You've Got This

5.15

I unintentionally took a couple of months off from Power Pantry this summer. I even had a friend check in with me to be sure all is well... Everything is great! It was the combination of vacations, some Spartan training, and being let down by some of my technology that helped me sidestep my blog since June. But not to worry, all those distractions are simply that: distractions. In every day and every endeavor I strive to live out a great journey.

So this summer, I'm still dialed into my 50th birthday celebration and fulfilling some crazy goals that answer my question why... the question I asked quite emphatically in my 5.14 post. Yesterday I completed my 5th Spartan Race, with my son competing as well. It was tremendous (as they all have been) and completes the 2nd of 3 Spartan Races I'm running in 2018.

My 'why' is multi-faceted and maybe a bit obscure, but it centers on some themes:

• because I've been blessed with the desire, health and strength to do it
• because I learned so much more from a wellness lifestyle of tenacity, than I ever did from a lifestyle of ease
• because the payoff of a wellness lifestyle isn't the next PR or medal; the payoff is the journey that got you prepared to run the race
• because the journey gets us to the finish line, so why not have an awesome journey

You have a next step in your journey. There are 4 more months in 2018 to accomplish that goal, or launch into that resolution you boldly set forth in January. Four months is a long time, but remember, the goal isn't the payoff. The journey is the payoff.

What will you do in September? Commit to taking a 1 mile evening walk 5 days a week? Maybe clean up that bike you loved so much 10 years ago, and get back out for some miles again? Or put a training plan together for a run? There's still plenty of time to make 2018 a milestone year. You've got this.

By the Way

The next book I'm reading is 'Spartan Up!' by Joe DeSena (the founder of the Spartan Race). It's a bit gritty, but chronicles his own journey from growing up poor in Queens, NY, to various successes and misadventures in business, and finally rooting himself in stretching others way beyond what they think they can do. DeSena thrives on changing the rules, bending what is 'normal' and asking of others nothing more than what he asks of himself - to commit to a better and more challenging journey.