Search the Community

Okay, it's been a rough week and I've been staring at this for a while now. If there hadn't been a house guest in the beginning of the week, I probably wouldn't have been in as much of a funk. For anyone who's interested, RP is a terrible house guest. * But enough of that. It's challenge time. I'm going back to some deeply held loves. Things that are simple and elemental in the joy that they bring to me. My basics, if you will. See what I did there? I'm bringing it back. He-Man Hello, body-image. You're terrible. He-Man, for reference, looks like this: How I see myself is like this: As with most things, reality is somewhere in between. I'ma hide this so people don't have to look. Not a particularly flattering light or angle, but you get the picture. I don't want to feel like I'm the Blerch. And I also acknowledge that He-Man (and basically all popular media images) are entirely unrealistic goals to strive for. To combat this, I'm going to aspire to the attitude of He-Man and try to achieve at least a semblance of the Most Powerful Man in the Universe. My wife and I have re-committed to going to the gym together. Barbell exercises are something we both enjoy and we can push each other to go. So I'll be restarting myself at empty bar for Stronglifts 5x5, for the umpteenth time, but this time with the mindful attitude that I want it and I need to work for it. Stronglifts 3x per week. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles No one should be surprised by this. My art will continue to be my focus and there is always more for me to do. This time around, I get to fully embrace being a 2nd degree black belt and see where this new chapter of my journey will take me. Same as always, I go to two classes a week. This one is unlikely to change until I open my own school. Hapkido 2x per week. The Muppet Show Bet no one was expecting this, eh? This might be dating myself considerably, but I grew up watching the Muppet Show. It is simply the best. In every episode, Kermit the Frog is trying to put on his variety show. In every episode, guests go crazy, the acts go wrong and the audience gets wacky. But you know what? In every episode, the show goes on. Why is that? Because the show must go on. There's a theme in my life where lots of things derail me. And when that happens, I stop eating. I let the circumstances of my life dictate my actions. I must be like Kermit. He flips out. He yells. He screams. He flails his arms wildly. But the show must go on. Always. Eat 3 meals a day, every day. Astroboy How many of you know the story of Astroboy? In the pilot episode, the great roboticist Dr Tenma ignored and neglected his son such that he died in a car accident. Overcome with grief, he built the most powerful android ever and made it look like his deceased son, intending to have the robot replace him. Then he ignored and neglected the robot. Astroboy is fundamentally a tragic character both from the circumstances of his creation and also in the treatment by his creator. However, throughout the many challenges in his life, dealing with hate and fear from those who don't understand him, he is essentially a hopeful character. He sees the worst and chooses to be better. Stress has a tendency to make my depression significantly worse. By some bizarre twist of fate, I have no additional stressors in my life. I have no impending international visitors. The wiring in my house is done. My wife's insane program that has made the past year hell is over. All that I have left is to manage my home, continue my job search and generally keep my head above water. That's a lovely sentiment, but we love measurable things here at Nerd Fitness. I've made daily affirmation type of goals before and they have gone poorly. However, in the past, I've had all of those stressors I talked about. I'm going to shoot for a more realistic number. Post happy thoughts on my thread 3x per week. *RP is not actually a terrible house guest and my wife informs me that he's nice to have around.