Subliminal progression

    When we start getting active there is an adaption time in which we face the discouragement of not being good at some thing, we get tired fast,  often compare ourselves to others and spend much time in mental conflict that leaves us to decide to quit or persevere. Yet this is the birth time of adventure and you are subliminally gaining progress when we decide to embrace the discomfort and continue.
    
     Unless you are a prodigy of some sort you will recognize the constant struggles, yet we are rarely mindful of the progress we make. In doing we gain experience, with mistakes we learn lessons, and with practice we come closer to mastering. So each training session is getting you to the better version of you. The time you spend to educate yourself is important, because you increase your sources of information available to apply. Learning what your body adapts to is an ongoing experiment that you are in control of. Be encouraged you are better than you were last week, last month and last year.

     The ability to recognize small progressions gives us the insight to add things that will help our journey to improvement. Daily choices will create our future, and we have endless options to get the most of our tomorrows. Adding time to your life for most rest is a sure way to see instant progress in anything. Investing time in breathing exercises a few minutes several times through out the day is a great example of some thing that will add up over time.

     Being mindful of our actions in day to day life can also lead us to look at things we may need to change.Things we do that are self destructive, or harmful to us. This can be the nutrition, sugary drinks, lack of proper hydration, or even our negative mindset in situations. The suffering we bring on ourselves by constantly comparing ourselves to others is popular in competitive athletes. We often rob the joy of the activity in the obsession to be better. If you find you dread training take a look at intentions, and get back to the simple love of what you do. We will be better at what we do, whether it is a good or bad thing for us.

     Some examples of things you can add to aid in any conditioning are the following;
       Breathing exercises in traffic
       Each day of the week pick a body weight exercise to do several times through out the day.
       Add in stretching
       Spend 10 mins a day walking as part of your morning or evening routine
       Pick a day of the month to challenge yourself in what you are doing.
      
     Remember that what you practice you will master, eventually. Never loose the joy of what you are doing.
    
      In my long journey of running I get setback over and over, yet I know I will eventually conquer an ultra because I have my mind made up and will rejoice in the smalls things. I think about the classic question and complaint of a child on a car trip, "are we there yet?". When I was young there was no GPS, so some times there was the scenic route instead and it was always better in the long run. The journey is the fun part, the people we meet along the way, the laughable mistakes we make, and priceless memories of progress we would never know if we quit when it is uncomfortable.

     
       

Five ways that five minutes can change your life

      We all have the same amount of time in a day, yet we often confuse being busy with being productive or meaningful. Time management is some thing we hear about, and it seems people just want to find ways to do more and then wonder why they are so tired, stressed, and worn out.
 
        Here is a short list of things we can do in 5 minutes that will yield short and long term benefits.

1. Five minutes of gratitude. Before you even get out of bed in the morning, you can start each day with focusing your mind on the good things you have in life. If you need help with that you can begin with being grateful for a bed to sleep in, a roof over your head, running water, electricity, being able to stand on two feet, and clean air to breath, and breath itself is also a plus.

2. Five minutes of traffic mantras.  On your way to work or any time during traffic you can spend time saying out load some of your favorite mantras or quotes. If you really want to get creative start singing them. Nothing like passing time rocking out to your own version of what gets you in a state of mind that is relaxed and able to not be swayed by what is going on around you. If you don't believe me just try beat boxing like a rapper, or singing them like an opera singer. You will laugh at yourself, then look in the mirror and say out loud, "yes, I alone am responsible for my happiness".

3. Five minutes to make some ones day. It doesn't take long to make some ones day, and it is usually simple things that can go along way to accomplish this. It can be simple as making a lunch for a coworker, thanking a person for their customer service, giving a few compliments a day. Endless options. Just start looking for easy ways to make some ones day, and think about the small things that would make yours as ideas for things to do for others.

4. Five minutes of stretching. Very few people spend any time thinking of the constant imbalance we put our body in on a daily basis, yet will invest money getting our car aligned and blow off our body daily. Of coarse I highly recommend more than 5 minutes, but this is a good start. Never stretch cold muscles. Simply walking in place or doing some arm circles is an easy way to get ready.

5. Five minutes of sun and silence. As we become an population attached to constant entertainment, news, and information we seldom take time to unplug and enjoy simplicity. Make a way to enjoy the sunrise or sunset with no noise or outside distraction. Focus on the beginning of day, or end of one. Realizing each is a gift.