I'd been planning to sit down today and write this, it's Monday, and there are 42 days until I compete in my 9th Ironman (sick brag!!). While training over the last week I began setting goals, in real time, for the event and I realized again and in many facets of my life, that because of unrealistic expectations, I accept less of myself.

This isn't going to be a self flagellation of my short comings but rather a simple reflection and reminder for us all and hopefully a result for anything you may want to move forward over the next 42 days.

After my careful calculations I realized I had exactly 6 weeks until race day. This coincides with what is going to be an extremely busy workload for everything I do. I can ill afford to fuck around and so, I am buckling down.

I am the king of doing 80% of the work and then shrugging it off as "just what I could do in the time allotted."  This is in everything. Over committed, I race from thing to thing, doing, but never to my best. The little details, sometimes the difference makers, glossed over as I rush. Too and fro.

What I have decided to do is focus. 42 days. I want to see what I'm capable of (again). Maybe my juggling of all the things can become more controlled. Maybe there aren't too many after all. Maybe I'm just wasting too much time etc. We shall find out.

Who wants to come along?  What is one thing you want to change in the next six weeks?  A fitness goal?  A work project?  Better time management?  Would you commit to the little things for six weeks?  All of them. In each instance of choice, could you choose to do the extra work. To sacrifice a little (or a lot). What would the outcome be in 42 days?  What effort would allow you to look in the mirror on Sunday, September 25th and say. "I did everything it took and I am proud of myself."?

There's been once in my life that I have done that. A six month stretch from November, 2006 until April 2007, where I checked most every box in training. Looking back there's great satisfaction but also zero balance. I put a lot on back burner and ignored responsibilities and family needs during this time. Today, I can look back and say that. Then. I couldn't. This go around, I won't accept that. I want to see. Can I have the all I proclaim to want, over and over?

Most times, we try and convince ourselves that the stresses of life pop up, like some sort of summer thunderstorm, cold wind and violence, crashing down, catching us while walking across an open field. "How did this happen? How did I not see it coming?"  The juxtaposition of what we want and what we said we would do set against seemingly chance events. A predictable maelstrom, exacerbated by hundreds of little choices. We can almost always see the storm. If we’d just look up.

Forty two days.  Can I choose all the right ones?  Can I make all my moves count?

On September 25th, will I be able to look in the mirror, changed? Or the same?

Hopefully it's going to be seeing  things to fruition so that I can say.

"I did what I said what I was going to do, and I am proud."

Who's going to join me?

#hugsandhi5s