Getting disciplined
I’ve had my perspective shift a great deal over the past few weeks. This was not because I read an incredible self-help book, or watched a particular creative movie or television program. It also has nothing to do with work. It has everything to do with being in new environments. Doesn’t it make sense: perspective shifts once you find yourself in a new environment.
How do you get there? You have to move. You have to plan, prepare, pack and invest energy and not a little will-power. This is for movement on a bicycle at 5 in the morning, or movement to another city. Each time you interact with some other person, there is also a shift in perspective (even though a certain amount of time is spent convincing them that your perspective is correct!)
Over the last few weeks I have:
- cycled to Sun City
- cycled to Durban
Those two trips alone were tremendous highlights this year. And there is something instructional about riding on a bicycle with a lot of people. It’s not quite as chaotic (or even difficult) as it might sound. We are usually a tightly packed and disciplined peloton. There are virtually no incidents or injuries. Everyone tends to grow a lot – through encounters with other people, and through encounters with the landscape directly. We grow our natures by spending time in nature. When we are in nature we find the space around our egos expands, and that space is filled with happiness, curiosity, interest, creativity. In a word: energy. It’s the energy of inspiration that comes from perspiration. I don’t know about you, but what makes me happy is achievement. Performance. Other things also make me happy. Giving makes me happy. Sharing time in nature. Slowing down to enjoy the moment. Finding beauty in the world. Seeing something that others don’t see – something valuable, meaningful and important – and sharing it with them.
This past weekend I did a cycle race in Bloemfontein. I learned a lot about myself in those 2 days. Not only on the bicycle, but particularly on the bicycle. The OFM was an important race to me. An important indicator of form. To tell the truth, I felt a lot like I did before the 2005 Ironman. I didn’t know how well I would do, and had serious concerns about finishing. In terms of the OFM my concerns were more mechanical. I’d replaced a tubby and the glue was still wet going into the race, and the wheel did wobble from the word go which didn’t help my nerves.
While I had the results from 2006 to go on, it was also an opportunity to learn my place vis-à-vis my brother and another friend. The route had been modified slightly, which added another dimension. I went into the race feeling extremely worn out, due to numerous factors:
- sleep deprivation
- exceedingly high stress levels from work
- high training volumes meant I wasn’t feeling rested
- other issues distracting my focus
The race itself went phenomenally well. Not perfect, but under the circumstances very well. Unhappily I lost the A bunch on Albrecht thanks in part to another error. I was surprised to find I was the strongest in the follow-up group which quickly formed around me and another Standard Bank rider. I was outwitted by the narrowest of margins - in the end - by someone older than me who had conserved his strength throughout the race. That wasn’t how I intended to ride (conservatively) and to get your wheel slightly ahead of a rider that had worked all day – well, I’m not sure if that’s much of an achievement if you’re not racing for a position. In any event, I finished 26th in my group, in a time of 2:55. The fact that I rode in a slower group (A-L as opposed to VA) and still improved my time by over a minute on a gusty course is, I think, an acceptable result.
If I thought I had anything to crow about, this was quickly put into perspective by my brother’s time (2:49 – but he was in the super fast VA group and there is a great advantage in that). And even more so, Alex’s time: 2:35. During the drive back in the car Alex told me about his duels with some of South Africa’s best cyclists. The fact that Alex was involved in the thick of it (he finished 11th) says a lot for someone 37 years of age, with a family, and job obligations. To function at that levels seems unlikely, if not highly improbable. But, of course, it is possible. And although I know Alex very well, moving to Bloemfontein and moving over that course, allows one to see things in a way we might not give ourselves a chance to, especially in hypotheticals.
When you see someone perform like that – as Alex did – and you know you train a lot with the guy, you see a glimpse of possibility in yourself.
During the drive home Alex showed me the fuel gauge of his car. It was at ¾. Aftrer driving to Bloem and back. I know I spent only R400 filling my car. What I am saying is there is still some space to maneuver. Of course the amount of money we spend filling up our cars is the beginning, it is not the whole story. Every other vendor is doing the same, and as those costs rise, they go into food prices etc.
My point is that now – while we have something of a reprieve – there is a great opportunity to choose to get into the habit of getting disciplined. Particularly:
- exercise
- watch your diet
In terms of exercise, you want to be healthy at a minimum, and at a minimum, it means losing a little weight. Your BMI should be ‘normal’. There is something wrong with the world, and way it things, when fully 1/3 of the world’s population is obese. I am guessing the majority is overweight. If you are overweight, you are part of the sickness (another word for what is unhealthy) in the world.
In terms of diet, you need to eat no more than ¼ of protein on your plate. The more colorful the food on your plate, the better. If it all looks brown, you’re in trouble. Brown food have lots of oil and protein. Brown = bad. Color = healthy.
Today when I bought groceries I had to buy an additional 5 plastic bags. The grocery bill came to over R700. I bought a lot of frozen vegetable, and ingredients for salad. I also bought a FHM, a chocolate and a six-pack of cokes. The next time I buy groceries I aim to remember those canvas shopping bags in my car. I have three. I’ll buy an extra bag of carrots (or something) instead of the chocolate or magazine. But the process of getting disciplined needs to begin. We need to get very serious about our habits. Now is the time to start making those changes. I hope you’ll join me, and share your success with me ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment