Over the years, I have had my own struggles with finding an exercise routine that really fits me. I was just listening to the motivational speaker last night named Tony Robbins during an interview with Charlie Rose. This interview took place on the Charlie Rose Show roughly 11-12 years ago. I thought which was most fascinating was the simplicity of his formula for success. He was discussing coaching a person on wall street and Charlie Rose kept trying to ask him, what is the nature of your success in advice?
He stated that he asks people who he is coaching to close their eyes and envision a time in your life when you were very happy with yourself and remember that vision. Sounds simple right? I have watched this interview probably 20 times over the last few years and after every time, I think about that question. It is fascinating for me, because I have been blessed to be around a bunch of great people who contributed to my happiness over the years. But if I have to narrow it down, was when I met my wife Kayla. At the time, I was training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and was really struggling in graduate school like every other student. The second probably chimes in with when I had the wonderful opportunity to Serve My Country in the United States Air Force with my fellow men and women. It is difficult and unfair to narrow it down though, because I do not wish to leave anything out. So, moving on, why do I bring this up? Well, the reason is to answer the question that Tony stated in the interview.
What distinguishes those two times in my life rather than any other times? Let me start out with giving you a little background that my "bio" does not list but that is completely relevant to this website and more specifically to this blog. I have always been around or encouraged to exercise my entire life. My father is a board certified vascular surgeon with over 25 years experience of curing vascular diseases. I have a brother and a sister with whom, I would be encouraged by my parents (John and Sally) to play in the yard a variety of sports--just stay active. I grew up listening to discussion at the dinner table on better ways to heal wounds and disease without traditional surgery or treatment. This is why I am able to be part of this website. Kayla, my wife is a firm believer as I in the power of science to heal. My family has continuously argued that paying doctors a ton of money to get treated by a "pill" or surgery is not the answer all of the time. A majority of the contribution is lifestyle. Now, I should be somewhat honest about my lifestyle.
I love to have a few beers with the next gentlemen and do not exercise regularly. But I was raised to be active, which is why I am keeping this blog post---to catalog my success. I remember I wanted a surfboard very badly when I was 15 years old. I asked my father and he said, he would buy me any surfboard from Hawaii on the condition that I train to run a marathon at the end of the year. That meant, I had to get up at least 5 days out of the week (I was lazy and a teenager) and run with my mom and dad at 0500. I still remember running and hating it some mornings. But I cannot discount the lesson that it did teach me. Whenever I have a problem, I just listen for my mothers voice telling me while were running, "Mike, isn't this fun--dark, cold and you got out of bed to do this.....you must really want a surfboard." That voice has helped me through many dark times in my life---very motivational.
From then on, I was able to run distances at will whenever I wanted to. I just am a lazy person or extreme in the sense that once I start some exercise regime, I will go very hard at it for a while, but I might lose interest after a while. So, I have been running various distances over the years at different times to get myself motivated. Running is one of the few sports over the years that I can always resort back to--it does not cost anything and you get a lot out of it. When I first met Kayla she wanted to run with me very badly and would try very hard to get me to go out with her for a jog. The problem is, I really enjoy running by myself. But I have been working on it and continue to start a normal routine with her. It is nothing against her, I just like to think and listen to myself breathing and feel my personal struggle. So, let me highlight some of the struggles over the years....that has led me to the current situation in my exercise routine.
As I mentioned, I was training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at a dojo in Riverside, CA when I met Kayla. Everything was going fine at that point, until I broke my foot one night training. This presented a large roadblock in my mind for a couple of years. I stopped going for a while. I attribute my stopping to other events associated with my life at the time. I should make that clarification to be fair to myself. For the last few years, I have run off an on, bicycled here and there, but I have been living with a large mental block that now I am starting to see and deal with. While we lived in San Diego, I would force myself to stay indoors and just have anxiety instead of getting outdoors. I did not want to start up training again, because I believed that I was there temporarily and I could not commit to any type of training schedule. I lived in my mind for a while. I would read a tremendous amount in order to prepare for any future job. What I did not realize was how much it was hurting me rather than helping me.
Now, I live in Glendale, right next to Griffith Park and I started to play tennis with Kayla. I have not played tennis in over 20 years. But just going over there and intermittently getting on the court and hitting the ball around has had a tremendous improvement on my spirit. Next, I have been using the pool at CSUN---California State University at Northridge during the week periodically. But I have slowed down from that, which brings me to my next point. I realized that I am not the type of person that can workout at work. When I am there, I have to work. I just have to accept that about myself. But when I leave, I have the opportunity to exercise and most of the time I choose not to for the following reasons. For the longest time, If I exercised when I got home at night, I would stay up late at night and be tired for work the next morning. I remember talking to my father when I was younger and he was my age now. He would choose to workout in the morning so that when his day was done, he could just go to bed. And now, he does just that. He goes to sleep around 6-8pm at night and wakes up at 3:00am. He has been struggling to start running again. This is encouraging because it gives me a glimpse into my "genes" and the future. But, the man keeps going which is great. Little by little.
So, what have I been doing to get back into shape? Well, last week, I joined a dojo out here to start up training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu again. This is a completely different location and workout routine. In addition, I have been riding my bicycle around Griffith park with my wife Kayla. For now, this is a good start. I will keep you posted on my progress and I wish everyone who struggles out there a large amount of luck to explore yourself and what works for you. Just remember do not beat yourself up mentally too much. That is more of an impediment rather than a motivational tool. Next time, I will discuss some other types of learning that I have noticed help me in improving my mental awareness and change in lifestyle. Cheers!