Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Journals and Rituals

Tags

Grateful, Gratitude, habits, journaling, Journals, Learning, Reading, rituals, Thanks, Writing

A big thank you to all the new followers this week. I finally hit my 500-follower goal and now I am off to hit 1000. I appreciate all my readers and hope you find my daily inputs to your day fruitful and interesting. Today, I’ll be revisiting an important aspect of my day—gratitude journaling.

I work with three journals currently. One is my daily journal where I do a daily mind dump of all my thoughts first thing in the morning. Second is my dream journal, which I write in as soon as I awake. Finally, I add to my gratitude and affirmations journal.

My gratitude journal starts with my daily affirmations. As you all know, I am working monthly to build my character in the same way Benjamin Franklin did during his day. Each month I add one more character trait and these in turn are part of my daily affirmations. Following this I write about all the things I am grateful for.

My gratitude extends to my family and friends, my learning, my pets, and the many aspects of my life. I like taking the time to consider all the great things I have in my life, along with the wondrous experiences I am grateful for. This morning journaling sets a terrific tone for the rest of my day.

Over time you would think that this exercise would get boring, trivial, or lose its meaning. Surprisingly, it does not. It took me a while to build the habit but performing the act daily has made this a well-earned ritual I perform religiously.

Speaking of rituals, I tend to keep like habits with like habits. I do most of my writing in the morning in and around my journaling. Next, I move to reading. After my daily reading is completed, I move to my learning habits, running through the online courses I am enrolled in, my coding exercises, and the YouTube lectures I am working through. Then I do my religious studies, getting in a meditation session and reading my religious discourses for the month. Exercise comes later in the day after my first meal, which is around 4 PM. I eat late because I do intermittent fasting daily. My schedule is from 12 midnight to 4 PM daily. The only thing I consume is water, coffee, tea, or a pre-workout drink. Some say drinking the pre-workout during the fasting period breaks the fast, but I don’t care. It is healthy and is a great start to my day.

These daily rituals formed all by themselves. Over time it just made sense to move through my daily habits in an organized fashion so I could stay within certain contexts that would provide more efficiency to my day. Rituals are the best description for this behavior because they literally guide each action, within the confines of the context they fall under.

Well, folks that’s it for today. I hope all of you have a terrific Thursday.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday

Tags

Elizabeth Gilbert, Exercise, Programming, Ted Talk, What Drives You?, Writing, Your Home

Today’s Ted Talk is provided by a writer. A writer who has seen the peak of success and the pit of defeat. She discusses a really important point about her craft. It is not about making money or being successful. It is not about the failure of a book. It is about doing what you love, a thing she calls “home”.

“Home” is the one thing that you love more than yourself. When it comes to writing, I have found so many quotes and stories discussing the same thing. Stephen King, Lee Childs, and James Patterson all offer the same advice in their books, articles, and interviews. When you look at any person who does well at what they are doing and works hard at it, you know there’s love. You couldn’t put in the time these people put into their work if they didn’t absolutely love what they do.

I challenge each of you in my reading audience to take a few moments and reflect. Where is your “home”? I obviously love to write. I do it every day for this blog. Am I the best? Far from it. I love it. I have also recently discovered my passion for programming. You see I started a course on Codecademy on a whim. Programming is on my bucket list. I really enjoy it. I love watching the magic of code. How anyone can make that computer do what they want. It really is magical to me.

Think about the things you do for the sake of doing it. My Mother gardens. My Father loves to work with wood. My brother likes Guitar Playing and technology (he does it for a living). My Wife has a passion for bodybuilding and teaching. My friend has a passion for playing vintage video games.

Each of us has that one thing we could do 24-hours a day without pay. We truly love doing this one thing or maybe a few things more than we love ourselves. This thing is what God put us on Earth to do. It is the one thing you can do that truly wakes you up in the morning.

I hope you enjoy this video. It really sparked something inside me when I watched it. I hope it does the same for you.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday

Tags

Changing, Colin Powell, Exercising, Hard Work, Improving, Learning, Success, Writing

“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.” – Colin Powell

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/colin_powell_386437?src=t_learning

I really enjoy learning new things and doing what I can to improve all areas of my life. I have learned over time that it’s the little things that lead to big things. A consistent effort in small chunks delivers huge results.

I run across people all the time that struggle with improving themselves. Once I begin asking questions it is easy to see why they struggle. They are not vested in change. They are unhappy with their personal circumstances but fail to act. Why? They want reality to change for them.

We cannot affect change outside of us. We must change ourselves to achieve different results. If you want to lose weight, eat right and eat less. If you want to get in shape and feel better, get consistent sleep, eat right, and exercise (cardio and strength). If you want to do something with yourself, take the time to brainstorm, formulate a plan, organize your time around that plan, and execute. This is the same thing you will read about in book after book after book.

If you want your life to change, you must change—that’s it. Nothing outside of you will bend or adjust to you. The outside reality is what it is. Accept it and live with it or change yourself and alter your circumstances.

Below are the things I’m doing to improve and change. I hope all of you have a great week!!

Exercise Program:

Jim Stoppani’s Shortcut to Size – (www.bodybuilding.com) – I’ve done this workout before and returning to it because it is just a good all-around weight routine. It’s 8 weeks in length, a 4-day split with 3 rest/cardio days mixed in.

Books:

Armor, Steakley – Recommended by an Army Buddy. A terrific book so far.

Ethics, Aristotle – Almost done with this one.

The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell – This is my bible. I finished it and will re-read again. This book is a permanent fixture on my reading list.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe – Still plugging away on this one. I’ve put it on hold, not because it is a bad book but due to the nonfiction reading, I’m taking on (I love nonfiction books more than fiction).

The Science of Success: What Researchers Know That You Should Know, Paula Caproni. I just started this book in conjunction with the author’s course on Coursera – This is a nice read. I don’t know if I’d buy the book by itself. It is the companion book for the Science of Success course below and it’s well worth it if you take the course in conjunction with it. It’ll run you around $5 for the Kindle version.

Classes:

Web Development Path – Codecademy – Currently learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Mindfulness Course – Coursera

Documentaries:

Inside the Free Masons – Netflix – Good documentary, but you’ll want to be interested in secret societies and such. It’s a very interesting documentary.

Movies:

Venom (Another Marvel Movie) – I saw this on my birthday. If you’re a Marvel Comics fan, this is a must see. Lots of action and terrific effects.

Fun:

Ozark – Netflix (in the cue) – Re-watching Season 1 to remind me what’s going on. I’ll kick into Season 2 when I’m back on track with this one.

Madam Secretary (Netflix) – I’m enjoying this one. I’m on the third season (there are four). Each season is about 20+ shows. If you like political dramas, you’ll like this one. Great cast and great writing.

Interesting Apps:

Codecademy – I’m currently pursuing a bucket list item and learning to code. I’m starting with HTML and having a great time so far. The first coding project is creating a blog from scratch—how ironic, right? The interface is awesome! You’ll need to be prepared to pay the $19.99/month to truly enjoy this one. The $19.99 version allows you to work on projects, take quizzes, and offers a whole bunch of bonus material not available in the free version.

Weight Watchers – I’m still on a quest to lose weight. After reading some research in an e-book published by Scientific American, this was one of the diet services that they believed were effective (mentioned in more than one of the enclosed articles). It runs $19.99/month and you are obligated to 3 months minimum (there is a penalty for quitting early). You can look up food, get your daily points (they use points for the types of food you eat), and have access to recipes, and all kinds of bonus content.

I truly wish the very best to all of your pursuits to improve and change for the better. Have a great, rest of the week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday

Tags

Amazon Prime, Coursera, Exercise, Netflix, Reading, Will Rogers, Writing

“There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” – Will Rogers

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/will_rogers_393513?src=t_reading

I enjoy reading because it allows me to listen to an author through the words of their story. Think about all the great authors and thinkers of the past. When you pick up a book you are reading what they wrote decades if not centuries ago. You learn about what it was like when they were alive. You learn about how they spoke, what was entertaining for them, what they ate, listened to, the whole thing.

Some of the older books tend to drag a bit because of this language barrier but they are well worth the read. If you are not someone who can sit down with a good book and become engrossed in the work for hours on end, who cares? Read a chapter or a few pages a day. You’ll read more over time. The reading will open your mind to new ideas, new ways of thinking, and broaden your horizons.

I really enjoy reading books that are written by people I typically disagree with. This solidifies my beliefs and values. I have also been surprised when I find myself agreeing with them. I read broadly across many subjects because I am naturally curious and want to learn and open my mind to these other ideas. I hope you become an avid reader too!

I’ve added a few sections to thinking Thursday. I’ve added the workout routine I’m following under Exercise Program, and I’ve added a section called interesting apps. I have my core of apps that I’m satisfied with currently but do, from time-to-time, find another app to add to my inventory.

Exercise Program:

Jim Stoppani’s Shortcut to Size – (www.bodybuilding.com) – I’ve done this workout before and returning to it because it is just a good all-around weight routine. It’s 8 weeks in length, a 4-day split with 3 rest/cardio days mixed in.

 Books:

Armor, Steakley – Recommended by an Army Buddy. A terrific book so far.

Ethics, Aristotle – Almost done with this one.

The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell – This is my bible. I finished it and will re-read again. This book is a permanent fixture on my reading list.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe – Still plugging away on this one. I’ve put it on hold, not because it is a bad book but due to the nonfiction reading, I’m taking on (I love nonfiction books more than fiction).

The Science of Success: What Researchers Know That You Should Know, Paula Caproni. I just started this book in conjunction with the author’s course on Coursera.

Classes:

The Science of Success: What Researchers Know That You Should Know, Paula Caproni, University of Michigan, Coursera. – I started week 1 yesterday. A buddy of mine recommended this one and I’m glad he did. This is a good course so far.

Documentaries:

Inside the Free Masons – Netflix

Movies:

Venom (Another Marvel Movie) is scheduled to come out on the 5th. I cannot wait. This one looks terrific!

Fun:

Ozark – Netflix (in the cue) – Re-watching Season 1 to remind me what’s going on. I’ll kick into Season 2 when I’m back on track with this one.

Designated Survivor – Netflix – Finished the first two seasons. I hope they have another one but who knows? If you liked the “24” series, you’ll like this one. It’s a good show with lots of plot twists and will keep you at the edge of your seat.

Interesting Apps:

Nothing to note this week…

I hope you take up reading, even if it is solely focused on your interest areas. Reading does so many things for you. Have a great Thursday.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday

Tags

Books, Coursera, Learning, Movies, Netflix, Reading, self-improvement, Writing

Photo and Quote: www.brainyquote.com

We are either growing or shrinking. Our brain is a muscle, just like those we use to move about. Learning new things, reading, writing, and building your skill set all contribute to your ability to think, reason, and analyze. Learning is an entertaining, challenging, and rewarding activity.

I cannot stress how important learning is to each of us.

What should you learn? That’s up to you. What interests you? What skills could benefit you in your job, your overall career, your life? Pick something. Explore it. Learn something.

I make it a daily practice to learn something new each day. Whether it’s a piece of trivia or a deep topic like terrorism, philosophy, politics, or mathematics, they are all topics to learn about. Maybe you want to learn a new language, learn how to take better photos with your phone, or even learn how to program with HTML. Regardless of the topic or skill you pursue, all will benefit you. They will exercise your brain, they will keep you engaged, they will push your limits of capability.

Read daily. Write daily. Learn something new daily. Here’s what I’m up to this week:

Books:

Armor, Steakley – Recommended by an Army Buddy. A terrific book so far.

Ethics, Aristotle – Almost done with this one.

The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell – This is my bible. I finished it and will re-read again. This book is a permanent fixture on my reading list.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe – Still plugging away on this one. I’ve put it on hold, not because it is a bad book but due to the nonfiction reading, I’m taking on (I love nonfiction books more than fiction).

The Science of Success: What Researchers Know That You Should Know, Paula Caproni. I just started this book in conjunction with the author’s course on Coursera.

Classes:

The Science of Success: What Researchers Know That You Should Know, Paula Caproni, University of Michigan, Coursera. – I started week 1 yesterday. A buddy of mine recommended this one and I’m glad he did. This is a good course so far.

Documentaries:

Movies:

Venom (Another Marvel Movie) is scheduled to come out on the 5^th. I cannot wait. This one looks terrific!

Fun:

Ozark – Netflix (in the cue) – Re-watching Season 1 to remind me what’s going on. I’ll kick into Season 2 when I’m back on track with this one.

Jack Ryan – Amazon Prime – This was ok but not as good as the hype that was advertising since earlier this year. Watch at your own risk. The story is entertaining but nothing to call home about.

The Newsroom – Wow! This was a terrific show. I highly recommend it. The writer for this show also was the writer for the West Wing. Great show.

Interesting Apps:

Calm – This is a meditation app and is awesome. It is a little pricey. It’s 59.99/year. I really enjoy the app. I began using it again to bolster my meditation practice. I dropped meditating for a bit and found my stress levels increased and focus waned. I use this app twice a day and love it.

Until next time…

Dave

Reference

Anthony J. D’Angelo Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018, from BrainyQuote.com Website: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/anthony_j_dangelo_153989

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday

Tags

Brainstorming, Exercise, Persistence, Reading, reflection, spirituality, Thomas Edison, Writing

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison

Happy October!!

Here we are again at the beginning of a new week. I use Sundays to reflect on my life, reflect on the weekly goals I set the week before, and examine all my projects to determine where I am at and what I have left to do.

I realize where I made progress, realize where I messed up, and think about new ideas to move my projects and goals forward. I do what many call a weekly review. This allows me to look at my calendar, my mail, my email, my project lists, my to-do lists, my bucket lists, anything that I have some interest in. This one day a week I label my “do nothing day” but this is a misnomer. I really do things on Sunday but do less than I normally would and use the day to re-charge, re-focus, and restart stalled projects.

I think this is what Edison is driving at. If we learn that something we are doing isn’t working—we re-tool. We try again. If we realize we haven’t been doing this or that—we re-tool. We try again. If we catch some inefficiencies, we can re-work the game plan we have for a goal or project. We can try again.

If you are stuck, not motivated, and frustrated, take some time on Saturday or Sunday and re-think what you are doing. You’ll get new ideas, you’ll see potential opportunities to try something different, you’ll find avenues to travel you haven’t been down yet. Try them, explore them, take them.

This week:

Still plugging away at the Kris Gethin 4-week-to-shred workout. Still plugging away at my books and working through a 7-week course on Coursera. I’ll also be working on my non-fiction book. Spiritually, I’ll be meditating daily and reading my Bible and other spiritual works.

Have a great week everyone!

Until next time…

Dave

Reference

Thomas A. Edison Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 1, 2018, from BrainyQuote.com Website: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/thomas_a_edison_149049

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday

Tags

Achievement, Attainment, Exercise, Fun, Goals, Reading, Self-compassion, spirituality, Writing

“The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.” Unknown

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/unknown_159550?src=t_motivational

We can be our own worst enemy. I don’t know if this is a quote that belongs to someone but it sure is true when I deal with myself. I always tend to beat myself up if I fail to meet an objective, miss a workout, or eat the wrong thing. I’ll tell you this isn’t the healthiest thing to do. It’s ok to be objective when you measure your performance against your goals, but it is not when you begin fixating on what you did wrong or where you messed up.

Give yourself a break. The key to attaining anything is persisting. Who cares if you missed a workout yesterday—go today. Who cares if you ate a piece of pie while on a diet—eat right today. Who cares if you missed reading something you were scheduled to read today—read it tomorrow. If you are like me and more apt to beat up than cheer up, it’s ok. Just don’t fuss too much about yesterday; you’ll end up screwing up another day stewing about yesterday. Every day is a new day—embrace that.

Here’s my schedule for the week:

My workout routine is a two-a-day format. Cardio and weightlifting each session. I designed this workout and looking forward to it. I have found that my attention span wains after about 4 weeks, so I’ll be adjusting this every month, depending on the success I achieve. I typically hit the gym in the morning around 9 am and then again at 6 pm.

What I’m reading:

The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Paul Twitchell

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe

Ethics, Aristotle

Rediscovering Americanism and The Tyranny of Progressivism, Mark R. Levin

Online Courses:

Designing your own weight-loss plan, Case Western University on Coursera

Western Heritage, Hillsdale College (free course on Hillsdale.edu)

Curious.com (a daily collection of interesting mini-courses, puzzles like crosswords, and other tidbits – this one is a monthly fee of $9.99)

Writing:

Technical Recruiting Book (Rough Draft due December 2018)

Blogging (Monday – Saturday and once a month on Sunday)

Journaling throughout the day

Entertainment:

West Wing, Netflix

Black Panther Movie (part way through), Netflix

Jack Ryan (in the queue), Amazon Prime

StarCraft II (online video game), with my buddy a few times a week, we are currently using the map editor to create our own battle maps—great fun.

Big events:

Mom’s birthday today! (She’s 75) – Diet and workout are not happening today—going to get some writing done and eat what I want when we take Mom out for dinner 😊

Religious Retreat Friday-Sunday)

I realize that my schedule is a little over the top but remember I am retired. I do not have kids in the house and I do not have to work anymore. Keep this in mind.

I hope each of you has a terrific week! Remember, don’t worry about yesterday—it’s gone. Tackle the day ahead and do your best—it’s all any of us can do.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday

Tags

Achievement, continuous effort, followers, Goals, Liane Cordes, Writing

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Liane Cordes

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/liane_cordes_385862?src=t_intelligence

Thank you for following Daily Ramblings

Before I get into my posting, I wanted to thank my new readers who followed Daily Ramblings recently. I’m up to 441 followers and appreciate everyone who has decided to give my blog a whirl. I hope to keep you entertained. My goal for followers is 500 by year’s end. If you know of anyone in your blogging network that could benefit from my words, send them my way. One thing I want to note for everyone. I am not an affiliate of anyone right now. Who knows? Maybe in the future. Currently, however, I recommend products, websites, videos, and other services without any kickbacks from anyone. I enjoy sharing the things I find so that others may benefit from these things as well.

Thinking Thursday!

When I find a quote, I have been taking some extra time to find out more about the person who wrote it. In this case, Liane Cordes is the author of The Reflecting Pond – Meditations for Self-Discovery. I enjoy reading quotes that reflect my values. I value persistence.

I don’t know when I adopted this. Maybe it was ingrained in me as a child. The thing is I want to learn new things, I want to be a published author, I want to leave something behind for this world to ponder.

I was brought up to always leave a place in better shape than I found it. When I was in the Army and heading to a new assignment I tried to do everything I could for the person who would end up replacing me. I made sure furniture was clean and polished, ordered all the manuals, publications, and regulations the unit was missing, left some notes on things I wanted to do but didn’t get done. I also left private notes to my incoming replacement on any personnel issues they would need to know about (who is on vacation, who is up for promotion, that sort of thing).

I want to do the same thing with this blog, my personal, private writings (diaries and journals), and get a few books out there. Writing is one of these things that takes continuous effort. It takes practice. It takes learning about writing and reading about the challenges other authors have faced. Writing requires writing. It always feels good to get a comment that tells me what I wrote is what they needed today—this is what keeps me writing for this blog.

I use this blog to practice my craft. Sometimes the writing is great—other times, not so great. I return from time-to-time to earlier blog postings and wonder “how the heck did I think that was worthy of getting online?” Then I sit back and realize that we evolve. We improve. What we wrote a year ago isn’t the same level we are writing now. This evolution will continue I think.

On to my current activities. I’ve hit my goal of 36 books for the year. Now it’s on to 48 books next year. I will continue to read more books but wanted to brag a bit. I always get a rush when I hit a goal or achieve a major milestone. It feels awesome.

Books:

Ethics, Aristotle

The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe

Kobo: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War, Herbert Strang – When I first found this book on the Project Gutenberg website I thought it was a history book. After reading it for a bit, I discovered it was a fictional story using the Japanese-Russian War as the backdrop. The story was terrific, and the characters were endearing.

Classes:

Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential, Coursera

Public Policy, Hillsdale College – Discusses the nature of changes that have taken place due to progressive influences across a large group of topics like immigration, education, taxation, and marriage. Great course! (Hillsdale.edu).

Western Heritage, Hillsdale College

Mini-Habits Course, Udemy

Documentaries:

I’m a Killer (Netflix)

Movies:

Ready Player One (Amazon Prime) – I haven’t watched this yet. My sister recommended it and it is on my hit list.

Fun:

The West Wing (Currently on Netflix)

Getting good at things, improving, evolving, and achieving your goals is all about continuous effort. If you just keep moving forward, you’ll get where you’re going.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday

Tags

Exercise, mental health, physical health, Reading, Supplements, vitamins, Writing

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mahatma_gandhi_109078?src=t_health

Exercising consistently is hard. It’s supposed to be. Have you ever pursued something that was really worthwhile that was not difficult?

I am a huge advocate for exercise. It is not easy, I don’t like going to the gym every day, and I don’t like dieting, but they are all necessary if I want to keep my body in shape and make it last into my senior years. I’m 54 now.

I would like to live into my 90s at least and have a good quality of life to boot. I don’t want to be one of these seniors that have to spend more money on pharmaceuticals than food each month. I don’t want to be hooked up to an oxygen tank. I don’t want to be confined to a wheelchair. These are all a reality if you don’t take care of yourself today. Eat good food, exercise daily, drink water, and get enough sleep.

The mind’s health is also something I consider important. My Dad has vascular dementia. Chalk this up to a life of smoking, lack of exercise and a horrific diet composed of small meals my Mom makes, with the rest being every candy, candy bar, ice cream, and snack you can think of. I love my Dad, but all his current issues could have been avoided had he only taken care of himself. This is the “negative example” I use every day when I don’t feel like working out or feel like buying a bag of candy at the market and scarfing it down when I get home.

I keep my mind active by taking online classes, playing video games, and meditating. I also enjoy reading and writing. One of the courses I took on Coursera was Learning How to Learn. In this course, it explains the scientific discovery that your brain builds new neurons when you exercise. This means you can grow new neurons into old-age. Science used to think the brain had a set number of neurons and that was it. With this new discovery, we can keep our minds young and sharp by exercising.

Keeping the mind healthy is also about what you put into your body. It’s ok to have a goody now and then. I enjoy ice cream, a candy bar, or a piece of cake or donut from time-to-time. The bulk of my diet, however, is composed of protein and fat (I’m on a low-carb diet). The brain loves fat. So, does your body. They both need healthy fats to do the business of using enzymes, hormones, and other chemicals. The body needs protein to repair and build things like bone, teeth, brain cells, and all the rest. When your body processes protein and fat it can build up the glucose it needs, without carbohydrates.

Do you take a multivitamin? Do you take any probiotics? Do you take Omega 3 supplements? I do, but with caution. I used to be a supplement junky, buying everything I saw at my local GNC. The problem with this is 1) it’s expensive, 2) there is a lot of marketing hype in the supplement industry with little or no proof that the product works, and 3) they can hurt your health if you make the mistake of taking a supplement that interferes with one of your prescribed medications or take a supplement that overdoses you on vitamins and minerals (yes, you can be harmed by taking too many vitamins).

The best advice I can give you is what I have learned. If you really want to try a supplement, do your due diligence. If you believe the supplement will help your performance, buy it. Then, test it out. Does it do what it advertises it can do? Does it help your exercise performance? If you answered yes to both questions, you’ve found a winner. Unfortunately, I have found that a bulk of the supplements that are out there do not satisfy one or both questions.

Do you feel uncomfortable going to the gym? Fine. Many people do initially. Find a trainer or a friend who frequents the gym and they’ll show you how to use the equipment. You can find tons of videos on YouTube. You can borrow exercise, nutrition, and even bodybuilding books at your local library. Just consider that you are unique. One exercise program will work for me, while it may not work for you. Your exercise program will also depend on the type of goals you have. Read about exercise, do some research online, and find a friend that is in good shape and ask for their advice. You’ll find something to start with. After you’ve been doing this for a while, it’ll be easier. Then it’s about consistency.

I could go on and on about these topics because I enjoy how I feel at the end of the day. I feel accomplished, I feel true to my goals. Most of all, I don’t feel guilty about watching some TV or playing some video games with my friend online, once I’ve knocked out the critical tasks I have slotted for the day.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday

Tags

Canada, Diet, Exercise, Intermittent Fasting, Music, Niagara Falls, Reading, Writing

Happy Monday!

Our trip to Canada was awesome!! I finally got to see Niagra Falls. Wow, what a spectacle. We just drove by them because we were on a schedule to get back home, but it was really nice to say I was there and got to see them.

This week, it’s back to the gym with the 12-week Labrada Trainer. I’m helping my wife with some of her school work. She’s in the final leg of her Master of Education in Special Education and I’m so excited for her.

I’m working on a few of my books, started a Western Civilization course at Hillsdale college and midway through a course called Mindshift on Coursera. I’m also plugging away at my technical recruiting book.

I’m going to begin a practice of intermittent fasting. I will be playing around with the eating schedule and such initially, just to get myself adjusted to this new lifestyle. From what I’ve read, it is terrific on your digestive system, helps with weight loss and loosens up your schedule when you’re not having to eat scheduled meals, like most weight loss and bodybuilding regimens. A lot of folks in the bodybuilding and cross-training space have adopted this type of eating lifestyle and have found success so I figured it would be worth a try. For religious reasons I fast Thursday to Friday for 24-hours and I always feel terrific. If you’re curious about this type of eating plan, a quick search on Google will deliver a lot of results. As always, make sure you check with your doctor to make sure this will be ok and try it out for a day or so before committing.

I may sound a little stupid and geeky here, but while in Canada I was in a position where I needed my computer and the place we were at did not have a Wi-Fi setup. I learned how to use my phone as a hotspot for the first time. It was really cool to be able to access the internet on my computer using my phone. I have a really good data plan and wasn’t worried about exhausting my data stores.

To all those folks that are writers in my audience: Do you like to listen to music while you write? If so, what kind of music assists your writing practice? I enjoy listening to study-time instrumentals and other focus-type music.

Well, that’s it for today folks. Have a great week!!

Until next time…

Dave