I read Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic, well daily. The daily reading combined with the companion journal helps me to focus my day. It has helped me take what others called a standoffish nature but what I call reserved emotions and frame them in a positive light. It has helped me grow as a person in both my personal life and my professional life. It has made me a more focused person and has helped me step back when I allow outside events to control my thoughts/actions/perceptions. In this contentious time and environment it has been a game changer. This is my second year reading the book but my first year journaling along with it.
What I find most interesting is things that I read last year and highlighted as nuggets of wisdom, don’t seem to have the same “WOW” factor they did last year. I read the highlighted passage and think, gee that’s nice. Meanwhile this year there are nuggets of wisdom that are like a kick in the head, how could I have missed this tidbit before I ask myself as I grab a different color highlighter so I can differentiate my various annual thoughts.
One particular reading that really spoke to me this year was from July 3rd, the topic was “Turn Have To Into Get To.” The reading had made the suggestion of turing a to-do list (which is burdensome and annoying) into a get-to list. The slight change in verbiage really does wonders. I started changing my daily work to do list into a get to do list, funnily enough I am far more productive. I’m not Superman, but I noticed that I’m getting a few more tasks done each day. I tackle the tasks that I’m less interested in doing in a way that is more positive, for the most part. I am leaving the office in the afternoon feeling more productive and successful.
As I was running my four miles on the treadmill today, really struggling with having to do my miles inside and mentally grumbling I realized that I get to do this. I get to run on the treadmill. I am making the choice to run on the treadmill, granted Mother Nature had a small say so it…..I am so tired of flash floods and monsoon like weather. But I digress. The thought I had, certainly didn’t make me go much faster those last two miles, but I appreciated it more. I started creating mental games to make the time go faster. I would crank the speed up to six or seven and see how well I could sustain for a quarter or half mile. I even got adventurous and increased the incline to 13% and walked at a crazy incline for a half mile for no other reason than it was fun to see what would happen.
Changing your perception, by something as simple as a word can make a world of difference in things: work, personal life and training. You don’t have to do training miles you get to do training miles. You get to do this thing that we love.
Give it a try, you just might surprise yourself!
Happy Running!
GeekyTriathlete 