TJ Tollakson was living at the condo.

TJ shared that I was an influence on his decision to follow a dream of being a professional triathlete. TJ has the capacity to take elite athletics much further than me. He’s also super strong and has a decent immune system… so the price he’ll pay could be less than most.

This week, I came full circle on the athletic journey that started when I made a decision to spend my weekends walking rather than sitting. From a single walk in England, a guy in Iowa decided to see how far he could take triathlon.

Whether the changes we create in the world are "good" or "bad", I am not qualified to judge. However, falling asleep on Tuesday, I smiled that an overweight finance guy played a role in helping TJ follow his dream.

By the way, if you see TJ then tell him chin down / hands up... should be worth a few seconds per K.

Following my dreams sounds too “big” at times. I don’t wake up and have the answer to my next three years of focus. More accurately, I have given myself permission to do new things, change directions and challenge myself in new ways.

The way the last fifteen years have felt on the inside was more a process of gaining control over myself (eating, drinking, humility, wellness) and through that process gaining confidence to listen to myself, rather than follow conventional wisdom on what constitutes a good life.

All the material stuff that we might be "lacking" right now... consider if it is really holding you back. Unnecessary material aspirations can be quite a yoke to bear - not to mention the carrying costs!

Live Your Dreams,
gordo