Friday, April 21, 2017

April 21st, 2017 This Blog Isn't One Of Those Things

April 21st, 2017 This Blog Isn't One Of Those Things

It wasn't long after last night's post when the need for on-air weather coverage sounded the alarm. Mother Nature doesn't plan on my schedule. I thought it might be mild enough to be simple, perhaps some prerecorded "these storms aren't severe" type messages would suffice, but no. As soon as those were produced, actually five minutes later, storms intensified and different coverage was required.

It's important for me to clarify, I'm not complaining. I'm very fortunate and grateful to be able to do what I do for a living. The point is how the challenges of the job require unique maneuvering of my day to day plan. It was a short night and a long work day. And those two are not a good combo. When I'm pushing through a schedule like that, it requires an awareness level set to high-I'm on guard. By the time I arrived back home this evening, I was laser focused on a few things: Preparing an on-plan dinner, honoring two one-on-one mentoring session commitments and relaxing--maybe even taking a short nap to recharge enough to write this blog post. I might be wildly inconsistent with several things--but this blog isn't one of those things. 

You up for a time travel? Let's go back almost three years ago to a post written at the very beginning of my turnaround from a 164-pound relapse/regain. As you'll read, as far as the schedule goes--the craziness is nothing new for me. What I've discovered though--is it isn't necessarily about me trying to "tame the beast" of a schedule--it's about making sure I do the things securing my plan come what may.

I'll bold some things that stick out to me along this time travel. We're going back to April 27th, 2014--over eleven hundred individual blog postings ago, where we find some familiar themes...  

April 26th and 27th, 2014 Riding My Wild Schedule

I've never been the best planner or the best routine/schedule keeper. My schedule often takes on the personality of a bull or wild bucking horse with me holding on for dear life. Taking better control over my schedule, or at least taming the beast enough for a smoother ride is something in need of my focus.

 This time of year is wild for my professional schedule. With warmer weather comes more remote broadcasts on the weekends and of course, we're diving into severe weather season when our broadcast schedule is affected by the natural whims of Mother Nature. Both of these elements factored into my Saturday ride.

 Writing and sharing about how I felt out in public after gaining weight was a great idea because it attracted exactly the kind of support I needed, encouraging me to shift my perspective and hold my head a little higher. The stories I create in my head during these public situations are just that, stories. And they're not accurate, serving absolutely no positive purpose.

 I started my Saturday with a good breakfast and a 9am broadcast start at the YMCA. There was one person in particular whom I haven't seen in a long time and who I look up to immensely—and because my first interview choice wasn't immediately available, I interviewed him. He's the nicest guy you'll ever meet. As the director of the local YMCA, he's witnessed my weight loss attempt in 2004 and of course my Transformation Road starting in 2008. I look up to him because physically, he's what I desire for me. I don't know him well enough to say whether or not he battles weight issues—or more specifically, food addiction, but my best guess is he doesn't. But again, I have no business committing that guess to fact. Even still, he's so incredibly compassionate and welcoming—encouraging and positive—not a negative vibe from him at all, and he conveys all of that with a simple smile and warm greeting. I was at ease. I did my best to quiet the voices inside my brain telling me how disappointed he must have been to notice my obvious weight gain. I had to deliberately remind myself that I'm on the right track and I'm okay. I'm fine. No, really—I'm okay, I'm pointed in the right direction and that's a comforting fact. Besides, I haven't any business deciding what other people are thinking about me. And honestly—what many have pointed out, and it's so true: People aren't as focused on us as our brains would have us believe—they're mostly focused on themselves...and that's good.

 My next stop was a museum and that was easy. The next three remotes scheduled all revolved around food: A smoked turkey leg fundraiser, The Big Battle of The Burger Cook-Off at Lake Ponca benefiting the Mission and a Dutch Oven Gathering of World Champion dutch oven cooks raising money for the Red Cross. I declined to be the talent for all three, passing them off to a co-worker and opting for the final broadcast of the day at a casino grand prize giveaway.

 The time off between broadcasts gave me time to grocery shop, prepare a nice lunch at home and grab a nap before the final broadcast of the day.

 The threat of severe weather was looming and looking likely after midnight and when severe weather threatens our broadcast area, I go to the studio to report the information. Instead of heading to the trail for exercise and sitting down to write this post, I headed to bed for a nap in order to be prepared for the overnight storm threat. And we did have some storms. By 1:30am, I was on my way to the studio.

 Good thing this isn't a typical day's schedule. It's very important for me to do three things each day: Maintain the integrity of my calorie budget, complete some form of exercise and write in this blog. Those three things are of utmost importance. When I consistently journal in this blog, I become much more consistent with everything else.

 My Sunday was interrupted by my Saturday schedule, simply because I didn't get to bed until morning and I slept until almost 1pm. It was mid afternoon before I had my first bite of anything.

 A friend suggested a late lunch out at a restaurant. I've often taken great pride in my ability to navigate pretty much any menu of any restaurant and do okay. But right now, as I am today—no. I'm too fragile and I must stick with what's safe. I declined the suggested restaurant.

 I planned on spending some time at Irene's house this evening with both of my daughters and my grandson Noah. They were planning a meal that sounded delicious but again—it wasn't what I wanted or needed right now. So I packed my own dinner and took it over! It worked out great!

 That's just how important this is to me. I'm planning to win.

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Back to the future...

Today: I maintained the integrity of my maintenance calorie budget, I remained refined sugar-free, I met my daily water goal, and I stayed well connected with excellent support.

A major part of planning to win, for me, and countless others--has been and continues to involve securing excellent accountability and support. I'm proud of the accountability and support groups I co-facilitate with Kathleen Miles and Jordan Burgess--and we're just a few days away from our next 8-week session! If you're interested in joining our support team, click HERE for the blog post with all the details, fees, discount codes, and sign-up links. And if you have any questions, please email me! transformation.road@gmail.com

Okay--back to bed for me. My schedule this weekend is mostly clear with a good chance of rest and relaxation. I'll be sleeping in tomorrow (Saturday) morning!

Today's Accountability Tweets:






























Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
at

1 comment:

  1. VickieApril 22, 2017 at 7:59 AM

    It struck me, reading, that the weather pulls you from your bed on occassion, and a baby pulls parents from their bed nightly in the beginning. Or a loved one with major health issues might also be a nightly challenge. So what you write, actually, applies to a whole bunch of people. Some constantly, some intermittently.

    Straightening out my sleep was a huge thing for me. It took many years. A wide variety of (self caused) things made sleep difficult. It took a long time to figure out they were self caused and solve able. And that was a really important process.

    ReplyDelete

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