Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – When Will This End?

Tags

Alex Rosenthal, COVID-19, Double Standard, Gym Closing, Pandemic, Ted Talk, Tuesday

Well, it happened. As quickly as my gym opened–it closed. I guess they were optimistic about a court case in Michigan, filed by gym owners everywhere seeking to open in light of everything else opening. Oops. They lost the case and now have to close again.

I don’t know about you, but I am very frustrated with the lockdown, now that it appears there is a double-standard. Those of us that want to workout, go to work, get back to some semblance of living normally can’t, while knuckleheads across the country loot, burn, and deface. Protests in the U.S. have violated social distancing and number in the thousands of participants.

But I will digress. I can’t control what other people do, even my government, unless it’s at the ballot box. So, I’ll revert to my philosophy of controlling me and letting the rest be what it may.

That said, my workouts will now be home again, using exercise bands.

I hope you enjoy today’s Ted Talk, that explains when a pandemic ends.

Enjoy!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Setting Goals

Tags

Discipline, Drive, Goals, Monday, motivation, Persistence, Setting Goals, SMART acronym

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.

Tony Robbins

I set yearly goals each year. Last year I achieved most of them. This year I was on track. But then…you know the rest of the story. Covid-19 has put a damper on a lot of things, particularly now that it is back. But the goals I have set that Covid didn’t disrupt are all on track.

Setting goals gives us direction. They require us to decide about what we want to achieve. Once we’ve done this, however, we are on autopilot.

If you’ve never set goals before, just keep in mind the SMART acronym. This acronym stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. If you’d like to read about it and watch a short video, here is the link.

I think the most important benefit I receive when I set a goal is the ability to see where I am and how to finish the rest of the journey. Try it out. You won’t be sorry.

Here is my week:

Physical – I will concentrate on shoulders this week. Every day I will exercise shoulders and do nothing else (See workout routine)

Mental – Learn, read, write, and journal

Spiritual – read my Bible, do my spiritual exercises, do my discourse work, and share my goodwill to all

Social – post uplifting quotes and articles to my social media feeds, interact with friends and family wherever possible

That’s it for today, folks. Have a great Monday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Week of June 29, 2020.

Tags

Deltoids, Front Raises, Lateral Raises, Shoulder Press, Shoulders, Shrugs, Trapezoids, Upright Rows

This week we’ll be hitting shoulders. My shoulders are weak and I want to improve them a bit. So, I dedicate this week to shoulders.

Monday – Saturday – Lateral Raises (3 x 10), Shoulder Presses (3 x 10), Front Raises (3 x 10), Upright Rows (3 x 10), Shrugs (3 x 10)

Have a glorious week in the gym, if your gym is open. If not, get those bodyweight exercises in or watch an exercise video on YouTube.

See you at the finish line!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spread Your Wings Sunday – Week of June 28, 2020.

Tags

Do Nothing Day, Explore, Have Fun, Open Your Mind, Relax, Spread Your Wings, Sunday

Weekly Challenge: This week, find one article on History, Art, Music, Poetry, or Spirituality and read it in its entirety. Pick a topic you have not read before, or you read very little of. Post the link to your article in the comments.

This is a great way to open your mind to other ideas. Have fun!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Love Yourself

Tags

Achievement, Goals, habits, Love Yourself, self-affirmation, self-care, Self-love, Spiritual

Don’t forget to love yourself.

Soren Kierkegaard

So many of us beat the living crap out of ourselves. I know I used to. I still do today, but less frequently. I typically get down on myself when I feel like I’m just “going through the motions” and not really putting my entire self into a project.

This happened recently.

I love an automated or ritualized day. I have the same recurring tasks each day and knock them down one by one. Blogging is one of them. I also read, code, learn, journal, interact on social media, exercise, and perform my daily spiritual tasks. It really works for me, but alas, these rituals drift from purposeful self-improvement to automaton-like actions very easily.

As I tackled this feeling, I realized that I should probably take my advice. There will be days where we just don’t feel the motivation and drive we normally do. We’re human. Can I say each workout I do in the gym is 100%? Heck no. This same phenomenon applies to everything else we do. So, I realized that I need to give myself a break.

This is self-love. This is taking care of yourself. This is giving yourself a break. Who wants to live with a micromanager and tyrant? I sure don’t. So, I closed my eyes a few days ago and pretended I was staring at my 7-year-old self. I told myself that you are OK. You will screw up. You’re still an honorable person. You will be lazy some days. On those days, continue to work, but take it a little easy. The days where you’re raring to get at it will be there too. Enjoy those days as well. The days you don’t feel it, enjoy them too and give yourself a break. Just keep doing your daily tasks and you’ll be fine.

That was all it took for me. What things do you do for yourself to recapture the passion you have for your daily tasks/goals? If you have some other ideas, post them in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday – Five Cows

Tags

Friday, FriYAY, Fun, Giggle, Laugh, Relax, Smile, Snicker, Weekend

There are five cows on a farm, one mamma cow and four baby calves. The first baby walks up to the mom and asks, “Momma, why is my name Rose?” The mommy cow replies, “Well honey, a rose petal fell on your head when you were born.” The next calf comes up and asks, “Momma, why is my name Lily?” The mother replies, “Because honey, a lily petal fell on your head when you were born.” The third baby comes up and asks, “Momma, why is my name Daisy?” The momma cow again replied, ” Well, when you were born a daisy petal fell on your head.” The final baby walks over and says, “Duh huh guh nuh!” The momma cow says, “Shut up, Cinderblock.”

The Laugh Factory

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Grateful for Podcasts

Tags

Entertainment, Grateful, Learning, Podcasts, radio, Thankful, Thanks

Podcasts are one of the greatest inventions of this century. There are so many to choose from and enough content that you can never ever listen to it all. I truly enjoy podcasts because I can listen to them while I do other things.

There are also many platforms for podcasts. I use Spotify for all of my music and podcasts, but you can also find them on Groove, Google Play, Apple Music, and many others. If you have never experienced a podcast, I recommend it. They cover topics like history, politics, music; you name it. I guarantee you will find something you are interested in within the podcast genre you enjoy.

I discovered podcasts after learning that many people listen to them while they work. Since I do a lot of programming every day, I like having one on while I code.

Podcasts are the new “radio”. Radio wasn’t huge when I was growing up, but as I matured, radio became a normal part of my life, particularly when I drive long distances. It’s a great source of information and entertaining as well.

So, today I’m grateful for podcasts of all shapes and sizes. They entertain, teach, and are a welcome part of my time during the day.

Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – 5 Quotes

Tags

Isaac Asimov, John Muir, John Wooden, Socrates, Thomas A. Edison, Wisdom Wednesday

Self-education is, I firmly believe the only kind of education there is. – Isaac Asimov

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

Thomas A. Edison

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

John Muir

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.

Socrates

It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.

John Wooden

Enjoy these quotes. They are chock-full of wisdom. I hope each of you has a terrific Wednesday.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Einstein’s Miracle Year

Tags

Atom, Einstein, Energy, Light, Matter, Miracle Year, Physics, Quantum Physicsd, Theory of Relativity

Einstein is one of my heroes. Watch this short video to see how four papers changed the landscape of science after he failed out of college and worked in a Swiss patent office.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Week of June 22, 2020.

Tags

Consistency, Diet, Discipline, Full-Body Workout, healthy living, persistance, weight lifting

This week we’re going to elevate the intensity of workouts again. Now, we’ll push to a 3-set full-body circuit. That’s doing one exercise for each major and minor muscle group moving from one machine to the next without too much rest (wiping down machines and such). I’ll be doing this three times.

Monday – Saturday Full-body circuit

If your area is still in lockdown or your gym is still closed, continue to push at home. Exercise bands are a great alternative. They helped me tremendously. You can also take walks or runs, stair climbers, or body-weight exercises. Yoga and Pilates are also great options.

Have a great week, folks!

See you at the finish line!

Dave