Thursday, October 18, 2012
Put Your Hands On The Bar!
The other day, i was coaching a client about her business and we were discussing next steps... her fears, the obstacles between her and that next objective... and i started thinking about my powerlifting coach, Doctor Johnson (we all called him Doc)...
i was maybe 18 years old, weighed about 145lbs... this was my first real weightlifting training - i was on the powerlifting team... Doc was our coach (he was strong as hell, late 50s, a professor of biology)... it was my turn on the bench press... i was about to press 225 which for me had become a barrier - not the "pounds" per se - in fact i was doing relatively easy reps with 215, so 225 shouldve been nothing... shouldve been, but this was a move to 2 "big plates" on each side of the bar - that was what was playing in my head... i had never tried 225, but it should have been an easy lift... but moving up to the 2 plates felt HUGE... so i pulled my belt tight... sat on the bench... breathed heavily... started to lay back... stood up... shook out my shoulders... sat back down... went through the inventory of foot placement... etc. reached for the bar... then sat back up - it just didnt "feel" right... i did this process a 3rd time... my "getting set" stuff... in my head was "dude, 2 PLATES! You've NEVER done this! What if i DO it? What if i DONT? blah blah blah... doubt fear everything has to be in the perfect spot... ahhh!!!"
i started to go through the process a 5th time when from the squat rack came Doc's voice, "PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE BAR AND LIFT THAT!" immediately, the head voices stopped, i sat down, laid back, didnt think about where my feet etc. were (they were in the right spots, of course, Doc had drilled it into us... the muscle memory was deep) and so, i put my hands on the bar... and i pushed it solidly... the flood gates opened and quickly pushed my PR over and over...
In fact, the head games didnt happen again until i got to 315 (3 plates on each side) - but on my 1st shot, i wrote OVER my b.s. and had my mantra playing in my head: Doc's voice saying over and over "Put Your Hands On The Bar and Lift That!"
i was so caught up in the game of "getting ready" and making sure everything was right... and messing with my OWN head on the plates... Doc's voice cut through all that noise and gave me permission to take the next step... to take the next action necessary to achieve the objective - "Put Your Hands On The Bar..." - everything else fell in to place; my feet knew where to go... my body KNEW what to do next - my head needed to get out of the way and sometimes merely doing the next thing, no matter how simple, is the hardest thing to do... i let my head, my fears, my doubts take over vs. just putting my hands on the bar...
So... there i was with my client, hearing all of the "noise" of fears, over-complications, doubt, etc. - and i thought, "Put Your Hands On The Bar..." - we identified the next simple step in building her business and i said, "Do That... and call me when you are done." She did... and she later told me that the flood gates opened for other things that she and her partner needed to get done that they hadnt taken the time to start... They KNEW what to do and HOW to do it... cutting through the head noise by merely taking the next step...
When you are stuck - Put Your Hands On The Bar...
Monday, October 8, 2012
Moving Things
Anyone who knows me knows i love to lift weights... that i'm very passionate about lifting weights. there is something very "pure" about lifting weights... Henry Rollins said it best in this message a while ago...
For me... lifting weights is the lens through which i see life... it's one of those things that helps me create metaphors for my life... my coaching... my consulting... how i approach a business or a person... etc. etc.
And i really do believe that everyone can benefit by some sort of weight lifting / resistance movement.
It will change who you are...
Honestly, i think that anything that one is passionate about can be used as a metaphor for life... it is kinda why we become passionate about something. Anthropologists talk about myths as stories we to create to help us explain why things happen ("reality") and to help us deal with how things work in "reality". For me, weight lifting is a lens that distorts to a certain extent but helps me clarify as well...
The greatest relationship i see connecting weights to life is that moving / lifting weights is all about change: change in the micro by moving X pounds Y distance over Z time... change in the macro as i get stronger or get injured or realize i can... or cant move something.
Change... the underlying principle of life... it is growth... it may be progression... but change always happens and learning to understand HOW i can impact or direct that change but KNOWING that change is going to happen and through lifting weights i learn how to deal with it.
Anyone who knows me knows i love to lift weights... that i'm very passionate about lifting weights. there is something very "pure" about lifting weights... Henry Rollins said it best in this message a while ago...
For me... lifting weights is the lens through which i see life... it's one of those things that helps me create metaphors for my life... my coaching... my consulting... how i approach a business or a person... etc. etc.
And i really do believe that everyone can benefit by some sort of weight lifting / resistance movement.
It will change who you are...
Honestly, i think that anything that one is passionate about can be used as a metaphor for life... it is kinda why we become passionate about something. Anthropologists talk about myths as stories we to create to help us explain why things happen ("reality") and to help us deal with how things work in "reality". For me, weight lifting is a lens that distorts to a certain extent but helps me clarify as well...
The greatest relationship i see connecting weights to life is that moving / lifting weights is all about change: change in the micro by moving X pounds Y distance over Z time... change in the macro as i get stronger or get injured or realize i can... or cant move something.
Change... the underlying principle of life... it is growth... it may be progression... but change always happens and learning to understand HOW i can impact or direct that change but KNOWING that change is going to happen and through lifting weights i learn how to deal with it.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Wake Up!
It has been quite a while...
the thing that has been sitting in front of me, around me... has been the notion of "brand" and "branding" - not so much from the corporate perspective - though that may actually not be true - but more from the personal / self / resume / cv perspective...
"Personal Brand" has been something that a number of folks have been writing about for many years...
i have learned recently that it has played behind the scenes for me for some time and i'm only now really becoming conscious of it...
Our “brand” is what people see or feel or think they know about us before they meet us… and it is either changed or reinforced when they meet us and get closer to us.
I like to think of my “brand” as my “wake”… see, we all leave a “wake” … a disturbance in the water as we pass through… an impact on those around us… our environment… and that “wake” is often the real first impression folks get of us. We all know we can act a certain way in front of certain people… and so our “1st impression” is rarely when we physically meet someone for the first time but more often it happens with our “wake”.
So, I’ve been thinking about the “wake” I’ve been leaving… and how it has made me conscious of my actions towards others, my work, or whatever… it’s changing me… in a good way, I hope.
the thing that has been sitting in front of me, around me... has been the notion of "brand" and "branding" - not so much from the corporate perspective - though that may actually not be true - but more from the personal / self / resume / cv perspective...
"Personal Brand" has been something that a number of folks have been writing about for many years...
i have learned recently that it has played behind the scenes for me for some time and i'm only now really becoming conscious of it...
Our “brand” is what people see or feel or think they know about us before they meet us… and it is either changed or reinforced when they meet us and get closer to us.
I like to think of my “brand” as my “wake”… see, we all leave a “wake” … a disturbance in the water as we pass through… an impact on those around us… our environment… and that “wake” is often the real first impression folks get of us. We all know we can act a certain way in front of certain people… and so our “1st impression” is rarely when we physically meet someone for the first time but more often it happens with our “wake”.
So, I’ve been thinking about the “wake” I’ve been leaving… and how it has made me conscious of my actions towards others, my work, or whatever… it’s changing me… in a good way, I hope.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Simple - Accountable
i am going to “define” what i mean by these words and then how i feel they fit when combined. granted… it’s all a work in progress… so take it for what it is.
first, i’ll start with the notion of defining these terms by means of contrast. for me it helps if i can see the opposite or the negative in order to gain a perspective on the positive.
first: simple. as opposed to complex. or simplicity vs. complexity. i know… seems like a “duh” experience… but the depth comes from being conscious that anything simple can be made complex by virtue of the context and our psychology. simplicity has less to do with a specific task (folding laundry) but is more related to the context in which the task is completed (to fold the laundry i need a clean place to lay the clean clothes, i should dust that table, but before i dust the table i have to find the cloth and the cleaner, on the way to where i keep the cleaners, i see that there is a pile of dirt the dog tracked in and so i need to sweep that up, as i go to get the broom i try to remember what i started out doing in the first place). ”simple” aint so simple… it requires discipline, a plan, and constant reassessment.
accountable as opposed to victim.
i choose to look at being accountable as choosing a worldview that says “i attract all that occurs to me”. for me it is a forward looking perspective and one in which i am ultimately in control. i control how i react and what needs to happen to cause this to never happen again (in the case of a bad experience) or how do i do more of that (in the case of a positive one). a view of “ok… this happened now what am i going to do about it so i can learn from it.”
i choose to look at victim as a world view that says “he/she/it did it to me.” for me this is a backward looking and passive viewpoint. a view of “how did this happen to me?” or “why me”.
i know that this may sound a bit bizarre, i mean what about if an earthquake happens or… i know, there are a never ending number of things that may not BE, technically, attracted by me… but so what? i mean, this is about consciously CHOOSING to put myself in the position of at least being able to choose an action. it is a philosophical perspective not necessarily “THE TRUTH” (whatever that is).
so… in combination, simple accountability is the conscious choice on my part to engage in and create a more simple existence so that i may be in a position to have a greater impact on the world around me… it is keeping true to the “simple” definition of accountability and living accordingly and honestly. i am ultimately accountable for making space in my life so that i may be a greater participant with God, my wife, my kids, my community, etc… and when “complexity happens” and chaos ensues or too much is going on or there is debt or the education system isnt what it should be or there isnt enough potable water in Africa or whatever… there is only one person to look to. me.
first, i’ll start with the notion of defining these terms by means of contrast. for me it helps if i can see the opposite or the negative in order to gain a perspective on the positive.
first: simple. as opposed to complex. or simplicity vs. complexity. i know… seems like a “duh” experience… but the depth comes from being conscious that anything simple can be made complex by virtue of the context and our psychology. simplicity has less to do with a specific task (folding laundry) but is more related to the context in which the task is completed (to fold the laundry i need a clean place to lay the clean clothes, i should dust that table, but before i dust the table i have to find the cloth and the cleaner, on the way to where i keep the cleaners, i see that there is a pile of dirt the dog tracked in and so i need to sweep that up, as i go to get the broom i try to remember what i started out doing in the first place). ”simple” aint so simple… it requires discipline, a plan, and constant reassessment.
accountable as opposed to victim.
i choose to look at being accountable as choosing a worldview that says “i attract all that occurs to me”. for me it is a forward looking perspective and one in which i am ultimately in control. i control how i react and what needs to happen to cause this to never happen again (in the case of a bad experience) or how do i do more of that (in the case of a positive one). a view of “ok… this happened now what am i going to do about it so i can learn from it.”
i choose to look at victim as a world view that says “he/she/it did it to me.” for me this is a backward looking and passive viewpoint. a view of “how did this happen to me?” or “why me”.
i know that this may sound a bit bizarre, i mean what about if an earthquake happens or… i know, there are a never ending number of things that may not BE, technically, attracted by me… but so what? i mean, this is about consciously CHOOSING to put myself in the position of at least being able to choose an action. it is a philosophical perspective not necessarily “THE TRUTH” (whatever that is).
so… in combination, simple accountability is the conscious choice on my part to engage in and create a more simple existence so that i may be in a position to have a greater impact on the world around me… it is keeping true to the “simple” definition of accountability and living accordingly and honestly. i am ultimately accountable for making space in my life so that i may be a greater participant with God, my wife, my kids, my community, etc… and when “complexity happens” and chaos ensues or too much is going on or there is debt or the education system isnt what it should be or there isnt enough potable water in Africa or whatever… there is only one person to look to. me.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Why
why not? i run into people frequently who ask me about our chosen way of life. frankly, it is a process…i struggle with constantly reducing the complexity in my life. and then… i look… and i’ve filled my day and my time with “stuff”. it’s an ongoing process.
the sub-title of this blog is taken from an interview i heard with Maya Angelou - i thought it captured where i am at this time in my life… and i’m constantly working through it - learning and relearning that.
In essence, I’m working through the process of choosing a smaller footprint in order to have a bigger handprint.
doing this by minimizing needs (in terms of using less, to be sure, but also consciously no longer being a slave to: debt, stuff, a job, etc.) in order to maximize my impact on the world around me (serving and being an active participant with my wife, my children, and the community we live in).
I start with a quotation from Thomas Merton:
“The rush and pressure of modern life are forms, perhaps the most common form of innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence. More than that, it is cooperation with violence. The frenzy of the activity neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys her own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”
the sub-title of this blog is taken from an interview i heard with Maya Angelou - i thought it captured where i am at this time in my life… and i’m constantly working through it - learning and relearning that.
In essence, I’m working through the process of choosing a smaller footprint in order to have a bigger handprint.
doing this by minimizing needs (in terms of using less, to be sure, but also consciously no longer being a slave to: debt, stuff, a job, etc.) in order to maximize my impact on the world around me (serving and being an active participant with my wife, my children, and the community we live in).
I start with a quotation from Thomas Merton:
“The rush and pressure of modern life are forms, perhaps the most common form of innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence. More than that, it is cooperation with violence. The frenzy of the activity neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys her own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”
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