“The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.” ~Norman Vincent Peale

Where I am physically right now is certainly related to where I’ve been. Where I am physically right now is a simple eight pounds lighter than I was fourteen days ago. Where I am physically right now is more flexible and energetic than I was.

Where I am physically right now, however, is not driven by where I’ve been, but where I want to go. While many times perspective comes in the form of the retrospective, requiring some prior experience around which to quantify a current existence, my perspective is driven prospectively and there is a man out there that is vibrant and active in every aspect of life. There is a lot of work to shape the current man into that that vision and I am certain that I am on the right path.

One of the things that I had created as a roadblock has been food. I love food. It is amazing to me the different blends of flavors and quality of ingredients that are available. When I encounter a dish that is new and creative, I tend to indulge. I have learned that my definition of indulge mainly centered around selfishly engulfing every last morsel available so that I knew that I had enjoyed all there was to enjoy. I am focusing my mind away from that definition to focus more on the sense of savoring the experience. Here I will enjoy what I love about food and truly appreciate the essence of it while providing a balance for my palate and my body.

This need rings ever true in a video that was recently introduced to me. It is Jamie Oliver’s wish for our world and I certainly agree with everything he has to say. I am committed to creating a long life for myself and will do what I can to help those around me focus on a healthy life. Below, is Jamie’s wish. Enjoy the video when you get a chance:

“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” ~Andrew Lloyd Wright

It is the tenth day of my quest toward a fitter version of me. I have found that I can’t perform every single task presented to me in fully perfect form at a maximum level of repetition with an impressive amount of resistance. This is good because I now have a challenge, something upon which I will improve.

I have also found that through maintaining an image of my future self in my mind, I do not have the battle of “will power” that I had been plagued to encounter in my previous efforts to improve my health. I have not simply decided to lose some weight as was a previous fault. I have decided to enjoy life to its fullest for years to come and the vision in my mind that describes joy requires a body that can handle the rigors of time. I am persisting in my mind an image that will be fulfilled.

I had come to realize that my days were spent focused on a career that I love and am enjoying beyond any dream that I had as a child. The nights were focused on eating dinner, watching television, surfing the internet, and going to bed. This is not a cycle that has much life balance to it at all and it was starting to wear on me in a way that I had never conceived of before. The only way that I can describe it is by stating it in a completely exaggerated and blunt fashion… I felt like I was getting dumb.

I realized that I needed focus. I needed to commit to improving my life. I needed challenge. This need has found life in two different movements in my personal (by that I mean not completely career oriented) endeavors.

First, after years of pondering at the behest of my wife, I invested in a new flute. That’s right! I studied flute in my formative years and throughout college, but following the receipt of my bachelor of music in music education, I laid no more focus on it. From that purchase to this post, I have now had three flute lessons. It is a bit frustrating to be sure. I fully expected to be able to play full force right out of the gate but now am realizing that there is some very specific muscle development that has to occur not to mention that there are some bad habits regarding playing that I need to unlearn. While frustrating, it is also very fulfilling and I am excited to continue learning and improving.

Second, I am finally focusing on health. Sure, maybe I just acquired a fad, but I think that there is more to this in the long run. I picked up P90X and am committed to make the program a regular part of my life. I’ll be honest… it really sucks right now, but it’s all in my mind and I know from experience that I can absolutely refocus my mind and I will be successful.

So amongst other posts to happen in the future, I hope to relay some of my experiences to you, not as a method for teaching you flute or helping you lose weight, but as a platform to make sure everyone understands the importance of having something in your life that you are always trying to work on… for yourself.