Not long ago I made a list of the new projects I was starting for 2020. As I reviewed, edited, shared, edited and continued to critique the list it occurred to me that a significant part of it are items of self-improvement. Several of the items are things that cause me some type of discomfort, be it physical or mental. Most physical trainers will tell you point blank that if you’re not pushing your limits then you’re not forcing yourself to grow; you stay stuck in any comfort zone. To improve… to grow… you have to experience discomfort in some way. The question becomes, as you consider 2020 and any resolutions you may have made, in what way are you challenging yourself to improvement? Here are a few ideas. (more…)

I came across this “comfort zone” diagram in my social media feeds and wish I could find out who to attribute it to. I had to stop and study it for a moment, considering what it displays and whether or not I agree with it. Thinking back across my own life, could I think of events or experiences that I could relate to this image? The answer was yes, and I feel like it’s something people who are trying to grow and improve need to realize. (more…)

I know that we all have heard these three rules before, but it seems like every time they pop up in my social media feeds or they get referred to by someone I know… I’m reminded of different parts of my life and when I learned these lessons. It’s interesting (to me) to see where they have been applicable and proven to be of benefit, even if it’s in some small way. (more…)

I came to a realization this morning. It may not have been a big one, but it struck me as worth sharing. That realization was this: every success story I’ve ever read or heard about started out with someone taking a dream and changing it into a goal. In that moment, when they decide they are going to make their dream come true, the successful person commits. They commit to the work it will take to make their dream come true. They change a dream into a goal and compile the goals into a plan and work that plan until they reach success. (more…)

As I think a great many people do nearly every day now, I was surfing through some social media posts and I came across this image. Courtesy of @addicted2success, the image shows Superman in handcuffs and accompanied by four soldiers in body armor, etc. It’s an image from the movie “Man of Steel.”  The phrase on it is what caught my attention: How it feels when you’re stuck in your day job and you know your true potential. (more…)

I am far from the first person to have talked about the difference between discussion and argument or the pros and cons of each. Just recently, though, I was involved in a conversation about this very topic in a place where discussion was more common than argument. Further, it was observed that the discussion in this particular type of establishment tended to be more enlightening than that of some others. As it happens, I was in a cigar bar involved in a discussion with several other military service veterans. Let’s talk first about the difference between arguments and discussions and then we can talk about the difference between the establishments cited and purposes served by the discussions. (more…)

…Age

Just recently, as many readers know, I’ve renewed my focus on my health. I am not participating in any type of fad diet, nor using any diet “program.”  I’m not paying into CrossFit, Isometrix, Tone-ex, yada yada.  I’m using that ancient and under-appreciated method that has been proven over millennia: I’m eating cleaner and exercising more.

The challenge I sometimes find is my motivation waning. As I considered that this morning, I realized that my maintaining motivation seems more difficult now than it did when I was… say… 19. Of course, there’s a major difference: I don’t have a Drill Sergeant yelling at me now. (more…)

Near the end of every calendar year… or in the first few days of a new year… huge numbers of people make resolutions with the goal of improving their life. Some of those resolutions are very specific and equally unrealistic.  For example, after someone has been a cigarette smoker for years (if not decades), they decide that starting January 1^st of the New Year, they’re going to quit smoking… cold turkey.  Now, they’ve decided to quit a dozen times before and they’ve stopped smoking for several days at a time, made themselves miserable, and then come up with a reason why they just HAVE to have a cigarette. My own father stopped smoking for a year after he had heart surgery and then someone offered him a cigarette at a bar and he thought, “One won’t hurt.”  Another year later he had to go through the misery of quitting again. (more…)

Recently I saw an image through the wizardry of social media and, after having read through it, thought about just how true it was. The title was “Simple Formula for Living,” but that didn’t really describe the list of items included. As I read them, I felt they more described lessons to be followed for a prosperous and spiritually valuable life. I certainly don’t always follow each bit of guidance (because I’m human and therefore imperfect), but I see the value in each and strive to maintain my compliance to them. Let’s go through them and briefly discuss the value. (more…)

As happens all too often in my household, my son asked me a question that forced me to carefully think through my beliefs and values before offering an answer. I have to think carefully because I know, for sure and certain, he’s already trying to form that next question so if I’m not as specific and exacting as I can be, I give him huge maneuvering room to ask the more difficult questions. This week’s question really wasn’t so hard: “Dad, what makes an American an American?” The first and most obvious answer was, “Where he was born,” but that’s not what he was asking. He was looking for me to explain to him what values I felt that he, when he became an adult American, should have as part of his character. Long time readers know that such a conversation can’t be had without me sharing it, so here we go with an explanation of my answer. (more…)