Selflessness

Well here we are again in the snow. I can't do anything but laugh about it now. Watching the news and seeing all those poor people down in the southern states getting their ass's whipped by tornados, makes me almost delighted to see the snow and clouds. At least the snow does not re-park my truck for me on the neighbors roof, like some nut job valet driver! As much as I am ready for summer, I'll takes the snow any day over tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
A little while back I was saying I was reading about this fella by the name of Pat Tillman. Well I finished one of the two books written about him and am half way through the second. The first is written by Jon Krakauer  and the second, his mother. It is heart wrenching to read, but at the same time, I can barely put it down. I am so impressed by the type of person that Tillman was before being snatched from this world. I can't remember how I stumbled upon his story, but I can honestly say it is one of those life changing events that takes place in your life. Truly amazing how a person that no longer walks through the world can have such a large impact on my life. And I never even met the guy! If only each one of us could leave such an inspiring legacy hey?
Well we can. Don't forget that. Your life is yours to do with it as you see fit.
Among many things that his life has made me really evaluate in my own, is his selflessness. I mean really caring for people around him. Trying to make their lives better in any way he possibly could. From family and friends, to the cashier at the grocery store. Trying to make sure everyone that crossed his path felt that they were really appreciated for adding to his day. Ultimately, this led to his early departure from this world. His need to "do something" with life to help people around him, and not just himself.
Passing through life day to day I seem to be worried about my life for the most part. Which is good, in the context of self preservation..............but is it really all that I can do to improve the world around me, and the people that I continually share it with? A question that everyone should continually ask themselves. Obviously a certain amount of self respect is needed to make it in this world. But when exactly does that start to turn into selfishness? That question, is for each one of us to answer on our own I guess. Everyone's idea of what it is that they exactly need for life is different. But if you take a good hard look at what is important, you will find that it is very little, and believe it or not, you can not buy it.
I do my best to impact people's lives positively all the time, but am going to try a little harder. Good is good, but I do not think Pat Tillman would ever be satisfied with just good. And we should not be either.

Always take time to lend a hand. Whatever you are doing can wait:)

Remember, you can always do more. Be better. Never except your current situation as the final step in life. Continually search for self improvement. And share 110% of that with the people around you. Give more than you get. I think in a weird way that the more you give the more you get, and grow. There is just something about helping someone out, saying thank you to a server, having a deep meaningful conversation with someone, or just sharing some laughs over a couple pints with friends, that does more for you than anything you could ever buy. And that goes both ways. Everyone walks away better for it. Even the strangers!
Try to go through life a little less selfish and see what happens. I think that you will steadily become more and more wealthy. Maybe not with material things, but with what actually matters.

PS: Pick up "Boots On Ground By Dusk, My Tribute to Pat Tillman". If it does not change your life, check your pulse:-) I promise it will be one of the best investments of your life.

"Is beauty a pretty face, a nice smile, flowing hair, nice,skin? Not to me, it's not. To me beauty is living life to higher standards, stronger morals and ethics and believing in them, whether people tell you you're right or wrong. Beauty is not wasting a day. Beauty is noticing life's little intricacies and taking time out of your busy day to really enjoy those intricacies. Beauty is being real, being genuine, being pure with no facade - what you see is what you get. Beauty is expanding your mind, always seeking knowledge, not being content, always going after something and challenging yourself." - Jake Plummer talking about Pat Tillman during Pat's memorial service.

Me, myself, and I

I think the snow may just be on it's way out with any luck. I best knock on wood now, or I will wake up to another 3 feet of the lovely stuff tomorrow morning! I really do enjoy riding from our place to downtown for work. There is something about it that just puts a smile on my face. Not too mention the health benefits of riding a minimum of 240km a week. Should really help the legs for this long little jog I have planned for myself in late July. The CDR is just over 3 months out and I am already quite stoked! It is going to be a life altering experience I believe. I love trying things, when you have no clue what the outcome is going to be. I can prepare as best as I can, but there is plenty of unknown variables that will come into play that will test my mental toughness and physical capabilities. All I really know is that I am 20x more capable of things than my mind would have me believe. I believe in that................. but seem to always need to remind my body, and consciousness of it all the time.
That is what I wanted to rant on about today. My belief....................in me. I am not trying to attack anyones religious beliefs/views, so hopefully this does not offend. I think everyone has the right to believe in whatever it is that they like. That is one of the joys of life. The freedom to be whoever you would like, and to believe in whatever you would like.
On a daily basis I see people placing a lot of faith in many things that they believe to be worthy of their devotion. While this is all great, I think they are misplacing a great deal of their faith and belief. They forget about the most important person to believe in. Their self.
You may pray to your "god" every day and go to a certain place of worship regularly to pay your respects, but quite often forget to put some belief in yourself.
I see this all too often. "I can't do that." "I could never do that." "That will never happen.""I wish I could do that." Etc, etc., etc. Sometimes it is not even words, just body language or a simple lack of will to just try. They all are events/times that you are not believing in yourself.
Like I always say.................your capable of anything.
The minute those words cross your lips or run through your conscious/subconscious, you are setting yourself up for failure. This may be related to how you are approaching the task at hand, or the way you have, or are thinking of, setting your goals. But either way, you are not placing nearly enough faith/belief in yourself. Sure you will find support from your other beliefs, but if you can not help or believe in yourself......... you are in for a long fight.
There is always a way and you just need to truly believe in YOU while taking the steps to prove it.
I am not afraid to admit that I do not place much faith in anything but myself, the people in my life, and the world around me. I believe I was plopped down on this earth by two very loving parents, and have become who I am today by going through thousands of experiences in my 30 years of cruising. Taking lessons from every experience, constantly growing through each one.
I guess I am maybe what you might call slightly spiritual? I am not sure. I think that I am here on this planet to make it better, in whatever way I can. Maybe that is why I made the career choice that I did?
So this is how I try to live. Try to make a positive impact on peoples lives continually, and a positive impact on the world continually. And when it is all done.................. make sure I have been eating a healthy paleo diet so I make good fertilizer and worm food:) LOL! I actually want to be lit up for the record! But the ashes I am sure will be good for the earth in the end.

"Shorty" and I on the river during the summer. I could not have asked for  a better  person to spend life with. "Blessed" does not even scratch the surface on how lucky I am. 

Keep your chin up in all life's adventures and a smile on your face. The most rewarding things in life come through hard work. And never stop believing in yourself and the capabilities of the world around you to be great.

Closing and locking the back door.

Well just got home from work this morning after a B-E-A-utiful ride from downtown, aside from a few little kinks with the bicycle, and just jumped out of a warm shower. Great way to start the day. I have burnt over 1000 calories before most people have gotten out of the line up at Timmy's. So sad. Pretty excited about being able to ride back and forth to work again. Really do enjoy it. Just some good tunes and fresh air. Super sweet. Made the mistake of checking the weather a few minutes ago and to keep it short, I will not be riding into work tonight:( Or possibly next tour. Out of the 5 days in the long range forecast, 4 of them have got snow! Blah!
Anyways, my little topic today I am going to briefly yack about, is like the winter months around here. Tenacious.
Awhile ago I was suggesting that you remove the words "I can't" from your vocab, and hopefully you have given it a shot and seen the amazing results that just "trying" can provide. If not, what is your excuse. Like I am going to listen:-) Excuses are like assholes..............everyone seems to have one, and I usually do not want to hear it. It is what I am going to call leaving the back door open................so you have somewhere to tuck tale and run when things get a little hard. I do not want to hear why you are unable to do something. You "can" do it, your just giving yourself an excuse not to. Wasting your time, and mine, if you are trying to tell me about it.
I had a great chat last week with a gentlemen at the gym about how people can push themselves so hard in Crossfit WODs and life.
On a side note, that is something that I love about the box and couching/training there. Always engaging in these great conversations with people and learning so much about them, and myself, at the same time. Often I find myself sitting there for an hour or two just chatting with someone. Not even about training most of the time. Just stuff. Great stuff.
Back on track.......he was amazed at what some of the athletes in the open are capable of. Just turning off the pain and agony, and pushing through to the end. Holding back the feeling of nausea and the ever present tunnelling of their vision, as their bodies are fighting for every little bit of oxygenated blood their cardiovascular/respiratory systems are capable of providing. Focusing on the next movement and the next breath..........that is it. Never quitting.
We had quite a lengthy chat about this and many other things, and I have came to this conclusion. As small as these little personal battles are that we go through in the gym, while out for a run or ride, at work, and through everyday life, the need for us to press on and see it through to the end, at all costs, can not be over emphasized. Never let yourself give in and quit. Do not go running through the back door with your tale tucked.

You see if you start closing this door, locking the SOB, and throwing the f'in key away..............you remove quitting as an option or way out. It's just not there anymore. Kapeesh!
The only way to go is forward. The more you do this with all the small things in life, the better you will be when the shit hits the fan and your faced with crucial decisions in not so good times. The option to quit is gone, so you find a way to make it happen. Simple. If you do not have that back door locked with the small battles, I am willing to bet as soon as something substantial rears its ugly head, you will be gone out the back/easy way before you have had time to even think. Making a crucial error in a decision that could cost you something as important as your life. Sound a little severe................just think about it.
So build a solid mental base with all the little battles and challenges you face in your everyday life. Locking the back door and removing quitting as any sort of an option. You may get physically and mentally tired and sore, but do not quit. You will soon find yourself doing things that were once out of your reach..........or so you thought:-)
Apply this to anything and everything in life now, and prepare yourself for an amazing future.

The blue or the red pill?

Making a quick trip to Red Deer this weekend to visit some great friends. It is amazing how fast time goes by between visits, and how little I get to see them. I keep saying it, but we have to make it a bit more of a priority to get together. That busy "life" thing keeps getting in the way:) Do the best that we can do I guess and let the cards fall where they may.

After ripping home early on Saturday morning Uyen and I will be heading straight to the box to compete in (myself) and help out with the 3rd of the 6 Crossfit Open WODs. It is going to be a doozy! 5 minute AMRAP (as many reps/rounds as possible) of a 165 pound clean and jerk. Or in Crossfit terms, pretty much ground to over head with a front squat somewhere in the movement. Regardless of how I tackle it, it is going to be great. And by great I mean hard as fuck:-) Throwing around that weight is pretty hard for me, and is one of my fitness goals that I will be working hard at all year in prep for next years CF games. How does that saying go? What does not kill you,  makes you stronger.

That brings me to what I was thinking about lately. Pill poppin'.

Every place I seem to turn, wether it be a magazine, sign somewhere, gym advertisement, or even the radio.................... there is some goomba telling me that if I take this/these pills that all my worries will fade away and life will be perfect:-) I use goomba in place of a more nasty term that I would like to use. 

Was chatting with a buddy of mine the other day about this and we both came to the same conclusion. Get your diet, sleep, and exercise on track. I mean really dialled in, and then maybe look at additional supplements if something is still askew. I would be willing to bet that 99.9% of people could cure whatever is wrong with them by really getting on top of those three things. Although all the self proclaimed pharmacists in GNC, Popeyes, and wherever else you find yourself, where they trying to shove pills and other shit down your throat............ would love to convince you otherwise.

Although the human body is a wonderfully complex organism that is capable of amazing feats, I like to dumb it down a little. Like I do with everything else. And I think that I am right on the mark.

Keep in mind this is me chatting with me. Opinions on most topics usually do not come up against much resistance. But I do try to keep an open mind about everything..........how else do you grow?
First, my body needs food for energy to go about my daily adventures, and to help repair damage that is done while on I'm on these adventures. This food is much like drugs at the end of the day, as it affects different parts of my body in different ways. Put shitty drugs in, and expect shitty things to happen. I do not think you would sniff anthrax expecting it to get you high like cocaine would ya? Hopefully you are picking up what I am putting down here. Secondly, I need to rest up and give my body a chance to maintain and heal itself from my adventures. I mean really rest up. Not like 2 hours a night, but like a minimum of 8 good, solid hours of nappy nappin. "I don't have time." Make it. I am sure you do not want to commit suicide, but robbing yourself of this precious nappy time is taking years off your life. Slowly wacking yourself. (Thanks grandma J for the saying) Third, I must be a little active. Use my heart, lungs, muscles, arteries, veins, eyes, nose, brain..............body each day. We were not designed to sit at a computer or on a couch all day long. Those 2 long sticks protruding from just below my waist are legs. Believe it or not, they are designed to transport the rest of me around:-)
That is me simplifying things. For me and you. Get those three things in check and watch and feel the magic your body is capable of creating.

Pill pusher/poppers are being extremely reactive. Period. No question about it. They see a problem and treat the problem with something else. That quite often can create other problems down the road. In which case they will treat the new problem with  something else and so on. Always reacting to the signs and symptoms that are being exhibited by the most recent issue. 

Fat burning pills vs. steroids. Is there a difference? I think not.

Let us back up to the beginning of that whole train wreck of events that just occurred, and see what put it all in motion.

It is quite obvious that making a "knee jerk" reaction to a problem we may be having with are body, has created a whole host of other problems, while masking/temporarily delaying, the underlying issue and not actually fixing it. 

Classic Example: I am a big fatty fatso and want to lose some weight. There are pills for this. So I go hard on these pills while not changing anything else. WALLLLLLAAA! I am losing weight. It is falling off me. I think I should be on the Biggest Loser I am doing so great. I hit my goal weight and I am pumped. Off the pills I go because I reached my goal and am sick of lining some drug pusher's pockets. KAAAABOOOOOMMM! 2 weeks later, I am fattier than the fatty fatso that I initially was! WTF!

"BING!" Hopefully the light bulb just turned on:-)

Why not be proactive and prevent the issue/problem in the first place? Or take the appropriate steps to rectify the situation. 

I can guaran' damn' tee you that it is going to take longer and be harder than stuffing your chops with synthetic crap that manipulates your body for a particular short term outcome, but the long term benefits will FAR out weigh the short term satisfaction. No questions asked.

Like I mentioned before, YOUR body is an amazing creature. It is capable of doing anything that you ask of it..................... as long as you give it the proper tools to do so, and the chance to do it.

EAT RIGHT, SLEEP RIGHT, EXERCISE/TRAIN RIGHT, and you will live right. 

Winter Storm Warning!

Great time with the games WOD last night. Man I love cranking out those suckers! Just like a regular WOD, but a little juiced up. The fact that you are training with a bunch of other Crossfit peeps from around the globe just adds to the fun:)

Woke up this morning, after a good sleep, and checked the iphone forecast. Winter Storm Warning is flashing across the top of the screen. I shake the shit out of my head hoping that I am just not fully awake and am seeing things. Nope. No luck. There it is. SHEEEEOOOOOT! I think to myself. Serves me right for reaching for the old iphone as soon as I get up.
I have been trying this slightly different approach to my morning routine lately, and it has been working wonders. Getting up, having a big glass or water with my vitamins, and getting some fresh air (when it is not -40 below!) Following that I cook up a nice healthy breakfast and get ready for the day. After AT LEAST an hour or so, only then will I check the phone/computer. By that time I have got my day fully under way and usually have accomplished one or two things that I had planned for the day, before being sucked into the digital world that we all rely so heavily on these days. Sure checking emails for some is part of their work and is a must, but taking care of your basic needs should come first. And checking Little Johnny's Facebook status and things of the sort are not work related...................so don't lie to yourself:-) Wether you believe it or not, being properly fed, rested, and watered will make you 10 times more productive than being fully caffeinated and under nourished.
Back to the storm warning that started to ruin my day, before it even had a chance to start. Laying there feeling sorry for myself and this never ending winter that I have been forced to endure. Thinking how much I dislike the snow and all the cold weather that accompanies it. Then I had a thought. More like a good slap of reality up side the head. It could have said "Tsunami Warning", "Earth Quake Warning", "Hurricane Warning", or "Tornado Warning".
"Quit your bitching Johnson and get your f'ing arse out of bed and get to it! Snow is not bad at all. Stop being so self centred and have a good look at the real big picture dumb ass!" is what then went through my head. Just a little snip it of my conversation with myself.
This conversation is one that I will have quite regularly with myself regarding the "poor me attitude" that sometimes sneaks it's way in to my conscious. I have a pretty great life, I think, and sometimes I need to kick myself in the buttocks for a little reminder.

We had this little gal in for dinner quite awhile ago. She was SO young and was battling cancer.  Just think how lucky you are.

Anyhoo, those of you that live in Calgary and the surrounding area..............don't get your panties or manties in a bunch over the weather. "A" you have no control over it, and "B" it is not that bad. Not great, but it could be so much worse.
I encourage you to try this little morning routine that I have been experimenting with lately. You will be surprised how better your day goes. It is like trying to quit crack at first. Not checking the internet the minute the sleep has cleared your eyes, but once you start to do it everyday, you will reap the benefits. I am sure of it.


P.S. I know hate is a strong word.................but that F.M.L.(fuck my life) shit that I see and hear all over the place has no place in your vocabulary. I really do hate it. It is the most unproductive saying that I have ever heard, and think that it just beats people down. You apparently have a phone and computer to broadcast your displeasure about whatever seems to be bothering you, so things can not be too bad. STOP YOUR WHINING! Instead, try saying "I LOVE MY LIFE! This little set back is nothing I can't handle and I am going to come out the other side stronger and better for it. So there suckers!"