A New Year and A New You: Past Year Review

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It’s that time of year again when we say, “Fuck you!” to the previous year and warmly embrace the new one. It’s a time when we look at our past failures and try to fix them in the year ahead. It’s a time when we set goals for ourselves with milestones to hit to become a better person. It’s a time for New Year’s Resolutions.

Except, should it be? Should we be setting goals for ourselves for things we don’t necessarily want or won’t to do? Is there a better way to make next year better than our last? I think so thanks to Tim Ferriss. (What can I say? I’m a huge fan).

Tim recently posted his article called “Forget New Year’s Resolutions and Conduct a ‘Past Year Review’ Instead.” It’s a quick article describing the five steps for a successful PYR (Past Year Review), which you can find in the link. Basically, you go through the past year and write down, in two columns, all of the Positive or Negative people, activities or commitments you dealt with. Then you find the 20% of people and things you enjoyed and schedule more time for them now, today. Plan trips, activities, or events now to avoid the last minute “what the hell do I do now?” Then take the Negative column, write “NOT-TO-DO-LIST” and keep it in a place where you can look at it regularly. This helps avoid “forgetting” how much frustration was caused.

There you have it. Do more of the things we enjoy and less of the frustrating stuff. Simple right? Now we can be unencumbered of our boredom and monotony to start living a life of adventure and freedom! So good luck and have fun on your life of leisure.

“Hey, Joe… Aren’t you forgetting about a little thing called life? It kind of gets in the way.” Sure, life can be unpredictable and chaotic at times but why is that the case? Why do we tend to feel like we are a first class passenger on a runaway train with no time for fun? If you’re anything like me it’s because we tend live life by the seat of our pants. We don’t plan anything and become wishy-washy with commitments. Then when something comes up we don’t want to do or it’s someone we don’t want to hang out with, we get frustrated we aren’t doing something fun.

Thanks to Tim’s article, I’ve come to realize I need to be more assertive with the things I want to do and deliberate in the planning. I know things will come up and plans might change but if I don’t make time for the people and things I want to do, I’m headed on a one-way trip to miseryville. Here is a list of some of the things I’ve realized I need to add onto my calendar for the upcoming year.

Spend time with my family (both immediate and my extended family)
- Visit my parents and sister/Brother-in-Law/Nephews more
- Have more “Date Nights” with my wife
- Spend specific time with my kids but together and individually
Spend more time with my friends (other than the monthly poker game)
Play more Dungeons and Dragons (Yes, I enjoy Roleplaying Games)
Invite out of town friends for the weekend
Take more trips to my in-law’s cabin in Boone, NC
Have more get-togethers at our house.
Make time to write
Make time to play video games

At first glance it feels a little overwhelming but by understanding the things I want to spend more time doing, the more I can do. By planning fun things ahead of time I can ensure I am more deliberate with the necessities as well. I also believe it will allow me to be more present in my life which is something I desperately need to work on.

“Joe, I’m not going plan every minute of my life.” Of course not. The idea is to be more deliberate with our actions and time not to ensure we schedule our life completely. We want to ensure we add more positivity into our lives and avoid as much of the negative influences weighing us down. We want to get away from the feeling of being out of control. Stoic philosophy explains the only thing we have control over is our emotions and our actions. If treat our lives with ambivalence, we will continue to repeat the same shitty patterns each year. When we take time to care about who we are spending our precious time with and how we are using our time, our lives will improve.

Life will throw us curveballs and things won’t always go as planned. We may miss out on fun, spontaneous opportunities which come about but in the end, I believe, we better in the long run. So this year, let’s take some time to think about the positive and negative in our lives and be deliberate with what we want for the upcoming year. Make a plan, schedule it out, and defend it at all cost… especially from ourselves. Happy New Year, Everyone.

Fitness Friday’s – What Gets Measured, Gets Managed

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Hey you. Yes, you over there. The one reading this article. I hope you are having a great holiday season and I want to thank you for taking the time to read my work.

I was blessed again this Christmas. Santa was very good to me and I got several things on my Christmas list. One of the things I’m most excited about is this Bluetooth scale from Renpho. I know it’s silly but I’m can’t wait to use it. “What’s so exciting about a scale, Joe?” Well, it has to do with a quote people miss associated with Peter Drucker: “What gets measured, gets managed,” which is crucial when dealing with fitness and weight loss.

January 1^st is next Tuesday which starts many people’s New Year’s Resolution season. We tend to see the new year as a time of rebirth and reinvention. Last year is over and next year is full of possibilities. The sky’s the limit for all of us. The world is our oyster and we’re going to shuck it.

The problem is we start of strong each year and by February we’ve given up. We stare down the Hydra and it swallows us whole. Change takes work and dedication, which we know, but life has a way of creeping up on us. Things happen, we hit speed bumps, and we get discouraged. We don’t see progress being made so we feel like failures slowly letting our resolutions slip away.

This is big with fitness especially. Everyone starts out, or wants to start out, strong but it slowly slips away. We don’t measure our progress so we use our “feelings” instead of actual metrics. We “feel” like we aren’t losing the weight. We “feel” like we aren’t getting stronger. We “feel” like we aren’t getting healthier. We feel, we feel, we feel. And even if we are measuring it’s not consistent enough to capture the highs with the lows.

“What gets measured, gets managed.” This idea is about taking the time to CONSISTENTLY measure what we are doing to see the progress we are making each day. This means creating a workout plan where we test ourselves at regular intervals, measuring the different areas of our body with a tape measure, and weighing ourselves every day. Then we need to keep a log of this information to track the progress instead of keeping this in our heads. This helps us see trends in the data.

“But, Joe, that seems like a TON of work.” I know it does and it does take some planning but it’s easier than you think. There are plenty of different fitness programs, apps, and ways to track health and fitness progress depending on your goals. (I plan on covering some of these apps in greater detail in a later post). It’s important to find one and stick with it. Interested in becoming a running machine? Check out the Running for Weight loss or Zombies, Run! apps. Looking for free daily circuit and HIIT training? Hylete’s gotcha covered with their app. Want to get super strong? The StroStrongliftsnglifts 5×5 app helps build brick houses. Need to track weight loss progress? The iPhone and most of the wearable fitness trackers, like Fitbit, have health apps or you can weigh yourself each morning and put it into a Google Spreadsheet (which is what I didn’t for several years before Fitbit). All of these are free and reduce the friction of measuring progress.

This is why I’m thrilled (Yes, I said “Thrilled) about my new scale. Since it’s Bluetooth capable it makes super simple for me to capture all kinds of information. I get my weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), Body Fat Percentage, and half a dozen other things set to my phone by standing on it each morning. I don’t need to remember to record the data at all, which is something I have a problem doing. Now, there’s no hiding or forgetting.

The important thing to remember here is we want to use data to help us meet our goals and instead of using our feelings. The data will tell us if what we are doing is working or if we need to adjust fire. Maybe we “feel” like we are being healthier because we’ve cut out soda but still put too much sugar in our coffee. We “feel” better but the data tells a different story. Maybe we don’t “feel” like we are getting stronger but the data shows we are making progress each week. It’s the data which will help us make better decisions and, when used wisely, will help keep us on track. Good luck and stay strong!

*I know measuring things like weight doesn’t always give us an accurate picture of what’s going on but it’s an important start. We want the data we are collecting to be simple, measurable, and something we do consistently. This way if we gain a pound from the previous weigh in we can thing about possible causes and work towards making corrections. If we lose weight, we can give ourselves a pat on the back and try to replicate the success.*

**Important side note: If you are going to weigh yourself, it is important to remember to weigh each morning after you go to the bathroom but before you eat or drink anything. This helps to give you the most accurate assessment of your actual body weight without anything extra. Weighing yourself in the mornings ensures you are consistently using the same baseline. The more accurate the information the better decisions we can make.**

Fitness Friday – Fitness Communities

It’s amazing how life works sometimes. I have been struggling for the last week trying to figure out what to write about today when a topic fill into my lap. I went to the store this morning, after my workout, to get more eggs for breakfast. I walked in wearing my Spartan Sprint Finisher shirt (I won participant) when I was stopped by a guy in the front of the store. He was a part of a group of guys who got together on Fridays and just finished a “boot camp” style workout down the street. (We have a Starbucks in our grocery store. Don’t be jealous). After a minute or so he invited me to join their workout group. Normally, I HATE having conversation with random people in public places (Stay in your own lane, am I right?) but today I was intrigued. I shook his hand, thanked him, and walked away deciding to quickly Google the group’s name before I forgot.

The group is called F3 Raleigh (Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith). From their website it looks like their mission is “to plant, grow, and serve small workout groups for the invigoration of male community leadership.” Now, I prefer to keep my fitness and faith separate but I found the idea of group interesting and important in a much larger sense, when it comes to fitness.

No matter where we are in our fitness journey, all of us started from scratch. We are all newbies at some point. The thing I find interesting is the longer we go without getting into fitness the harder it becomes to start. Our pride and insecurities get in the way and we start making up excuses as to why we shouldn’t work out. Fitness is intimidating. There are a million different exercises and a million different ways to work out. You can work out by yourself or with a partner but you would have to find your own programming or workout plan. You can work out in a group but it’s easy feel like you’re competing and being judged by the others in the group. With all of the fear and pressure to fit into this new group it is no wonder people quit their New Year’s Resolutions by February.

The thing I’ve learned over the years, bouncing in and out of fitness, is no one gives a shit about our fitness journey but us. Will there be people who will judge us when we show up to the gym on January 1st? Probably, but most people won’t give us a second look. They are too busy with their own journeys. They are focused on what they are doing.

I get it. We all know in our minds we aren’t being judge but it doesn’t stop the irrational thoughts from creeping in to freak us out. The resistance wants to gain access to every part of our lives. How do we fight the resistance? How do we get rid of those irrational thoughts? We need to join the community. The community of fitness enthusiasts and we do this by showing up regularly. Does a weightlifter, powerlifter, or CrossFitter look at the runner or the Zumba-er (I think that’s what they are called) the same way? Probably not but they are still a part of the same overall fitness community. Their specific goals are different but each of them care about the same thing: Fitness.

For years I bounced around doing various types of programs. I tried P90x, I ran, I took Spin Classes, I did traditional bodybuilding workouts, and I did CrossFit. I didn’t mind any of them, but something was missing. It wasn’t until my wife got me a squat rack for my garage, I found my niche… Powerlifting. I started doing Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program and was hooked. 5/3/1 helped me realized where I failed in the past. Wendler’s program was simple, unlike the tradition bodybuilding workout style, and though there can be cardio and conditioning elements added it’s a major part unlike P90x, Spin, Running, or CrossFit. The important thing was I found where I belong.

The point is we need to find our people within the fitness community, especially when we first start. This takes some experimenting and trying new ways to work out. If one doesn’t feel right, after giving it an honest shot, then quit and go find something else. The important part is to be excited about a fitness program to ensure we stay motivated. Grab a friend, try a class, and find a community. I promise you won’t regret it. And if all else fails it might be time to build a community of your own, much like the F3 guys.

What Would It Look Like If It Were Easy?

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Life is hard. It’s difficult, complicated, and messy. The funny thing is we tend to complain about the hard times but we seem to like it. It’s something we live for and wouldn’t know what to with ourselves if it wasn’t hard. Hell, many of us out there spend their entire lives dreaming about retirement only to get bored within 10 minutes and look for another job.

Don’t get people started on easy money or “get rich quick” ideas either. They are scams. No one EVER got ANYTHING the easy way and most people don’t get things handed to them. Those who do get things handed to them are lazy, immature, and worthless. Easy is dumb and NO ONE should ever want things to come the easy way.

Then Tim Ferriss wrote the 4 Hour Work Week and a small rebellion started. These followers of Tim realized there was a better way to do things. We could work smarter, not harder if we took the time to think creatively. The old, direct way may work but is it the most effective?

What if “it” was easy? This is a phrase I’ve heard from Tim several times but it didn’t seem to click. Several months ago, however, Tim did another round of his “Drunk Dial” episode and I was lucky enough to finally make the cut. (Basically, his fans sign up to receive a drunken phone call from him and he’ll answer any question he is asked. Then he compiles the audio, he’s record, into an episode or two for his podcast.) I received a ton of good advice from this phone call but what stuck with me was “what would [my project] look like if it was easy?” Basically, what was the bare minimum I would need to get my project off the ground. No bells, no whistles, just unbridled minimalism.

If you are anything like me, we have a tendency to overthink and overanalyze the world around us. We have an easier time thinking about where we want a project to go but not where to begin. We think about all of the bells and whistles and think they need to be a part of the project in the beginning. If I don’t do A, B, and C right in the beginning then there’s no point to starting anything, right?

This is where we go wrong with most of the things we want to do in life. We over complicate things to the point of overwhelm and inaction. We want to get certifications, build apps, and need tons of money instead of seeing if there is an easier way to get started. We make 12 step plans when a 3 step plan will do.

I have a friend who would love to be a personal trainer or own a business in the physical fitness space. Unfortunately, they don’t have time to become a certified personal trainer, go out to find people to train, or start a business. What could they do instead? What would it look like if it were easy? “They could start a personal fitness blog, Joe.” Think easier. “How about posting workouts and fitness articles on Facebook?” Exactly! They’re already working out regularly and reading health and fitness articles, why not share them? They’d quickly become seen as an expert people could turn to with questions.

I went through a similar process with this blog. For years, I’ve wanted to share the things I’ve learned, with those around me, but it never really stuck. I made every excuse in the book as to why I couldn’t start. I had to create a name. I needed a website. I needed to write at least a dozen posts to ensure I had material in case I wasn’t able to write. On October 22 I got fed up and did something about it. I set up a free blog and now I’m posting regularly. “Look, Mom and Dad, I’ve got a blog!”

I’m not trying to say there won’t be work involved. Anything worth doing will take time and energy. There will be PLENTY of work. The idea here is to bypass the “paralysis by analysis” and get started by figure out if there is a better way. What is the least amount of energy we can expend to get the most results? Then we can take the energy we’ve saved to work on something else or take some much needed time for ourselves, guilt free.

The best part about this phrase is, I believe, it can be applied to everything we do. We spend much of our lives thinking and overanalyzing every little decision we have to make instead of doing. We need to stop. Stop waiting and start doing. I almost guarantee, not matter what you want to do there’s an easy way to start. So start… NOW.

The Broccoli Test

Image Credit: Viktor Hanacek

Last night I got home from work and was hungry, like one might be around dinner time. I quickly notice the bag of marshmallows were open on the counter, since my wife made the kids hot chocolate. Now, I love marshmallows and I decided to have a few and ONLY A FEW. Unfortunately, like the Lays Potato Chips commercial from the 90s, I couldn’t eat just one. By the end of the night, I had at least a third of the bag, not including the ones I put in my massive cup of hot chocolate. The funny thing is, as I’m doing this, I thinking about the article I wrote two weeks ago about surviving the holidays. Epic Fail!

Sure I was hungry and sure I was excited for dinner. (We were having chili and I couldn’t wait) but it wasn’t the reason I was eating. I was eating because I could, it was convenient, and frankly I had zero fucks left to give at this point. I was eating because I was emotionally hungry not just physically hungry. I didn’t pass The Broccoli Test (TBT).

“What the hell is The Broccoli Test, Joe? Sounds dumb and gross.” On the contrary, I find it to be a brilliant concept I picked up from Adam Gilbert founder of MyBodyTutor.com. In this article, he states there are two types of hunger: Physical hunger and Emotional hunger. Physical hunger, not surprisingly, happens when you’re ACTUALLY hungry. You haven’t eaten in a while and it is time for you next meal. Emotional hunger happens in just about every other instance. It’s those times when you “feel” hungry but you don’t quite know what you want or when you’re craving something specific. Eventually, you eat whatever you can find.

“Sounds exciting, Joe, but how do I know the difference?” This is where The Broccoli Test comes into the mix. If you’re hungry enough to eat broccoli, then CONGRATULATIONS you are physically hungry. If you wouldn’t, then you are emotionally hungry. “But I HATE broccoli!” Then pick a vegetable you will eat and use it as a gauge. There you have it. Simple right?

Okay, we figured out when we are emotionally eating, now what? Next is to figure out why. I’ve found there are a couple of common reasons people are emotionally hungry. For some it’s boredom. They are watching TV or messing around on their phones and they “need” a snack. They grab the bag of chips and, without thinking much about it, go through half the bag, maybe more. Then there’s the anxious/depression eating. They are stressed and are looking to fill a void with food. We’ve all seen that scene on TV or in the movies where there’s a breakup and one of the individuals eats an entire half gallon of ice cream. Maybe it’s happened to us? I’m sure I’ve been through a similar experience.

When it comes down to it, there are any number of reasons we are emotionally hungry. The point is to figure out why we are and deal with it productively before it gets out of hand. Start journaling, call a friend, clean your room, start a blog or some other creative endeavor if you’re bored. Find your thing and go to town.

One trick I’ve started using to help prevent my hunger throughout the day is eating more. This may sound counter intuitive but having larger, healthier meals can prevent hunger until the next meal. I’m not talking about overeating but eating until we are full. I find when I undereat at a meal because I’m busy or trying to drop a few pounds I’m hungry again faster. Then I’m trying to stuff anything and everything into my face to get me to the next meal. This, clearly, doesn’t help me at all and only makes me feel like shit.

Now that we know the difference between physical and emotional hunger, we’re better equipped to make better eating decisions. So, next time hunger strikes we can take the test to see where we land.

(Bonus Post) My Bucket List

Image Credit: Viktor Hanacek

Yesterday, I wrote about taking time to create a bucket list or, as Steve Kamb would call it, an “Epic Quest of Awesome.” (I’ll explain more about this second part in a later post). I figured if I was going to ask you do create a list of things you want to do; it was only fair I made my own to share with you. I’ve made list like this before but I’m finally ready to start working on mine.

I know some of these “goals” might feel a little nebulous but that’s not the point of the 10-minute exercise. You want to set a timer for 10 minutes and write down everything you’ve EVER wanted to do not matter how silly it might feel. The planning comes later.

Now, for your viewing pleasure… My Bucket List:

Things I want to do:

Sail to Antarctica on the Bark Europa
Hike the entire Appalachian Trail
Visit every continent (including Antarctica
Visit all 50 States
Spend a month living in Europe
Spend a year living outside of the US
Attend the Arnold Classic
Attend the E3
Attend Origins
Attend GenCon
Own an Island (possibly in the Caribbean)
Sail around the Caribbean for a month
Fly in a Private Jet
Gamble in Monte Carlo, Monaco
Spend a month living off the land (have to think more about this one specifically)
Kill a deer with a bow
Clean/eat a deer I’ve killed
Own 50 acres of land in NC
Build a Bunker
Learn how to pick a lock
Learn to Snowboard
Attend Carnival in Venice, Italy
Attend a meditation retreat (Thanks Eat, Pray, Love)
Take a Course on Tactical Shooting
Learn to speak Spanish

Places I want to Visit:

Visit London
Visit Dublin
Visit Madrid
Visit Barcelona
Visit Tuscany/Florence
Visit Istanbul
Visit Prague
Visit Bratislava, Slovakia
Visit a Castle in Germany
Visit Amsterdam
Visit Tokyo
Visit Hong Kong
Visit Bali, Indonesia (thanks again Eat, Pray, Love)
Visit the South American Rainforest

Fitness Related Goals:

Become a Certified Personal Trainer
Squat 400lbs
Deadlift 400lbs
Bench Press 300lbs
Complete a Spartan Trifecta
Medal in a Spartan Race
Participate in a Powerlifting Competition
Spend a year learning Brazilian Ju-Jitsu
Teach my kids to weightlift

Business Related Goals:

Start a business
Work from home
Become an Angel Investor investing in at least one successful company
Become an Advisor to a Startup (preferably in Raleigh, NC)
Launch an Indie Video Game
Write a Fiction book
Start a blog
Start a podcast
Spend a Day with Tim Ferriss
Spend a Day with Noah Kagan
Spend a Day with Seth Godin
Spend a Day with Zach Even-Esh

Memento Mori – Death Becomes Us

Image Credit: Viktor Hanacek

I’m dying. Not of some strange illness or disease but in the way we all are dying. Every day we are one day closer to the end or our lives, whether we like it or not. Until we figure out how to become Lazarus Long, all of us will eventually die. As morbid as it might sound it is important for us to remember this fact.

Death is a funny thing. Most people, including myself, are afraid of it for many reasons. It sounds painful, we don’t truly know what happens when we die, there is too much we want to accomplish before the end, and we don’t want to leave our loved ones. It’s human’s second biggest fear.

We fear death so much we try to push it from our minds instead of confronting it. Death is taboo. Death is scary so we ignore it. We don’t worry about the day to day or our slow creeping march to towards the end. Why would we? Most of us wake up every day fine so why wouldn’t there be a tomorrow.

I heard the author James Altucher once say he knew he was going to live forever because he had over 40 years of statistical data proving him right. Now, I’m sure this was meant to be a joke but I think most of us subconsciously feel the same way. It’s the “there will always be a tomorrow” thought process. The problem with this mindset is it makes us complacent in our own lives, unwilling to focus on the present. So we sit in our dead end jobs or hang out with people we don’t care about because… why not? Unfortunately, our time is finite and we need to think about death.

The Stoics have a phrase they use when thinking about death. The Latin phrase Memento Mori, the practice of focusing or reflecting on one’s death or mortality, is an important arrow in the Stoics quiver. But instead of this being some morbid/emo fixation on death, it should be used to keep us grounded in the present. Remembering we are going to die also helps spur on action in our lives. We don’t know when the end will come and we should ensure we don’t die with regrets. We need to give ourselves permission to make more mistakes, try something we’re afraid of doing, spend more time having adventures, and being with the ones we love.

If we only had one month, one week, or only 24 hours left to live, what we would want to do with our time left? What would we regret not doing? What would we regret wasting too much of our time doing? Well, for most of us there is still plenty of time to go do those things after all. By taking 5-10 minutes to write down everything we want to accomplish in our lives, we can work towards checking them off to create more fulfillment in our lives. Death’s only has to be scary if we live a life of inaction.

This blog came out of a Memento Mori moment for me. I put off many different projects due to my fear of judgement. I would tell myself, “There’s always tomorrow,” but when “tomorrow” came, nothing would happen. In the end, I would put the blog off until “I felt like working on it,” which, of course, never happened. One day I had enough and decided to put some words on a page, posting it for the world to see. I had no clue where this blog will take me but I knew if I didn’t start now I would go nowhere, fast. Now, I’m continuing to post and thinking about the direction of the blog. More excitement and more fear.

I challenge you to create a list of things you would regret doing if you died tomorrow. (A “Bucket List” if you will.) Don’t look at other blog sites, check lists, or ask your friends but write down things you always thought, “This would be AWESOME!” If you think, “HELL YES!” it goes on the list. Then pick one of the ideas on the list and work towards making it happen. I guarantee you won’t regret it.

‘Cause Pearl Harbor Sucks and I Love You

Friday was a very important day and is a “Day which will live in infamy.” It was the day I got my vasectomy. (Hooray for being a responsible adult). On a more serious note is was also the remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and with this single act, the US decided to officially go to war with the German, Italian, Japanese alliance. We, as Americans, realized our isolationistic policies were no longer going to work and we needed to become a global player once again. We could no longer hide on our continent, expected to be left alone.

It was a tragic day in our Nation’s history much like the Great Depression, the deaths of JFK, MLK, and RFK, and the terrorist attack on 9/11. While horrible, these tragic events helped to bring the nation closer together showing the best parts of ourselves. We weren’t a nation of individuals who didn’t give a shit about the guy next to us. We were a nation who realized we were stronger together then we were apart.

Now having served in the Navy and being a lover of history, I understand the importance of a day like December 7^th. Now, I’m also the kind of irreverent asshole who would use these “said” events to make an inside joke to his friends and family on Facebook, which is of course what I did. I decided to post Franklin Roosevelt’s sound bite about the Pearl Harbor attack as both serious salute to Pearl Harbor and a joke about my vasectomy. (It’s called multitasking). This led to a comment about hoping youngsters will remember and understand the events of the past instead of dismissing them as unimportant.

Anyone who knows me well enough knows this type of comment pisses me off. For whatever reason, as we get older, we forgot what it’s like to be young and dumb. We forgot how FUCKING STUPID we were and how unimportant EVERYTHING was, which didn’t directly affect us. Comments like this are ignorant and detrimental. Of course, the younger generations don’t understand past events and will most likely dismiss them. Hell, I didn’t truly understand the significance of events like Pearl Harbor until I lived through 9/11. Up to this point, I had not lived through a national tragedy and didn’t understand much of anything.

The thing about history is it’s in the past and it’s difficult to truly understand it unless you’ve lived through something like it. We can never TRULY understand what people went through unless we’ve “walked a mile in their shoes.” The only ways I can think of to accomplish this are either build a time machine or experience a similar tragedy of our own. Unfortunately, I’m fresh out of DeLoreans.

My point is, of course, the youth today are going to dismiss these past events as unimportant, much like I guarantee most people didn’t realize Friday was the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. Instead of belittling or chastising the youth for not knowing or caring about “Past Events” we should be trying to educate them in a positive way. Explain the significance to them and help them understand why they should care.

It’s not about remembering that we were attacked by the Japanese 77 years ago but understanding why we were attacked. Taking the time to understand the Japanese’s motivations behind the attack has practical applications in the real world. Learning to take the time to understand other people’s motivations helps us have empathy for those around us. It helps us understand the bigger picture on a micro and macro level. We can learn why someone is being a bully or why an entire culture continues to threaten the US and Western Europe. Who knows? It could help prevent other terrorist attacks in the future.

Again, the important thing is understanding and remembering we are to blame for how the next generations turn. If we want to point our fingers at our nation’s youth and think, “Dammit, they are dumb,” not only are we lacking empathy but we aren’t teaching either. We are kicking the empathy ball down the road because it’s someone else’s problem. So instead of bitching about how today’s youth suck, we need do something about it to try to make this world a better place for us and them.

Finding My “Why” When it Comes to This Blog!

Why the fuck am I writing? Today is the 30th blog post I’ve written and I still don’t know why I continue writing. So not I am forcing myself to think about this question. Why I write is a question I thought I had a vague answer to when I started but it gets muddier every day.

When I first started writing, it was out of a sense of urgency. For years I’ve wanted to write but was too afraid to put myself out there. I hid behind “maybes” and “somedays” and the dreaded “I don’t have the time.” My fear of looking foolish was more intense than my desire to create. The day I started, I slapped myself in the face, put words on a page, and posted them on the internet.

Then I thought it was to build me up and give me a sense of purpose. I’ve been in passive self-discovery mode for the last couple of years, reading and learning, but not really doing anything with the information. I would try something I learned but would stop quickly when things got difficult or the next shiny object would dance in front of me. Like Thomas Edison, I found a 1000 different ways to NOT create the lightbulb.

As the days went on, I thought it was a way to help other people. I figured I’d done enough reading and listening to other people’s ideas I could share them, with my own thoughts, bring clarity to myself and others. This would build a guru level status for me, which I could leverage to bigger and better things. Today the Joe Ditzel Project, tomorrow… THE WORLD! MWAHAHAHA!

Out of the 30 posts I’ve written, four of them were the “Here are my tips and tricks” type posts. I fucking HATED writing them. First they were long, tedious, and boring (sorry Mom. I didn’t mean to say the “B” word). Second, they weren’t me. These articles were everyone else. These articles were me trying to be like everyone else out there with little life hacks. While there’s nothing wrong with those articles, hell I love them and read them all the time, they aren’t me. It’s not my voice. It’s not how I want to write.

This weekend, after some serious self-doubt and the desire to quit this blog altogether, I came to a conclusion. I need to find my why. Why do I want to write and why should people listen to me? This idea comes from the Simon Simek book aptly titled, “Start with Why,” which helps to start people down the rabbit hole of self-discovery, by forcing them to take time to think. No matter what the endeavor, creative or otherwise, there needs to a reason for being. Once the why is figured out we can move onto the what and the how. (What are we going to do and how are we going to accomplish it?)

I may not know my “why” yet but I do know one thing, I need to keep writing. I need to keep putting myself out there, into the world, to see where this gravy train will take me. Until then, I’ll see you Wednesday.

Fitness Friday – The 6 Things I’m Doing to Survive the Holiday Season

Happy Friday. I’m trying something a little different today in what I’m calling Fitness Fridays. Every week I’ll write about something Health and Fitness related to help us start kicking even more ass. I love talking about this stuff and want to share it with you. Feel free to let me know what you think. Let’s begin.

It’s that time of the year again. The Thanksgiving feasts are done but the holiday season is far from over. Between holiday parties, Christmas, Hanaka, New Years, and general meetups with friends it can be can be an enriching time, foodwise.

The cold doesn’t help either. As the weather gets colder we have a tendency to turn into bears and want to pack on the weight for hibernation. The food and the weather turn this time into a perfect storm shitshow for being healthy.

The next several weeks are about survival. Though it would be nice to lose a couple of pounds during this time, the goal is about keeping the belt at the same notch. We can break out our “holiday pants” on special occasion but should leave them in the closet on the day to day. If we set ourselves up right we will be ready for New Year with some sustainable habits.

Here are the 6 things I’m working on this holiday season while in survival mode:

Make one small change: How many of us have decided to start a new diet and within a month, a week, or a day throw it out the window saying we suck at diets? I know I have and, unfortunately, continue to even now. The problem I find is I’m trying to do too much all at once. I want to do paleo and intermittent fasting and only eat 1600 calories and not snack, and on and on and on. No shit I keep failing. I’m trying to do too much all at once. What sticks the longest for me is making small changes my diet, little by little, either by cutting out something I shouldn’t eat or by adding something I should.

When I first tried this my first small change was eating 30 grams of protein for breakfast. I’ll have more on this in a minute, but the important part it gave me a healthy foundation for the day. I eat 4-5 scrambled eggs and 3 pieces of toast each day to keep the foundation going.

“Don’t you get bored. I could never do that. I would get so sick of eating the same things over and over.” Sure there are moments when I mix things up a little bit by having cereal or French Toast for breakfast. I’m not perfect but I try to have as many protein packed morning as possible.

Remember this way my small change which got the ball rolling for me. Everyone’s change will be different and need to be tailored to the individual. All that matters is it is sustainable.

Minus 1 Rule: Bingeing is something we all love to do. Why have one when you can have seven, am I right? This tend to be how people, myself included, go through life. Hell, I’ll go to a restaurant and will pound 3-5 sodas without thinking because the refills are free. Then instead of only drinking the 30-40 grams of sugar, I’m into the hundreds. This combined with sitting most of the day leads to the sugar turning into excess weight. This can happen with extra helpings at dinner, alcoholic beverages, cookies, desserts (the second “s” is because you always want more than one), or whatever else is thrown at us.

One of the things I’m trying this holiday season is what I’m calling the -1 (Minus 1) Rule. Whenever I’m eating or drinking something and I think to myself, “Self, you could have just one more,” I’ll stop right there. Normally, I’ll go the extra mile and have an additional soda, cookie, helping of pie because I can (Hey, I’m no quitter and this body didn’t happen by accident). This will hopefully prevent me from feeling stuffed or the feeling of regret I’m left with by having just… one… more… Remember baby steps.

The 30 in 30 Rule: One of the tips Tim Ferriss gives in his book, the 4 Hour Body, is eat 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of walking up, each day. This does two important things for you body. First, it reduces the white carbohydrate cravings we have in the morning. Second, our body is in repair mood while we sleep and often dips into our fat stores for this maintenance. By eating carbs in the morning our body’s switch from burning fat to burning the sugar in carbs. Eat protein continues the fat burning process throughout the day.

Eggs, beans, spinach, bacon, sausage, and protein shakes are the easiest way to meet this requirement. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Like I said earlier, I eat 4-5 eggs in the morning. If I’m feeling really crazy I’ll add spinach and/or beans to the mix as well. Bacon and sausage are always a nice way to spice things up as well. The important thing is to keep our body’s fat burning furnaces going by skipping out on the white carbohydrates. Worried about not having enough time to make eggs in the morning? Tim Ferriss has a solution for that too.

Smaller Plates/Serving Utensils: I recently listened to an interview with Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating and Slim by Design, and he had some help tips we should use every day, and especially during the holidays. Two of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of food we could eat during those big holiday meals and parties are using smaller dinner plates and smaller serving utensils. Sound simple and impossible? Brian would disagree. Basically, what these two little tricks do is deceive our brains into thinking we are eating more than normal.

It also takes our body about 30 minutes to start realizing it is full. Using smaller plates and serving utensils forces us to take more time to eat. The longer we take to eat, the more likely we will eat less because our bodies realize it is full. Eating less food, means eating less calories. HOORAY FOR SCIENCE!

Get Moving/10,000 steps: This has become very popular since the birth of the FitBit but it’s not difficult to see why. One of the biggest issues many of us face is we sit at a desk all day decreasing our energy throughout the day, making us lethargic. Soon we spend all of our time sitting down instead of moving, the way God intended it. Moving the body helps get the blood flowing, raises our endorphins, and burns calories. Walking at least 10,000 steps has us going about 4-5 miles per day. Not too shabby.

“Joe, I don’t have time to take a 4-5 mile walk every day. I have a life and things to do, man!” First, you probably do have time but I’m not getting into this here. Second, I’m not saying to set aside specific time for a 5 mile walk each day. It’s the holiday season and we’re in survival mode not starting our New Year’s Fitness Resolutions early. What I am saying is to get up once an hour, or so, at work to walk around or take the stair instead of the elevator or take a few extra laps around the mall while you are shopping. These don’t need to be 1-2 hour long walks on a treadmill, the elliptical, or around the block but small repeated movements throughout the day. Moving our bodies throughout the day will not only help make us healthier but happier as well.

Be kind to yourself: We live in a very pass or fail society which can be extremely difficult on our psyche. We tend to be extremely hard on ourselves when we set goals but don’t meet them. We feel like failures and get frustrated because we “know” better. Of course we do but it doesn’t mean we aren’t going to stumble or fall. Every moment of every day is a chance to start over. If we don’t like the decision we just made then make a different one the next time around.

“I shouldn’t have drank that fourth beer.” Stop drinking and have water. “I shouldn’t have eaten that third slice of pie.” We can remember how we feel right now and skip the extra slice next time. If we forget next time we take a deep breath, forgive ourselves, and try again next time.

This doesn’t give us carte blanche to go nuts because “we can always forgive ourselves.” This isn’t the Catholic Church. The goal is to work to be better but not kick ourselves when we are down. We take a deep breath and try again. The more we try, the more likely it is for the habit to stick.

Voila. There they are. These are just a few ways to help get survive the holiday season without feeling like we gained 30 lbs. They may not seem like much but again we aren’t looking for radical. We are looking for simple. Try one of them or try them all and I wish you luck this season. We’ll see you on the other side.