This seems so simple and matter-of-fact but it's all to often ignored; the importance of being honest.
We've all done it, myself included, told the little white lie (to ourselves or others) or even told a big hairy lie. Big ir small, ourself or to others, out of avoidance or fear, no matter why we weren't truthful, we made the easy decision.
Telling the truth is rarely the easy road to travel; truth can make you unpopular, people may not believe you, truth can hurt others or even ourself. A lot of the time truth is hard so we avoid it with a lie.
My motivation for wanting to improve in this area is my kids and the need for them to have a positive role model. With honesty as a foundation, I (with my wife's help) want to give my kids the best shot at growing up to be outstanding, charismatic and honest people. People respect honesty.
We can all continue to do better with our honesty because in the end it's the best way to live. Truth... Short-term pain for long-term gain.
Choice and Discipline.
Vision
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Today Was a Great Day!
Today was a great day!
5AM - Woke up, worked out and started the day with energy.
6:30AM - Headed to the office before continuing Downtown.
8AM - Attended a Lean Summit presented by Lean Sensei and featuring a keynote presentation by Dr. Jeffrey Liker, author of the Toyota Way and co-author of multiple other Toyota books. Lean, leadership and a lot of learning were on the agenda.
6:30PM - Back at home for dinner with the family, caught up on everyone's day. I especially like hearing how my 3.5 year young daughter's day went.
7PM - Play time with my kids before bed time. Tonight it was a tea party with my daughter.
8:30PM - After the girls were in bed I headed out for a 7km run.
9PM - Wrote this post and an entry in my journal.
9:30PM - Spent time with my wife.
Somewhere between 10PM and 11PM - Read then get some sleep. Right now I'm reading "Teaching the Elephant to Dance" by James Belasco, it's a little dated but the concepts still ring true. Tomorrow will be another early rise so I can make another great day.
5AM - Woke up, worked out and started the day with energy.
6:30AM - Headed to the office before continuing Downtown.
8AM - Attended a Lean Summit presented by Lean Sensei and featuring a keynote presentation by Dr. Jeffrey Liker, author of the Toyota Way and co-author of multiple other Toyota books. Lean, leadership and a lot of learning were on the agenda.
6:30PM - Back at home for dinner with the family, caught up on everyone's day. I especially like hearing how my 3.5 year young daughter's day went.
7PM - Play time with my kids before bed time. Tonight it was a tea party with my daughter.
8:30PM - After the girls were in bed I headed out for a 7km run.
9PM - Wrote this post and an entry in my journal.
9:30PM - Spent time with my wife.
Somewhere between 10PM and 11PM - Read then get some sleep. Right now I'm reading "Teaching the Elephant to Dance" by James Belasco, it's a little dated but the concepts still ring true. Tomorrow will be another early rise so I can make another great day.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Choices
A recent conversation with someone and how they reacted to a traffic altercation inspired me to write.
NO MATTER WHAT SOMEONE ELSE DOES TO YOU, YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE OF HOW YOU'RE GOING TO REACT. You don't have to 'flip the bird' in return. You don't have to swear back. You don't have to hit back. You don't have to stoop to their level. You do have an ability to make a choice.
In a striking example of coincidence there was even a news report on tonight of parents involved in a physical altercation at their children's sports day event. The parent who did most of the damage in the fight was reportedly heard saying, "she started it". This parent, and everyone else on the face of the earth, can make the choice to not take the eye for an eye mentality.
I strongly urge you to think about who's watching when you choose how you're going to react. Kids? Family? Friends? Colleagues? Boss? How you react to any situation will create a perception of you in other's eyes. What perception do you want people to have of you? Their perception is created by you and only you.
Something I always try to do is look at the situation from the other person's point of view. Maybe they're having a bad day, they're running late or they've just received some bad news. Regardless, you have no idea why they reacted the way they did, so don't form negative assumptions, rather choose to do the right thing and make the situation better with your reaction. Besides, it's more important to be happy then right. Agree?
Like I've said may times in the past, success kn anything comes down to choice and discipline, and the same goes for when you're faced with a tough situation. Make the right choice for your success, happiness and health.
How great would the world be if we all lived our lives seeking to understand and choosing a positive response in every challenging situation? One person at a time, we can get there.
NO MATTER WHAT SOMEONE ELSE DOES TO YOU, YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE OF HOW YOU'RE GOING TO REACT. You don't have to 'flip the bird' in return. You don't have to swear back. You don't have to hit back. You don't have to stoop to their level. You do have an ability to make a choice.
In a striking example of coincidence there was even a news report on tonight of parents involved in a physical altercation at their children's sports day event. The parent who did most of the damage in the fight was reportedly heard saying, "she started it". This parent, and everyone else on the face of the earth, can make the choice to not take the eye for an eye mentality.
I strongly urge you to think about who's watching when you choose how you're going to react. Kids? Family? Friends? Colleagues? Boss? How you react to any situation will create a perception of you in other's eyes. What perception do you want people to have of you? Their perception is created by you and only you.
Something I always try to do is look at the situation from the other person's point of view. Maybe they're having a bad day, they're running late or they've just received some bad news. Regardless, you have no idea why they reacted the way they did, so don't form negative assumptions, rather choose to do the right thing and make the situation better with your reaction. Besides, it's more important to be happy then right. Agree?
Like I've said may times in the past, success kn anything comes down to choice and discipline, and the same goes for when you're faced with a tough situation. Make the right choice for your success, happiness and health.
How great would the world be if we all lived our lives seeking to understand and choosing a positive response in every challenging situation? One person at a time, we can get there.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The Right Thing To Do
As part of my fitness goals I wanted to have an event that I was aiming to complete. The tough part is that I'm not a marathon kinda guy and can't see myself running constantly for a long period of time, and on top of that my knees probably wouldn't hold up.
Now, the Tough Mudder, that's right up my alley. If you haven't heard of the Tough Mudder then I highly recommend checking it out on Youtube. It's a team event that combines fear inspiring obstacles with a long distance cross country run. It's billed as probably the toughest event on the planet. So, ready for the challenge, I signed up for the Tough Mudder with a team from my work.
How do I tie this into the right thing to do? Well, after paying and registering to run the Mudder I found out that my oldest (3.5 years old) daughter's first gymnastics show is the same day as the Mudder. This is where I was faced with a decision.
Now, in previous posts I've talked about knowing your purpose and starting everything with WHY. It is my purpose that allowed me to know what the right decision was. As much as I wanted to run the Mudder I chose to go to my daughter's gymnastics show and lose the $170 registration I paid.
My true north and purpose is to be the best role model and dad (with my wife's help) I can be for my kids; this drives and motivates me in every decision I make. So, the right decision we easy.
I know my true north, if you don't know yours I highly recommend you find it.
Make it happen!
Now, the Tough Mudder, that's right up my alley. If you haven't heard of the Tough Mudder then I highly recommend checking it out on Youtube. It's a team event that combines fear inspiring obstacles with a long distance cross country run. It's billed as probably the toughest event on the planet. So, ready for the challenge, I signed up for the Tough Mudder with a team from my work.
How do I tie this into the right thing to do? Well, after paying and registering to run the Mudder I found out that my oldest (3.5 years old) daughter's first gymnastics show is the same day as the Mudder. This is where I was faced with a decision.
Now, in previous posts I've talked about knowing your purpose and starting everything with WHY. It is my purpose that allowed me to know what the right decision was. As much as I wanted to run the Mudder I chose to go to my daughter's gymnastics show and lose the $170 registration I paid.
My true north and purpose is to be the best role model and dad (with my wife's help) I can be for my kids; this drives and motivates me in every decision I make. So, the right decision we easy.
I know my true north, if you don't know yours I highly recommend you find it.
Make it happen!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
What's Next?
I haven't written in my blog for a while, and have no good reason for this. I've been keeping a journal for over a year now and find that to be an amazing source of reflection and insight into being human. In my journal I write about events from the day and my insight into their meaning and purpose or spontaneity.
It could be the journal or maybe I've run out of things to say, either way I seem to be diminished to some degree when it comes to writing.
I've thought about writing about things like:
- 1000 ways to live a healthy lifestyle
- 100 opportunities to stay positive
- 10 most defining moments in my life
As I write this I'm trying to understand WHY I feel compelled to write despite not knowing what to write about. All too often in the world today people just DO, without understanding why they're doing it and I don't want this blog to be something like that.
One thing is for sure, I'm a life long learner and writing in this blog and in my journal allow me to continuously learn about myself.
It could be the journal or maybe I've run out of things to say, either way I seem to be diminished to some degree when it comes to writing.
I've thought about writing about things like:
- 1000 ways to live a healthy lifestyle
- 100 opportunities to stay positive
- 10 most defining moments in my life
As I write this I'm trying to understand WHY I feel compelled to write despite not knowing what to write about. All too often in the world today people just DO, without understanding why they're doing it and I don't want this blog to be something like that.
One thing is for sure, I'm a life long learner and writing in this blog and in my journal allow me to continuously learn about myself.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Ingredients to my Fitness Success
New Years 2012 I made a resolution to be in the best shape of my life. Since making that choice there have been a number of elements (or ingredients) that have been part of my continued fitness success and I want to give credit where credit is due. Some of these things came along prior to my 2012 resolution, but they have all played (and continue to play) a role in getting me to better health.
Why? For me, starting with "why?" has been a huge focus as of late. Said differently, starting everything with purpose. Why did I want to be in the best shape of my life? The simple answer is for my kids. I wanted to set an example for them, to live a healthy and active lifestyle. With obesity all around us, and your health being a choice in most instances, I wanted to do whatever I could to help my children be able to make the right choices for their own health.
Choice & Discipline. Working out is hard, don't kid yourself, it's not easy. So if I was going to get in the best shape of my life then I not only needed to make that decision but also to have the discipline to stick with it. That means going for a run even if it's raining, waking up and working out even if I'm tired and eliminating excuses. Choices that I made that have helped me reach my fitness goals:
- Cut out the TV watching.
- Run 5km-8km two or three times each week.
- Wake up at 5AM and workout before going to work, and do this five or six times each week.
- Make and take my lunch to work each day. Choose healthy food.
- Eat a big breakfast, medium size lunch and a small dinner.
- Take my vitamins every day.
My Amazing Wife. I have the best wife ever. She is completely understanding and supportive of my fitness goals, which does wonders for motivating me for continued fitness success. Thank you Kylie!
Gerard Recio (an example). I met Gerard, a fitness professional, a number of years ago when I was playing Ultimate, and he's the one who introduced me to Nike Fuel. Gerard has also given me some exercise pointers along the way. With his regular updates and posts on social media, G continues to set an example for me and many other people.
Nike Plus & +Nike Fuel (Setting & tracking results). If you can't measure something, how will you know if you're getting the results you want? Other than a scale, Nikeplus and Nike Fuel help me track my progress in many more ways than just weight. Pace, distance, Nike Fuel points and calories are just a few ways I track my fitness goals and results.
Sean T (Insanity). Insanity is as it sounds, insane. From a home workout point of view, this high-intensity, six-day a week workout schedule tipped my workout routine to the complete opposite side of the scale from where it used to be. Insanity did a few things for me: it got me comfortable with working out at home, it got me used intense workouts (suck it up!) and it helped me understand the need for discipline if I wanted results. I still use Insanity elements in my workouts today.
Duncan Parker (Ultimate). If you haven't heard of Ultimate, it's basically a mix between frisbee, soccer and football. Duncan is one of my best friends and the one who got me involved in Ultimate many years ago, a self-officiated sport that made exercise fun. I played for a number of years at a mid-to-high level until my knees couldn't keep up with all the cutting and jumping; I had to choose between stop playing Ultimate to save my knees or risk needing knee surgery. As much as I miss the sport, I know I made the right decision for my body.
Guido Wisotzki (Brown bag it). Guido is a physiotherapist near where I live who was helping me with some back pain I was having. Somehow, during one of my appointments, we got on the topic of overall health and Guido made a comment about the positive effects (in many ways) of brown-bagging a lunch rather than eating out for lunch. Over a year after having Guido say this to me, making healthy choices and taking my own lunch to work each day, this has been a big part of being in the best shape of my life. By-the-way, Guido fixed my back pain too!
Who knows, maybe the ingredient list will grow... Stay tuned.
Adam Hart (Eat whole foods). Adam was brought to Ideon a few weeks ago to talk to the company about healthy eating and the Power of Food. Adam opened my eyes to the world of whole foods and how by simply adding them to my diet and continuing to eat the things I like that there are tremendous health benefits. I have more energy, feel better, have a stronger immune system, sleep better and I'm giving my body the nutrition it needs. Don't take my word for it, just ask the number of Ideon team members who have also added whole foods to their diet.
Why? For me, starting with "why?" has been a huge focus as of late. Said differently, starting everything with purpose. Why did I want to be in the best shape of my life? The simple answer is for my kids. I wanted to set an example for them, to live a healthy and active lifestyle. With obesity all around us, and your health being a choice in most instances, I wanted to do whatever I could to help my children be able to make the right choices for their own health.
Choice & Discipline. Working out is hard, don't kid yourself, it's not easy. So if I was going to get in the best shape of my life then I not only needed to make that decision but also to have the discipline to stick with it. That means going for a run even if it's raining, waking up and working out even if I'm tired and eliminating excuses. Choices that I made that have helped me reach my fitness goals:
- Cut out the TV watching.
- Run 5km-8km two or three times each week.
- Wake up at 5AM and workout before going to work, and do this five or six times each week.
- Make and take my lunch to work each day. Choose healthy food.
- Eat a big breakfast, medium size lunch and a small dinner.
- Take my vitamins every day.
My Amazing Wife. I have the best wife ever. She is completely understanding and supportive of my fitness goals, which does wonders for motivating me for continued fitness success. Thank you Kylie!
Gerard Recio (an example). I met Gerard, a fitness professional, a number of years ago when I was playing Ultimate, and he's the one who introduced me to Nike Fuel. Gerard has also given me some exercise pointers along the way. With his regular updates and posts on social media, G continues to set an example for me and many other people.
Nike Plus & +Nike Fuel (Setting & tracking results). If you can't measure something, how will you know if you're getting the results you want? Other than a scale, Nikeplus and Nike Fuel help me track my progress in many more ways than just weight. Pace, distance, Nike Fuel points and calories are just a few ways I track my fitness goals and results.
Sean T (Insanity). Insanity is as it sounds, insane. From a home workout point of view, this high-intensity, six-day a week workout schedule tipped my workout routine to the complete opposite side of the scale from where it used to be. Insanity did a few things for me: it got me comfortable with working out at home, it got me used intense workouts (suck it up!) and it helped me understand the need for discipline if I wanted results. I still use Insanity elements in my workouts today.
Duncan Parker (Ultimate). If you haven't heard of Ultimate, it's basically a mix between frisbee, soccer and football. Duncan is one of my best friends and the one who got me involved in Ultimate many years ago, a self-officiated sport that made exercise fun. I played for a number of years at a mid-to-high level until my knees couldn't keep up with all the cutting and jumping; I had to choose between stop playing Ultimate to save my knees or risk needing knee surgery. As much as I miss the sport, I know I made the right decision for my body.
Guido Wisotzki (Brown bag it). Guido is a physiotherapist near where I live who was helping me with some back pain I was having. Somehow, during one of my appointments, we got on the topic of overall health and Guido made a comment about the positive effects (in many ways) of brown-bagging a lunch rather than eating out for lunch. Over a year after having Guido say this to me, making healthy choices and taking my own lunch to work each day, this has been a big part of being in the best shape of my life. By-the-way, Guido fixed my back pain too!
Who knows, maybe the ingredient list will grow... Stay tuned.
Adam Hart (Eat whole foods). Adam was brought to Ideon a few weeks ago to talk to the company about healthy eating and the Power of Food. Adam opened my eyes to the world of whole foods and how by simply adding them to my diet and continuing to eat the things I like that there are tremendous health benefits. I have more energy, feel better, have a stronger immune system, sleep better and I'm giving my body the nutrition it needs. Don't take my word for it, just ask the number of Ideon team members who have also added whole foods to their diet.
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