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“Overcoming
Obstacles”
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Weight: 174.This entry
has taken a while to brew in my mind before posting. It's my first
entry of the 2010 calendar year, and it follows one called "starting
over." I have made an effort to stay consistent in working
out both in terms of strength training and cardio, but these first
few weeks of 2010 have not been without their challenges. It has
been a struggle to keep up with the same level of strength through
these past few weeks. I don't want to get into a pattern of complaining
or presenting only a negative view of life during these past few
weeks, so I am going to offer this entry as a way of encouraging
myself and you to get through the tough times and meet our respective
fitness goals.
New Year's Eve was hard.
It's a holiday best enjoyed with a special partner, significant
other or spouse. I enjoyed having my kids with me on that night,
but I felt a sense of loss or like something was lacking. I tried
to have a positive outlook as 2010 dawned. During that first week,
I was knocked on my rear by a nasty gastro-intestinal bug. That
Monday, I played basketball, which I enjoyed, but as soon as the
game was over and as I started my workday, I felt nauseous and dizzy.
I had to get coverage for my classes and headed home by 10:30 AM.
I hit the sack and slept pretty much straight through for 15 hours,
with occasional breaks to take my temperature. I was fighting a
fever that reached 101.5. I never really vomited (got close several
times), but it took about 48 hours for me to feel close to normal
again in terms of strength and food consumption.
During that period of
nausea, I cut my calorie intake to about 400 or 500 per day, consisting
of toast and chicken soup. While I missed eating full meals, I wanted
to continue with my calorie reduction plan in order to drop some
of the weight (two or three pounds) I had picked up over the holiday
break. I missed playing basketball and lifting, so getting back
onto the court that Thursday was refreshing. I knew coming back
had to be a gradual process, but I did get one full hour in on Thursday.
We had a light dusting of snow on Friday, which cancelled our Friday
basketball session. Again, it was good to make a gradual comback.
The scale showed a weight loss of four pounds by the end of the
week -- a blessing in disguise.
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I have a good
friend who is wise in the ways of counseling. She and I
discussed some of the factors that were preventing me from
getting back into the swing of things. She suggested that
I may have been dwelling too long on the process of moving
out of a relationship that was no longer viable. It was
time for me to make an emotional clean break and get going
again on the activities that provide gratification through
physical and emotional rewards. Once I had cleansed myself
of the grief and regrets that come from a failed relationship,
my body would respond. I would feel stronger, more energetic,
and my immune system would be strengthened in fighting any
residual elements of the sickness I had been fighting. She
was right. When I told myself that it was time to move on,
to leave the mistakes behind and look at life with a positive
attitude, energy and vitality would return to my activities.
That's exactly what happened.
I decided to
make advances that became available to me in my professional
life as well. A certain position at the new high school
became available again. At first, I did not have the confidence
to apply for it. After receiving encouragement from my friend,
I decided to apply. I received positive feedback and support
from many different people with whom I work, including my
superiors, ones that I asked to provide me with references
for advancement to this new position. As of this writing,
I have not heard anything about the post, but I have a renewed
sense of self-esteem and self-confidence that I lacked before
applying. If for nothing else, applying to the new position
was worth it as I feel a sense of confidence and support
from colleagues I would have never experienced. These experiences
are examples of overcoming obstacles that are sometimes
self-created.
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| It
was time for me to make an emotional clean break and
get going again on the activities that provide gratification
through physical and emotional rewards. Once I had
cleansed myself of the grief and regrets that come
from a failed relationship, my body would respond.
I would feel stronger, more energetic, and my immune
system would be strengthened in fighting any residual
elements of the sickness I had been fighting. |
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Last week, during one
of our basketball sessions, I went up for a pass to intercept it,
and I came down on my back. My right elbow took most of the force
of the fall, but it was my right rotator cuff that seems to taken
most of the stress. I had to take a few days off from the basketball
court to allow for some healing. I came back to the basketball court
on Friday for some much needed cardio and was able to hold my own
with ten points and a number of assists. I am still feeling some
discomfort in my right shoulder as I raise my arm. The weekend and
the Martin Luther King holiday will provide for some recupration
time. I hope to be at full strength when we return to the court
on Tuesday. The weekend and holiday offered time for me to overcome
another obstacle.
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Hiking on the Appalachian Trail is always therapeutic.
Click on image to enlarge.
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Things are in
flux as I write today. It's one day before Martin Luther
King, Jr Day, a day that is dedicated to improving human
relations, and to being involved in national service. The
nation has been mobilized to help the people of Haiti, who
are experiencing severe hardship and trauma in the wake
of a devasting earthquake that destroyed 80% of the existing
infrastucture of the country and may have killed up to 100,000
people. As I examine my own personal challenges, these seem
quite miniscule when I consider the individual and societal
obstacles faced by the Haitian people. I wrote my contribution
check at church today and marked it "Haiti," knowing
it is a tiny fraction of what will be needed over many years
to bring Haiti back to its previous level of functioning,
as impoverished as it was in the years leading up to the
recent earthquake.
In my own life,
I am rebuilding too. I have financial and personal challenges
ahead of me. I can't say my situation can be compared to
the individual or corporate challenges faced by the nation
of Haiti after the earthquake, but like them, I know it
will require perseverence and reliance on family and friends
to get through to the other side, where stability, health,
and a brighter future await.
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Until next time, stay
healthy!
George
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