Riding The Wave of Creativity – Podcast Episode 414
In this episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life, I share some insight and inspiration that I received simply by reading a tweet from my friend Jason Van Orden.
I share a call from Steve Bostedor. Also, I share a conversation I recently had with David Jacobs. Of course there are quite a few other items tossed in this episode as well.
Recent #PABL Tweets
tonialiani #pabl don’t try this @ home…ate like €r@p today but swam .75 miles and still came in 350 calories under.
stephencross Inbox Zero – first time in two weeks (ouch) #PABL
Taquoriaan has walked 12,000+ steps today #pabl
tiwwh @davidjacobs David, how are you doing with the goals your doctor set for you? I’m just checking in. #pabl
queenamy83 I have had too much diet soda in the past few days…colitis is not happy! backing off for a few days!! #PABL
danieljohnsonjr back from another great walk. More than 4 miles today! Since I couldn’t climb up a tree, I opted to climb up a backstop fence instead. #PABL
tiwwh Had a few mis-steps in my #pabl , over the past few days. Decided to stop feeling guilty, & instead re-focus on moving more, eating less.
EvePhoenix Took a great walk tonight & listened to some podcasts. Came back in & drank some water instead of eating a snack. #pabl
After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog! Or you can call in your feedback on our Voice Mail Feedback Line at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. Also, don’t forget to add #PABL to all your tweets related to pursuing a more balanced life.
Note: This is a premium Plus Member Only episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life. If you would like learn how you can get every episode of this podcast as well as all the other podcasts that I produce, please visit http://gspn.tv/plus.
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Some Thoughts On Setting Goals – Podcast Episode 413
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Happy Monday to you all. As most of you know by now, Monday is my weigh-in day. I’m very excited to announce that I have lost an additional 3 pounds this past week.
That means that I’ve lost a total of 24 pounds in the past two months! Not only that, but my waist size as gone from 46 inches down to 41.25 inches since May 1st, 2009. I can’t begin to tell you how great I feel compared to how I felt daily before.
In this podcast episode, I share some feedback that I had received in the gspn.tv community forum regarding podcast episode 412. In it, Mary M. wrote…
Hey yall! I don’t want to be rude but please hear me out and realize that I have good intentions.
Ok, so I am listening to PABL episode #412. Throughout the episode Cliff is talking about his “official” goal is to do physical activity 5 days per week.
Really Cliff??
I think you have set your “official” goal low on purpose. You have stated many times that when you don’t get your physical activity all 7 days it is a “failure” of a day, but then justify it because your “official” goal is only 5 days per week.
I believe that your “actual” goal, the one you really want, is to do physical activity all 7 days per week. I think that in the beginning you set your goal to 5 days per week for the “just in case” moments but that as time has gone by, you have proven to yourself that you can do physical activity everyday and still be productive.
I believe that your goal of physical activity 5 days per week isn’t your “GOAL”, but your “MINIMUM” that you would be comfortable with if necessary. And if you were really honest with yourself, I bet you would be very “unsatisfied” if you only did physical activity 5 days.
I believe that if you were to really search your heart, you are trying to put in physical activity every day.
Maybe it is time to set a new goal. Not meeting it all the time is fine for special occasions (like a family reunion or meeting with a friend for a movie screening).
If you are going to bed every night with the intentions of getting up the next morning and doing physical activity then THAT IS TRULY YOUR GOAL!!!!!
Please don’t take this the wrong way, cause I love ya!!
She also followed that up with this…
Ok, so I finished the episode and had some more thoughts. According to dictionary.com the definition for GOAL is:
1. the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.
I guess that my problem with the episode is your use of the word. A goal should be something that you strive to achieve, not just the minimum you would be happy with. You are already past the physical activity of 5 days a week, so anyway…sorry for the rant.
A majority of this episode is my response to this this feedback. I want to post some highlights from what I shared here for the blog.
First of all, here is what I think about when I talk about setting goals:
Goal setting is the process of deciding what you want to accomplish and devising a plan to achieve the result you desire.
Goal setting is a two part process. Step one is deciding What You Want To Do. Step two is working toward the accomplishment of that Goal. Many people know what they want to do but have trouble creating a plan to get there. Goals without action plans are just words. Another way of saying that is that a goal without action plans are nothing more than desires.
When creating a plan to achieve your goals, I think it is important to evaluate your goal to make sure that it has all of the following characteristics. Your goals should be Realistic / Attainable. Your goals should be specific and detailed. You goals should be measurable. And finally, I think it is important to evaluate your goal in light of whether or not it adds to or or distracts you from your pursuit of a balanced life.
Regarding the thought of me setting my “official” goal low on purpose, I’d have to disagree. When I first set this goal, back in May, it actually seemed to be an very lofty at the time. Time came to reveal that I actually had it within me to achieve this goal on a very consistent basis which came as a great shock to me and inspired many others to set similar types of goals for themselves.
While I’ve been averaging between 6 to 7 days a week on a regular basis. The question then becomes… Should I “adjust my goal?” I’ve given this a lot of thought and the answer is no.
I feel that it would be more closely aligned with the Pursuit of a “Balanced Life” to achieve a healthier outlook on the concept of giving my body rest two days a week and not”not overdoing it.” I especially want to avoid “burn-out” which I will blog about in the future.
The truth is that there are still other areas of a Balanced Life that I’m not giving enough attention right now. I believe that as I get closer to the desired balance in each area, there will be more and more occasions where the 5 days per week goal will seem more aligned with where I should be.
I’ve been consuming a large amount of Health and Wellness content lately. Everything that I read suggests intentional physical activity at a minimum of thiry minutes per day, three to five days per week. My “official” physical activity goal is already double the amount of time and on the upper head of what is suggested for a healthy lifestyle.
I have noticed that I seem to try to justify the days that I don’t work out. However, I believe that this is more about my attempt to convince myself that this is not a failure, but it is all a part of adjusting to a more balanced approach and mindset to physical activity.
With that said, I really appreciate the feedback that has been provided on this topic. I’m even more thankful that it came in the context of a genuine relationship with someone I would call friend.
I hope that you might find this topic helpful when you are setting your own goals.
Special thanks to Maggie who called in some audio feedback for this episode. Also, here is the list of #PABL updates that I shared in this episode.
Seaturtle89 Goal: wake at 4:45 a.m. Gym 5:00 a.m. Night all must get some sleep so I can acomplish this Goal #PABL
MrsLTJ Having a good day! Didnt realize starting it off with a ride would make me feel this good! #pabl
aaronmb Rivky has learned how to ride her two wheeler! Film at 11. #pabl
panache113 (aka Jessie) Starting to day #PABL.
melindayork slept in this morning then did 10 Minute Trainer x 3. Now cooling down with a walk on the treadmill. #PABL
EvePhoenix Took a walk yesterday at the mall – and didn’t buy anything! Just took the Nano, and went for the exercise. #pabl
Lindaharderwijk (Linda From The Netherlands) And I finally got my new cross bike todayyeah it’s so great
CaptainsCast Week4/Day3 Couch to 5K run completed. 2.29 miles, 31:01, 13:32/mile, 441 calories. I’ve now completed 12 workouts totaling 23.84 miles #pabl
GalenaG The maid of honor said it was difficult to lace the dress due to weight loss. Size 20 to 14 in a year. #pabl
ffluvssg1 Today’s healthy activities: Walking on the treadmill, health/fitness podcasts, and brought a salad for lunch. Working on time mgmt. #pabl
After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.
Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.
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Healthy Cooking Oils And More – Podcast Episode 412
In this episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life, I share how I applied the principles and values of pursuing a balanced life to what would have normally been a very highly stressful situation. Several folks had called in some great tips, suggestions, and feedback.
Also, I shared an audio clip from a podcast that I’m listening to of Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser TV Show. She does a radio talk shoe on a station in California. The podcast feed includes all the shows that they air on Sunday. So what I did was subscribe to this feed and simply deleted each episode that was not hers. If you have itunes, you can just click here.
Finally, I shared that that my shoes are showing visible signs of wear and tear from all this walking. I mentioned that I would use an image of them as the album artwork for the podcast. for those of you who don’t have a player that displays the album artwork, this image is posted her for you and it speaks volumes.
After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog! Or you can call in your feedback on our Voice Mail Feedback Line at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. Also, don’t forget to add #PABL to all your tweets related to pursuing a more balanced life.
Note: This is a premium Plus Member Only episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life. If you would like learn how you can get every episode of this podcast as well as all the other podcasts that I produce, please visit http://gspn.tv/plus.
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More Than Just Health And Fitness – Podcast Episode 411
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Oddly enough, too much focus and attention on the Health and Fitness aspect of our lives can cause our lives to be thrown off balance. Since May 1st, I’ve been pursuing a healthier lifestyle that incorporates a generous amount of daily physical activity. I have also had a major paradigm shift in the way that I look at food and its nutritional value.
While I’ve been devoting a large portion of this blog and podcast to the topic of Health and Fitness, I’ve been just as focused on focusing more attention to the other areas of a balanced life such as Community, Work/Career, Family, Faith, Personal Development, and Recreation. It’s a balance between Health/Fitness and all of these areas of our lives that truly cause us to enjoy the abundant life that God has provided us.
In this podcast episode, I share several things that took place over this past weekend. Prior to my focused pursuit of a Balanced Life, I would not have been able to enjoy all the events things that took place. However, because of the values and principles that I’ve been learning and applying to my life, I found myself living in the moment on a more consistent basis.
By the way, I mentioned that when I posted this episode, I’d put my weigh-in day results in the show notes. I’m excited to tell you that I’ve lost another 2 pounds in the last seven days for a total of TWENTY ONE POUNDS LOST SINCE May 1st!
After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.
Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.
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My Attempt At Running – Podcast Episode 410
In podcast episode 408 I compared walking on the treadmill to walking outside and explained that I’d rather walk outside any day of the week. In this episode, I share that I have found another way to look at working out on the treadmill.
I also share about come conversations that I’ve been having with Father Roderick along with the following statement he recently sent me in an email:
Thanks Cliff, I really appreciate it! I love keeping up to date with
your amazing progress in PABL. Very inspiring! Care to run a marathon
together one of these years?
I thought he was kidding at first. However, in ongoing conversations, I’ve found that he’s actually quite serious about the two of us running a marathon together. It’s really opened my eyes to the possibility of actually running. So much so that I actually have been running this week.
I am not quite at the point where I can effectively run and podcast at the same time, as demonstrated in this episode, but I’m one step closer! Actually enjoying the though of running a marathon now!
Also in this episode, I share some of my favorite quotes from this article article that Maggie Mack posted in the gspn.tv community forum. Here are my favorites:
Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being,
while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. – Plato
Stupid is forever, ignorance can be fixed. – Don Wood
If you greatly desire something, have the guts to stake everything on obtaining it. – Brendan Francis
Change your thoughts and you change your world. – Norman Vincent
There is small danger of being starved in our land of plenty; but the danger of being stuffed is imminent. – Sarah Josepha Hale
Character – the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life – is the source from which self respect springs. – Joan Didion
The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. – Confucius
It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not. – James Gordon
Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. – Carol Burnett
Food is an important part of a balanced diet. – Fran Lebowitz
Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Also mentions go out to Mary S, and Patti B. We had audio feedback from Frank C. and Wayne Henderson.
To wrap things up I shared some recent #PABL statements from Twitter:
danieljohnsonjr 4-miles walked today. Good thing, too, given what I ate today. #PABL
EvePhoenix Inboxes at zero already. Sipping my Diet Coke and not really hungry right now, when I’m usualy starving. Had a pretty healthy lunch. #pabl
Argon52 Walked 2.5 miles this morning & got freaking blisters on my foot again even with 2 socks & powder! Oh well, the walk was nice. #pabl
LeeAndrew Having done a daily walk for 1 to 2 hours the last month has made me feel very good of myself and also given me a lot of extra energy! #PABL
spicedogs OK. Made up my mind, I am going to cardiac therapy. Must follow @GSPN’s #PABL.
spicedogs Cardiac Therapy was awesome today. I just graduated to higher and more difficult levels. Fell like I am playing a video game. LOL #PABL
MrsLTJ really need to get a good pedometer to count my steps thats not too expensive. any suggesstions on brand and store to buy from? #pabl
jshaffer Just achieved inbox 0 for today. Now to take an idea from @gspn and not look at it again until I get off of work. #PABL
After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog! Or you can call in your feedback on our Voice Mail Feedback Line at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. Also, don’t forget to add #PABL to all your tweets related to pursuing a more balanced life.
Note: This is a premium Plus Member Only episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life. If you would like learn how you can get every episode of this podcast as well as all the other podcasts that I produce, please visit http://gspn.tv/plus.
Subscribe To Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast – Free Feed:
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