Something I've known about myself for some time is that I can get in a rut, a funk, a downward spiral, get the blues, and other depressing maladies just the same as other folks can. I'm amazingly human, and therefore subject to many human foibles. I can get in a sour mood even though my life is good, family's fine, my school is running great, and so on.
So how do I fix that? Well, my best cure seems to be one word: ACTION.
The times I tend to feel the most down on myself are when I feel as though I'm becoming stagnant, not making progress. I enjoy a nap even more than the next guy, but I don't like feeling as though I'm not moving forward in some area of my life. There are lots of areas in which I'd like to improve, such as skill in martial arts, business prosperity, physical capability, financial capability...you get the idea. I like to make progress in some or all of these areas as often as possible, but I still occasionally hit the doldrums. Usually, it's because of a lack of planning or organization.
So it's a holiday weekend, and we've enjoyed spending family time together, and doing various activities separately. I watched the Division I NCAA lacrosse finals today (the one sport I'll actually watch in its entirety on TV other than MMA fighting), and then felt a bit down. Cranky, even. The holiday weekend was nearly over, and I felt as if I had accomplished nearly nothing. Hmph! My darling wife and son were playing games in the back room, so I was left to my own devices. What to do, what to do?
I decided to clean the garage.
You have to understand what a monumental undertaking this was. The garage used to be my school, many years ago. Once I opened the doors of Jade Mountain, we started using it for 'storage'. This meant that if we didn't know what to do with something, we chucked in in the garage. Years of chucking stuff, and not ever throwing any of it away, has filled that once clean and organized training space into something resembling...well...a big pile of junk.
So I put on my rattiest clothes and went to work. In the process of figuring out what to throw out, what to donate, what to keep, and what to put up on Ebay, I found some cool stuff (pictures, martial arts notes, some extremely sentimental cards and pics, and some ketchup). I cleaned and oiled our bicycles (I knew we had them, I had just forgotten where). I fixed the speedbag platform. I cleaned and oiled the entire dumbbell rack and weight bench.
It took me around 4 hours. Approximately 1/4 of the garage is now usable, and I'm thrilled. Amazingly, I'm also re-motivated! I'm ready to hit the ground running tomorrow with some running and strength training, more cleaning, and a visit to my son's school for his kindergarten 'graduation'. As usual, taking positive action has vastly improved my mood.
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Stuff that has happened lately:
We enjoyed watching the UFC fights on Saturday. I was disappointed to see Sean Sherk lose, but it was an honest fight, and there were other good fights on the card as well.
My fantastic wife is preparing for a dance recital this weekend. I'm so excited to see her on stage! And no, she will not be using a pole.
There's a chance I may be getting a moped/scooter soon, thanks to my fabulous parents. They happen to have one that they aren't using. As soon as we figure out how to wrap the thing and fit it in the mailbox, we're set.
BB came out for a visit recently, and we enjoyed pho, hanging out, and some groundfighting while he was here. He did a pretty good job! I'm thrilled that he's graduated with his Masters in Mental Health Counseling. Not only is he following his calling, his bliss, but he'll finally have time to get back into shape now that his classes are over. You go, man!
I changed one of my workouts recently and practically destroyed my legs for a week. Honestly, the workout LOOKED harmless enough...I thought it would be fine. I'm doing it again next week, just to torture myself.
I recently purchased a cheap pair of powered speakers for my computer. WOW!!! I had no idea that something so inexpensive could make such a difference!!!! COOL!! Now, I don't have to hold the speakers directly to my ears to hear the Youtube videos!
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Somewhere around Mother's Day, I had a nice long chat with my Mom. Some may recall that she was in a nasty car wreck last December that shattered her left arm in several places. She ended up with two long plates in that arm (we tell her it's bionic now), and a rather dreary prognosis...'You'll never have full use of that arm again, Mrs. McClendon. And you can forget about making that touchdown signal." He actually said that. No touchdown signal.
Mom dutifully went to physical therapy, just as the doctor ordered. I didn't hear much about her rehab, only that she was going and working hard. She sounded relieved when her mandatory therapy was over, but she was still unhappy about her progress. She still couldn't make the touchdown signal.
No, Mom's not a football referee...she just doesn't like being told that she 'can't' do something.
Here's what I was surprised and thrilled to learn during our chat: after her rehab was over, she had started going to the gym three days a week. She'd start with the treadmill as a warmup, then hit the weight machines for a simple circuit workout for an hour, then the jacuzzi, saunas, and then the showers. Mom had become something of a gym rat.
Let me explain a bit more about Mom. She's 60 years old. She's a petite woman, much shorter than I. She looks kind of frail on first glance. One would not think about 'iron determination' when you first looked at her, but having seen it in her my whole life, I was surprised to suddenly realize how out of the ordinary her drive might seem to other people.
Many folks in her position would have just said,
' Well, I never wanted to raise my arm up that high anyhow.' Not my Mom. She dug her heels in and told the doctor,
'Just watch me!'When she first started out, she couldn't curl a 2 pound dumbbell in her left arm. Not one time. However, she never gave up. Soon, she curled it. Then again. Then again. Then it was 4 lbs. Then 6 lbs. By now, she's up to 8 or possibly 10 lb dumbbells. Recall that her left arm was s-h-a-t-t-e-r-e-d in that wreck. But she hasn't given up. I don't think she knows how.
Honestly, I don't think Mom is making any statement with her continued training. She's not trying to set an example, or trying to inspire others. No, she likes to keep things simple. She just wants to be able to raise her arm over her head if she so chooses. And to me, that's the most inspiring thing of all.
Love you, Mom!
