Another Rainy Day in Phoenix
"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
And trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakable."
- Ascribed to The Buddha from the Dhammapada
Most of the time, I get up earlier on Saturday mornings than I do during the work week. Usually, the alarm goes off at 5:30 AM, I jump out of bed, put on the running gear, make myself an English muffin with peanut butter and honey, and get coffee at Starbucks. By the time all these things are done, I am at the run site by 6:50 AM, with the running starting at 7 AM. It's a lot of hoops to jump through. At the same time, the people I run with are fantastic and we usually get breakfast after the run. Today was not most Saturdays though.
Instead of doing the group run today, I slept. I've weathered the first storm of our busy season at work, and the fatigue has set in. Last weekend was a wonderful break from the normal world I live in, which lasted just long enough to let all the stress and fatigue rise to the surface. It's not gone though. So, I took in an extra three hours of sleep, stumbled out of the house, and read the latest issue of Esquire this morning. Yeah, I'll say it, life doesn't get much better than that.
To top things off, I took my new pants in for alterations on Monday, got them back on Wednesday, and they have been incorporated into the "rotation." Last night I headed off to the barbershop, and got a hair cut. Jerome had a string of clients waiting, so I went to a new barber--a young Russian guy by the name of Immanuel--who cleaned up my hair nicely. He doesn't have Jerome's semi-pornographic stories, or Jay's guiding presence, but he gave me a fantastic neck shave. We all have our strengths; his is the straight edge razor.
Over the past few years I have spent a lot of time putting together plans and strategies that we focused solely on professional developement, or athletic achievement. Those are still my passions and I'll probably obsess over these two things for the rest of my life. What's interesting to me at this moment is that I am actually beginning to give myself breaks and rest as I go about these things. They say that true wisdom is the practice. Maybe I actually am learning.
Had two lessons with Coach Kevin this week, working on the same thing: the recovery of my left arm. Instead of recovering with a high elbow, I am recovering with a straight arm. This in turn is affecting my catch and overall balance and body position in the water. He gave me the adjustments to make, and I thought I was making them as I swam. When I touched the wall, he asked me what I thought, and I said, "Wow, that was totally differnt." He smiled and said, "Your stroke hasn't changed."
He brought out the video camera, and sure enough, the high elbow recovery was not in place. Homeostasis was getting in the way of getting the right feedback. We broke the stroke down, did some drills, and at the end of the lesson agreed that this was the missing component my freestyle right now.
What is amazing to me is that I think a lot of people do exactly what I was doing in their lives. We decide we want to make a change, but end up going out there are just practicing the same mistakes all over again, thinking that we are making these changes in our lives. The only way that I can see to make such changes is to get real time, fact based feedback over a consistent period of time, and unrelentingly practice these new skills.
I've been thinking about this concept of "practicing our old mistakes" over the past few days. I don't think that one can really "think" there way through this process of change. You just have to plunge in, work with good people, put your energy towards making such changes, and dispassionately wait for things to evolve.
I'd like to believe that this blog has been a conduit for change. I don't think that I would actually take rest over a long run and breakfast, if MAD hadn't gotten on my case on several occassions and told me to rest. After him beating me over the head numerous times with this information, I'm starting to get to a point where I know when to back off. I don't think that I have this skill mastered yet--I probably never will--but I am starting to practice it.
The rest of my day is going to be mellow. I'm heading off to swim in the next few minutes, and take a long nap after. I may or may not purchase a bottle of Scotch whiskey. I just finished a bottle of Bruichladdich, and cannot decide whether or not I "need" another bottle. My inner Bohemian is fighting it out with my Accounting brain as to whether or not I can justify the purchase. We'll see how I feel after my nap. A field trip may be necessary if this rain keeps up, and I have a lot of time on my hands for self reflection.
Namaste
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
And trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakable."
- Ascribed to The Buddha from the Dhammapada
Most of the time, I get up earlier on Saturday mornings than I do during the work week. Usually, the alarm goes off at 5:30 AM, I jump out of bed, put on the running gear, make myself an English muffin with peanut butter and honey, and get coffee at Starbucks. By the time all these things are done, I am at the run site by 6:50 AM, with the running starting at 7 AM. It's a lot of hoops to jump through. At the same time, the people I run with are fantastic and we usually get breakfast after the run. Today was not most Saturdays though.
Instead of doing the group run today, I slept. I've weathered the first storm of our busy season at work, and the fatigue has set in. Last weekend was a wonderful break from the normal world I live in, which lasted just long enough to let all the stress and fatigue rise to the surface. It's not gone though. So, I took in an extra three hours of sleep, stumbled out of the house, and read the latest issue of Esquire this morning. Yeah, I'll say it, life doesn't get much better than that.
To top things off, I took my new pants in for alterations on Monday, got them back on Wednesday, and they have been incorporated into the "rotation." Last night I headed off to the barbershop, and got a hair cut. Jerome had a string of clients waiting, so I went to a new barber--a young Russian guy by the name of Immanuel--who cleaned up my hair nicely. He doesn't have Jerome's semi-pornographic stories, or Jay's guiding presence, but he gave me a fantastic neck shave. We all have our strengths; his is the straight edge razor.
Over the past few years I have spent a lot of time putting together plans and strategies that we focused solely on professional developement, or athletic achievement. Those are still my passions and I'll probably obsess over these two things for the rest of my life. What's interesting to me at this moment is that I am actually beginning to give myself breaks and rest as I go about these things. They say that true wisdom is the practice. Maybe I actually am learning.
Had two lessons with Coach Kevin this week, working on the same thing: the recovery of my left arm. Instead of recovering with a high elbow, I am recovering with a straight arm. This in turn is affecting my catch and overall balance and body position in the water. He gave me the adjustments to make, and I thought I was making them as I swam. When I touched the wall, he asked me what I thought, and I said, "Wow, that was totally differnt." He smiled and said, "Your stroke hasn't changed."
He brought out the video camera, and sure enough, the high elbow recovery was not in place. Homeostasis was getting in the way of getting the right feedback. We broke the stroke down, did some drills, and at the end of the lesson agreed that this was the missing component my freestyle right now.
What is amazing to me is that I think a lot of people do exactly what I was doing in their lives. We decide we want to make a change, but end up going out there are just practicing the same mistakes all over again, thinking that we are making these changes in our lives. The only way that I can see to make such changes is to get real time, fact based feedback over a consistent period of time, and unrelentingly practice these new skills.
I've been thinking about this concept of "practicing our old mistakes" over the past few days. I don't think that one can really "think" there way through this process of change. You just have to plunge in, work with good people, put your energy towards making such changes, and dispassionately wait for things to evolve.
I'd like to believe that this blog has been a conduit for change. I don't think that I would actually take rest over a long run and breakfast, if MAD hadn't gotten on my case on several occassions and told me to rest. After him beating me over the head numerous times with this information, I'm starting to get to a point where I know when to back off. I don't think that I have this skill mastered yet--I probably never will--but I am starting to practice it.
The rest of my day is going to be mellow. I'm heading off to swim in the next few minutes, and take a long nap after. I may or may not purchase a bottle of Scotch whiskey. I just finished a bottle of Bruichladdich, and cannot decide whether or not I "need" another bottle. My inner Bohemian is fighting it out with my Accounting brain as to whether or not I can justify the purchase. We'll see how I feel after my nap. A field trip may be necessary if this rain keeps up, and I have a lot of time on my hands for self reflection.
Namaste
posted by Zen_Accountant at 10:11 AM
1 Comments:
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't; you're right." Stewie - Family Guy
Nice entry. We all develop and change over time. It can't be helped. Even if the change isn't made instantly, if you continue to focus on the change, it will get there. The thing is, you have to know when you're applying the change and when you're not. In the beginning it usually takes good and consistent feedback from someone besides youself. However after a bit of that, you will start to realize when you have done something incorrectly even if it is after the fact. It is at that point when you can manage the change yourself and you no longer need outside help (although it continues to speed the process)
I'm glad to see you getting some rest. We all need it from time to time.
MAD
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