So here it is April 2021. It was one year ago that I decided to “pivot.”
Am I where I thought I would be? From my point of view then, no. I am not.
But I have put into place routines and systems that will better serve me in the future than if I had made a more sudden change.
At least I think so. We really can’t ever know with certainty what any choice not made would have resulted in.
Unless a given choice is made and subsequent plans and actions implemented and followed up upon, can we truly know what could have been.
So, this leads to a little reflection.
I remind myself from time to time to take an inventory – sometimes brief, but necessary – as to where I am in relation to where I was. I recommend this to others, too.
I originally got this insight from a Roger Dawson program on negotiating.
My reflections are these.
It’s now been one year since I stopped a regular exercise and resistance training routine.
Exercising is something I really do enjoy and I know long term it is in my best interest to exercise regularly.
Why I stopped is a matter of time and energy focus, than it is not wanting to do it.
Sacrifice?
Definitely.
You can’t add anything in unless you take something else out. This I got from Brian Tracy, and it’s absolutely true. We are already using all 24 hours in each day. If you want to “add” anything to the day, you must take something out to do so.
I understand this and for me the taking out was exercise, because I enjoy it.
Now if I were training someone, I would fully engage the argument of it can only be done in 20-minute sessions, so you can do it.
This would be to someone with a different background than mine. I’ll explain more on that in a moment.
You see, because I enjoy exercise and I am competitive and I get fully engaged in what I set myself to, exercise isn’t just a twenty-minute deal.
When I follow an exercise regimen, I give it full effort. This requires a full commitment to rest and recovery. My eating (diet) has to be given more time and attention. Because I live in Florida and my home gym is in an open-air space, each session requires cool down time and an extra shower afterward.
Beyond that, a full out resistance training session does tax the central nervous system and the rest of the day can sometimes be affected because of this.
All of this adds to the time involved with exercise – for me. Because I enjoy it.
So, I sacrificed the exercising in the mornings that I enjoy and filled that time with skill building, learning and relearning, and working towards transition.
Getting back to my background, the long-term benefits of exercising, and why I’m not too concerned about it in the “short term.”
I have for decades, yes decades, exercised the majority of the time. When I get on it, I’ll stay the course for years at a time.
Since the last time, it’s been three years since my last break. If memory serves me, I’ve had only three such breaks from a regimented exercise and resistance training routine in the last 20 years.
Every few years I take a break from it all. I think it does the body good. Also, I know that these breaks from a regular exercise routine are only temporary. I will, soon enough, get back on a routine. I have a substantial bank of knowledge and experience to draw upon. And, that’s one of the keys to it all long term – have variations to choose form so you don’t get bored and are always challenged.
The second thing is I am far form inactive – even when not following an exercise routine.
Currently we live on two acres of land, with a barn, thirty chickens, four ducks, two dogs, two growing children and one loving wife – and ALL the chores and activities that go along with it.
Far from inactive, by any stretch of the imagination. And yes, I do like to work outside, and tend to the animals (and the mice and rats that find their home in our 600 square foot chicken coop).
In fact, I started out thinking this post would be titled “Busy.” Because that’s how I am most of the time.
So I can’t really compare myself to someone who has never exercised or avoids it or doesn’t like being physically active. Or who is otherwise unmotivated.
Another reflection is the groundwork I’ve laid in the past year.
Daily routines are in place, growing a LinkedIn network, following an inbound marketing system with built in positioning, a body of work (proof), working on “finding my voice” which I don’t think I had any issues with before, and the connections I’ve made and are continuing to build.
All of these are the foundation, a base that will support a more robust end result.
Time, work, energy, effort, delay…all of these and more.
But to reflect, where am I compared to where I was one year ago with this endeavor?
Further along.
If I am to build a new career and better lifestyle, then the long-term approach is necessary. I’m looking at the next thirty years.