What Are You Waiting For?

athorn — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:37:18 +0000

I believe in living a healthy lifestyle. One of the strategies that I employ is a regular, exercise program. To some, it would be considered very strenuous, to others it might seem not so tough.

Because I travel regularly, my routines need to be something I can take with me. For this reason, I became an avid runner. I can run anywhere and in every climate. Most hotels I stay in have treadmills, so in the times when safety is an issue, I can run indoors. All I need is my running shoes and I am set.

P90X and Me

About three years ago, I decided that I wanted to become stronger. I wanted to build core and upper body strength and I knew running was not going to do that for me. I was watching TV one Saturday afternoon with my children and we came across an informercial selling P90X an exercise routine touted as the most extreme home fitness training system ever developed.

I am always up for a good challenge, so I purchased the whole system right on the spot. It looked like I could find everything I would need in the standard hotel gym, which made it even more desirable. I ordered every thing they had to offer and committed myself to getting ripped.

By the time the materials arrived, just a week later, I had lost my enthusiasm and excitement. The box sat unopened for a month or so. Every time I saw it, "I said, I am going to do that someday".

I Can Do Anything For 30 Seconds

The package arrived two or three months ahead of the new year and when I got serious about setting my goals, I decided again that I was going to do P90X.

I will never forget January 2007. The magnitude of my sore muscles is very difficult to describe. I had trouble combing my hair, putting on my clothes and simply walking up and down the stairs. I couldn't do the routines. For some I was not coordinated enough, but for others I was simply not strong enough. i wanted to give up and declare defeat, but that crazy Tony Horton told me to just keep pushing the play button, so I did.

One of the routines commonly known as "the mother of all workouts" is a difficult series of jumping, leaping, squatting and lunging. Most movements are practiced for 30 seconds. At the beginning of the workout Tony welcomes you and loudly states that he can do anything for 30 seconds.

That didn't sound too hard, so I followed the routine. I quickly discovered that 30 seconds is much longer than I previously believed. I stuck with it though, and I soon I was able to finish it with no problem. About a month into the 90 day program, I realized that I was actually stringing several 30 second blasts together and turning them into a very intense one hour workout.

How Are You Spending Your Time?

That is when it hit me. It all started with a commitment to exert myself for just 30 seconds. That 30 seconds turned into an hour. That hour turned into a week, and then into 90 days. Those 90 days turned into 3 years. Now I am fit, and I am strong. Rome wasn't built overnight, and neither was my body. I worked hard to get it this way and I realize that I need to continue to work hard to keep it this way. I can decide every day to use my 30 seconds any way I want to use them. When I engage I grow, when I vegetate I atrophy.

This doesn't just work for physical fitness, it works for everything we want to do. With growth comes a nominal amount of pain. Sometimes more than others. That is why we have what we call growing pains. It is OK to start slow. The pain does not need to injure us. It just needs to awaken our senses, helping us to see that we need to work to get back into shape. It all comes down on what we value and how we spend our time. When those two factors are aligned we feel less pain overall.

How are you spending your time?

What can you start doing today that will eventually get you to where you want to go?

Are you willing to start with 30 seconds and then build on it?

Are you ready to grow?

30 seconds. That is all it takes to begin. What are you waiting for?

Live Today! Love Today!

Andrew Thorn

760-559-3548

Stepping Up

athorn — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:11:57 +0000

"If you believe the dragon of fear and doubt is real, you give it power" Robert Fisher

This Saturday, I am going to run in the Death Valley Marathon. I am excited about it, because the entire course is off-road and on trails through the desolate deserts of Death Valley. The course covers some of the most beautiful areas of the desert and I am looking forward to the isolation and opportunity to be in my own head.

It takes a lot of work to prepare for a marathon and I am feeling a little nervous as the day draws near. I worry that I may not have trained enough or that I may not be up for the challenge. About two or three days before every race I participate in I start to feel like I am not ready. I even think about skipping the event. The more of these events I do, the less ready I feel as race day arrives.

I train all the time and I am ready. So I wonder what it is that makes me nervous as race day approaches. Why do the seeds of doubt enter, when I know I am prepared. What am I afraid of? I am running for the joy of running. I do not train to win, I train to finish so I am only running to enjoy the feelings I get from finishing. I have nothing to be afraid of, I know I can and will finish this race.

Fear is an interesting emotion. By itself, it can either motivate or debilitate. I have found it to be most debilitating when it is coupled with doubt. When I am doubting myself and fear creeps in, I seem to suffer the most setbacks. Those are the moments when I feel like I can't do anything. It is in those moments when it feels like the shadows will overtake me.

Rising Above Fear And Doubt

I am often asked by others how I overcome my moments of fear and doubt. The first thing I do is remember who I am. If I can do that, then my fears and doubts subside almost immediately. Why? Because when I remember who I am, I become connected with my history. I have a history of surviving and succeeding. When I think about that history I remember that I can succeed. I see the similarities with the challenge I am facing and those that I have overcome in the past. Seeing the similarities gives me the hope I need to move forward.

When I am faced with fear and doubt, they seem very real. In my rational moments, I know they are illusions. So in my moments of confidence, I remind myself that I will never be free from these types of feelings. They will always surface in the moments when I need my confidence the most. They are tests against my confidence. As such, I have learned to appreciate them. When I feel them, I know that I am about to do something outstanding. Instead of giving in, which I admit to doing more than once or twice, I move forward. As I moved past the moments of fear and doubt, I move into moments of greater confidence.

It's funny how it works, but generally speaking, our greatest growth comes after our greatest challenges. I have learned to live with the moments of feeling unprepared. I know they will be there, so when they come I allow myself to experience them and learn from them. When I begin to feel them, I like to take inventory. I think about everything I have done to prepare myself and I begin to see that I have no reason to be afraid, and that I have no reason to doubt.

What Do You do?

How about you? What you do to overcome your moments of fear and doubt? Perhaps, an even more important question is what do you do when you give in to them? It happens to all of us. Sometimes fear and doubt just gets the better of us. I think what we do when that happens is even more important than the times when we did not give in to them. I can truly say that my greatest learnings came from the moments when I had to pick myself back up and put myself back on track. Those are the moments when I felt the best about myself. What do you think?

I look forward to hearing your comments.

Life is good!