Not a flying start

At the beginning of the month I set out some pretty good objectives. For the better part of the month I didn't meet them. I aspired to work out 4 days a week and never did hit that one until this week.
So, I need to once again regroup. I feel like I'm off to a pretty good start over the holiday. I went from a real workout on Tuesday, to leading basketball practice on Wednesday evening. That in turn led to a 2 mile Turkey Trot with my nephew and family Thanksgiving morning. Friday was an off day and yesterday I did a decent workout at the YMCA. Today was a 60 minute hike with my son. Shockingly, I felt better today than I had in while, stunning...

Activity level is up, but I'm just getting started. I am a 41 year old man with a weight problem, high blood pressure and bad knees. I often say I need to attack this project like someone with a real health crisis. I wonder why I pretend that is hypothetical...

So my objectives for November just became my objectives for December, as a reminder they are:

#1. Blood pressure needs to measure 120 over 80 consistently or I go see my Doc to address it medically

#2. Get my weight under 200 pounds and quit drinking soda (these support objective 1)

#3. Workout at least 4 times a week and include strength training at least twice a week.

I must say if the blood pressure isn't under control by January 1, anyone left reading this should harass me to get to the doctor.

That's all for now, but look for more frequent updates as I shift my focus to health rather than the 27 other things I let steal my focus. It's a cliche, but I can't help with anything or anyone else until I get myself ok.

A brief update

So things are going Ok. I've dropped a couple pounds, mostly from not eating ice cream late at night. My workouts are erratic at best, but that is sort of ok for now since we've established that I know how to exercise. I just choose not to manage the rest of my health picture very well and that choice is where my focus has been recently. I will add that I haven't done well the last 5 days or so. We had a death in the family and I used that reason to take less good care of myself. I have no idea if that's right or wrong, I just know it happened.

So I need some November objectives (not goals, goals don't work)

#1. Blood pressure needs to measure 120 over 80 consistently or I go see my Doc to address it medically

#2. Get my weight under 200 pounds and quit drinking soda (these support objective 1)

#3. Workout at least 4 times a week and include strength training at least twice a week.

Those look a lot like goals, but whatever.

Random Musings: I mentioned above that my grandmother passed away last week. I could write a long tortured piece all about that, but that's not really where I'm at. I'm more struck by what you could learn at most funerals. In sum, you don't have to be a big deal to be a big deal. My Grandma never had a college degree or a high powered career. She always lived in a small town and as the years went on, she stayed closer and closer to that little town and her little house. And yet, I spent two days at a wake and a funeral seeing how much she mattered to people simply because she was in their life. I could have learned the same lesson from my maternal grandfather 20 + years ago, but I wasn't ready. He was a farmer who left school in 8th grade and spent the last 20 years of his life very disabled and yet, I met a church full of people who felt his impact in their lives too.

So, what have I learned (as all educators ask). Well, I feel like most of my ambition has flown out the window, at least in a career sense. In my little work world, I'm a bit of an important person (sort of, it seems weird to say), and it doesn't bring me much joy. My joy is when I can use my role and my resources to help someone; other than that being "important" kind of sucks.

My ambitions are changing. I know they have something to do with deeper human connection and re-discovering some of the confidence the tumult of my 20's stole from me. That's about how far I've gotten:)

Oh yeah, there were lots of pictures of younger me at the funeral. Not only have a gotten tubby, I'm not sure anyone ever aged more in a decade than I did from 30-40. I guess that refocuses me on the work of this blog...

This is what I want to do... I think