DAY 9/90: Get Up and Get It!

Monday
11 July 2022
Orlando, Florida

The alarm went off at 4:30am, but there wasn’t an “awakening” on Monday. The night before was late and I didn’t “feel it” with the alarm. There wasn’t anything that NEEDED to be done at 4:30, so . . . By the time feet hit the floor, dawgz were whining, it was 7:30am and I’d logged over 9 hours of sleep. I can’t tell you the last time I had 9 hours of sleep. Once the day started, much of it was spent taking everything from WITHIN the office and loosely organizing it in piles in the main living area. This is a chore best done when my wife and daughter are far, far away (as they are). To do this right it means starting over and it always takes far longer than any predictions. By the time the room was completely emptied on Day 2, everything was cluttered in stacks outside the office. So the clutter was moved from one place to another.

The next step is the great purge - eliminating what’s not needed or desired, and cleaning house. Literally. But for whatever reason I wasn’t ready to make that happen. It’s like putting Humpty Dumpty back together again, and realizing that’s not possible so let’s get rid of anything that doesn’t mean something. Minimize.

But that’s looking forward. Let’s look back and how things have gone. Are we getting up to go get it?

Monday marks a week since the 90 days of the THIRD QUARTER started. The Give Team Program is focused on the next 3 months which started in earnest on July 1. With the holiday weekend and a desire to make it an even 90 days, we kicked off Q3 on INDEPENDENCE DAY!

MESSAGE BEHIND THE RULE: To make things happen, you need to get up and make things happen. You need momentum to accomplish anything (See DAY 5, RULE 04), especially if you’re looking to get stronger. To create that momentum you have to GET UP AND MOVE. That’s something you control. You know when you have momentum. You can feel it. There’s energy. Conversely if you don’t have momentum, you can feel that too. It’s a concept rooted in physics. Keep that object moving because it’s easier to KEEP it moving than it is to GET it moving. The act of GETTING UP and FOCUSING ON THE HORIZON outside will spark activity that can spark the mindset needed to get things moving. Andrew Huberman on his podcast Huberman Lab talks about the role adrenaline plays in establishing that momentum. Moving generates that adrenaline and can start something small that leads to something much bigger.

Monday. The feelings ebbed and flowed between feeling like there should still be vacation time after 12 years with my company, and that sense that I should be moving because things need to be done. It was a slow day with fast thoughts. Keeping the streak of consecutive days over 10,000 steps required a late night ruck around Lake Baldwin for 3 miles, which meant bedtime didn't hit until around 11am. The approach to today wasn't consistent with Give Team Rule 08.

WHAT WENT WELL IN WEEK 1?

TEAM: With the team, we have a little momentum. Smith and Yovens are engaged. I think Benita wants to change the world, but she hasn’t been consistent. Several times she hasn’t awakened in time to join the morning workout. Others are busy, and The Give Team isn’t a priority. If DaOne can find a way to wake up and get moving, I think he’d be an active part of what we do.

NUTRITION: Been on point with very little variation. There hasn’t been a cheat meal.

PHYSICAL: Targets were hit with weekly intensity (thanks to Garmin for the measurement) and daily steps.

WRITING: This blog has been completed. I won’t provide my opinion on the quality. The consistency is there DAILY, but need to work on the ritual and routine element so the quality can improve. Right now, it’s vomiting words on a keyboard.

WHAT SHOULD BE IMPROVED IN WEEK 2?

TEAM: We’ll have better engagement with The Give Team 15 for the month leading into the school year. We’ll also start tracking goals more intentionally and less reactively. The workouts will have a defined rhythm and message. We’ll have overall alignment around the mission to complete the Spartan Beast in December which means endurance and grip strength.

NUTRITION: The challenge will be travel starting on Friday when I head to New Jersey and Connecticut to spend some time with my in-laws. Success will be avoiding sugar, bread and shitty food.

PHYSICAL: Need to be more consistent with two workouts a day and incorporating more intensity and intentional effort around strength. Getting Yovens and Smith engaged in regular workouts which I’ll publish online will help.

WRITING: The hope is it’ll improve with continued practice. It’s painful getting 750 words out a day, not taking the time needed to make sense of the chaos.