change – Subjects to change

Why, Subjects 2 change?

It probably would have been a good idea to write the answer to this question 40 or so blog posts ago but I’m glad I never got around to it until now.

Like most good brand names and nicknames this one started in a bar. We were talking about a restaurant in town that had undergone its 3rd concept change in about a year and just how expensive it must have been to build out, advertise and open and close that many times. That’s when one of the guy’s chimes up and goes if it was my restaurant I would just call it “menu, subject to change. And then I could do what ever I pleased.” We laughed hysterically at first and then I started thinking about the genius behind that name. I told him how smart I thought it was and that there was a good chance that I might utilize that name at some point in my life, he obliged and then I didn’t think about it for at least a year.

In June of 2019, the idea to start a blog was kicking around in my head, I had an idea for what to talk about but didn’t want to pick a name that narrowed potential subject maters to much. I wanted to be able to stay on a path but shoot off on a side trail for a change of view. And that’s when I remembered that lunch at the bar and subjects to change. I had already said I was going to use it and secured his approval through proper barroom protocol so a blog got a name that day.

A title like that gave me Cart Blanche to do whatever I felt like and write on a wide subject of topics and that felt awesome. I was telling you right from the start that this thing doesn’t have a lot of rules, we’re going on an adventure and maybe we’ll learn a few things along the way. And for about 6 months if people asked that was the 1-dimensional answer I gave them about the name.

But then one day out on a run I started contemplating on how change was a constant in life. The weather, our jobs, traffic, and a magnitude of other variables change around us every day. We often perceive ourselves to be the constant in this equation of change and that outside forces should adapt to our needs. That option sounds great but answer this question. When the temperature drops outside do you try and make the weather change or do you adapt to the changing conditions and grab a jacket? How we react to that change can play a huge role in the outcome of our day, week, month, and life. We are subjects to the change happening all around us and our ability to adapt keeps us from freezing in a world that is trying to take us down.

We are here on this journey called life to evolve, grow, and overcome. I want to push myself to unknown heights of my ability and the best way to do that is be ready for the things that are subject to change and learn to adapt to them.

Wining streak.

We, you, and I are the summation of all of our life experiences. For better or for worse we are where we are at in our lives based upon the multitude of our life’s choices internal, external, and the things that we have absolutely no control over. I came to that realization after walking on the beach earlier this year when I needed to brush the sand off of my feet. The beach aka our health looks like one big giant homogenous thing from a distance when in reality its made up of millions of tiny grains of sand aka life choices when you look a little closer.

A beach just like our overall health and well being grows/diminishes over time oftentimes so slowly that you don’t notice for months or years that things are looking a little different. And oftentimes when you do finally see a difference the change is so big that doing anything to fix it seems like an insurmountable task. This is where the old adage of how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time comes into play. When you’re faced with a huge task in your life the best thing you can do for yourself is do a quick OODA loop.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop#:~:text=The%20OODA%20loop%20is%20the,operational%20level%20during%20military%20campaigns.

Find something small and readily easy to accomplish and get going. When you start small and get an early win that massive obstacle starts to look a little smaller and easier to overcome. Just like it took thousands of choices to get to the point before we realized there was an issue it’s going to take thousands of choices before we ever see a noticeable difference.

It’s taken me 5 years’ worth of mostly positive choices to get to where I am today after years of poor choices. An almost 40-year-old in above-average physical condition. I can run fast, climb boulders and do a ton of pull-ups, and surf a 5’7 lis fish. I’m not going to win ultra-distance races, climb a v6+ boulder (extremely difficult) or break any pull-up records, or get sponsored. And you know what? I don’t give a damn about any of those things. What I care about is having fun, sharing those passions with my kids, and most importantly stacking up one good decision on top of another so hopefully my health/wellbeing stays clean so I can do all of those things for years to come.

External forces remember those from the opening paragraph? I’m not naive, We can make all the right choices when it comes to diet, exercise, and the thousand other variables in our life and still get side-swiped by disease, or for that matter, an actual car could take us out. Life isn’t fair, we’ve talked about this multiple times over in the blog, and that’s why the occasional slice of pizza or Christmas dessert is fine by me. We aren’t promised tomorrow but like the 96-year-old man that I see walking the neighborhood often likes to say

” I woke up alive again today, I’m putting together one hell of a streak.”

On surfing…

We’ve been getting a run of swell the last few weeks here in Florida and I busted a leash and needed some wax so when a downtime at work came up I ran down to my local surf shop.

A surf shop is similar to any other retail business but its also a place to hang out, talk story and brag or lament with your fellow brothers and sisters about that sick wave you got or how you blew it waiting for the tide to drop only to have the wind switch direction and ruin the waves. In all accounts, my trip to the surf shop could/should have been less than 5 minutes to pick up what I needed but when my wife texted 45 minutes later I realized I should probably get back to work.

Besides talking about the previous swell, what we were riding, checking out new boards, and gushing over some sweet vintage boards in the used rack older gentlemen walked into the shop with a hoodie sweatshirt and his wetsuit on underneath, he was stopping in to say hello, get the stoke going and head out across the street for a surf. After a few minutes of random surf talk, he tells me that he’s 67 years old and that he used to surf when he was a kid but life and a job that moved him around a lot had ended his surfing 30+ years ago. He went on to mention that he had some recent health issues and after a few doctor’s visits he needed to make some changes but didn’t know where to start. A chiropractor friend during a visit for an adjustment said to him next Saturday I want you to meet me at the beach instead of an office visit, We’re going surfing. And to make a long story short he’s since lost 40lbs by surfing and a diet change, stopped having to take several prescription medicines, and is feeling better than he has in years and his second love affair with surfing is in full effect.

All I’ve ever wanted to be when I grew up was a surfer, one of the local boys that could walk from his house to the beach instead of drive. The older guy that still surfs shortboards and is in the water for the best swells with the kids half his age. And inevitably the old retired guy whos out there still living the dream and never misses a swell. Those guys are my hero’s and I’m lucky enough to have a few of them as role models and surfing buddies. Those guys are in great shape mentally and physically because their passion for the waves gave them a “why” to stay that way also in their hearts they never really grew up to be adults.

Sometimes we stay the path and live out our passions for our entire life and sometimes life’s plans send us on a 30-year detour before we can get that second go around. It’s not worth getting upset over the lost time and having to start over again or even worse thinking it’s too late in our lives to make a change. Like the guy at the shop in the hoodie told me this journey all started because I agreed to paddle out and give it a shot, all I wanted to do was stand up and now months later I’m here and having the time of my life and feeling great

When I have the time…

“You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.

And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.

No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.“

Pink Floyd – Time

It’s kind of interesting how we can sing a song in the car word for word a couple of hundred times in our life and never really pick up on the meaning of the lyrics. So let’s all do ourselves a favor and read the lyrics to this masterpiece of lyrical prose, Its okay I will just hang out and wait for you to get back. https://genius.com/Pink-floyd-time-lyrics

Mind-Blowing, Right? How did we miss that?

“You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today…” That’s what us millennial’s like to call a #truthbomb. I think everyone would agree that in your twenties and early thirties you are invincible, tomorrow is a guarantee and you can worry about getting exercise and eating healthy when you get old.

There’s a line in a classic Simpson’s episode where Homer says ” That’s a problem for future homer, and boy I don’t envy that guy” as he mixes up some mayonnaise and vodka before hitting the floor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQvvmT3ab80

Hopefully, we haven’t stooped to that level of denial in our lives but I’m here to tell you that our chickens do eventually come home to roost and we will have to answer to our past indiscretions eventually.

This 21st-century life is so incredibly busy that it’s no surprise that we put something like consistent exercise and healthy eating way back down on the list of priorities. One salad and a 5k run won’t give you six pack abs and a clean bill of health on your annual physical just like a burger, fries, and a double IPA won’t make you fat if you eat it once. The choices we make for better or worse when it comes to diet and exercise are cumulative. They happen so slowly that often times we don’t notice that we are making progress or losing ground.

Change is here to stay and if you aren’t looking around and being conscious of the small decisions that you make today, tomorrow, and the next day you’re going to wake up and find ten years have got behind you and you slept right through the starting gun.

My why in video format.

Yesterday I wrote about “concepts” and the two things that are constant in life. The first was, Change is constant and the second is things fall apart. Shortly after I posted that video I was looking at My Facebook page and my mom shared the following video. I know I ask you to do a lot of things but I really think this is the easiest and maybe the most impactful way to show you the message that I’m trying to get across. Watch till the end and grab some tissues.

Epic, right? It made me tear up a little bit as well. I could not have scripted a better advertisement of why I make the decisions that I do every single day and why I’m trying to encourage others to make similar long term life choices as well. Life has very few constants as I mentioned earlier, Things are going to change and eventually all things fall apart and don’t function quite like they used to. We have the power in our daily choices to slow down the progression of the later of the two constants, Were never going to stop the aging process with any amount of superfoods and kettlebell exercises but the choices you make today, tomorrow, and 30 years from now could keep you around and active for your loved ones.

Things fall apart

Last week I was listening to the audiobook, No one wants to read your sh*t by Steven Pressfield and he espoused that in your writing you have to have a concept. Something steadfast and unwavering to tie everything back into. So over the past few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about that and what exactly it is that I’m trying to accomplish and then it hit me. A quote from the stoic philosopher Seneca the younger.

“In the meantime cling tooth and nail to the following rule: Not to give in to adversity, never to trust prosperity, and always take full note of fortune’s habit of behaving just as she pleases, treating her as if she were actually going to do everything it is in her power to do.”

Here are my two takeaways from that centuries-old truth bomb.

Constant change is here to stay. Sometimes it hits you like a mack truck and you know it’s there but other times changes happen so slowly you don’t notice anything until years later.
Things fall apart. What is perfect, beautiful, and healthy today will inevitably crumble and begin to fail. There’s nothing we can do to stop this march but we and our daily decisions can slow down its path with preventative maintenance.

Nothing Changes on New Years day…

If you know me then you know I’m a massive U2 fan and one of my long time favorite songs has always been new years day. It’s an early classic from the band and is highly regarded as one of the top 500 rock songs of all time. Naturally, it’s a great song for the last few weeks of the year and it came across our Alexa last night and it got me to thinking about all of the ” 2020’s almost over, Horray Things are going to be so much better in 2021 posts” that are starting to pop up all over social media.

There’s a particular line in that song that really stuck with me. ” Nothing changes on New Years Day.”

I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer here but if/when a ball drops in time square this year and we ring in the new year its just another arbitrary finish line we cross multiple times in our life, it’s just another lap around the sun in this race called life.

I’m cautiously optimistic that our trajectory will be on the incline over the next 12 months but change/progress happens slowly and over an extended period of time very few things of significance in life move at the speed of a light switch.

Oftentimes change happens so slow that you don’t realize that you’ve passed that “finish line” you were looking for miles and miles ago. Today’s moral of the story is to put your head down and keep on trucking because finish lines are just a figment of our imaginations.

Involved or Committed??

There’s a popular quote from John F. Kennedy that says. “one man can make a difference – and that every man should try.“

Pretty epic wisdom if you ask me. If I suddenly start to care more about the environment my individual impact isn’t going to add up to much. But if my neighbor starts listening to me and then his neighbor listens to him by the time we get 10 houses down were starting a trend.

There are two problems with that quote. We only got a small portion of the entire statement and perhaps the biggest blunder, JFK probably didn’t say it or at least historians haven’t been able to find proof that he did. The more likely author of that quote is his wife Jacqueline Kennedy for a piece on his memorial Library in 1964.

Here’s the entire quote.

“John Kennedy believed so strongly that one’s aim should not just be the most comfortable life possible, but that we should all do something to right the wrongs we see, and not just complain about them. We owe that to our country, and our country will suffer if we don’t serve her. He believed that one man can make a difference – and that every man should try.“

I read that statement and by the end thought to myself. Holy crap where has this entire quote been hiding for more than half a century and why was the last sentence singled out as the most valuable?

None of that matters now, I’ve read it and now you have as well. WHAT ARE WE/I GOING TO DO ABOUT IT??? You cant Ctrl, Alt Delete that from your memory bank. We/I need to live that mission every single day as the success of our planet relies on our collective work now more than ever.

Relentless dedication to something small…

There are about a half dozen ideas I have that kicking around in my head on how I can change the world or better yet things I like to complain about but haven’t taken enough time or effort to do something about.

I’m ready to do something about that now as I realize that I am not fully living up to the words that Jacqueline graced us with. Sure I feel like I am an involved and conscientious member of this planet but being halfway committed to change isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Lets each pick one small thing we are passionate about and make a promise to each other that we will take action daily to educate ourselves, speak up about injustice and rather than complain about it we will work towards building a stronger global community.

Call to Action

Have you ever heard of the parable of inviting the Chicken and the Pig To breakfast? The chicken will bring eggs to breakfast, he is involved as he can come back again tomorrow. The pig on the other hand is committed, when he brings home the bacon he isn’t coming back tomorrow.

Go out there and be the change the world needs and get out there and stay committed. Change is hard and dirty work but lucky for us pigs like those sorts of things.

Ogres, Onions and Fathers Day…

One of my favorite movie quotes of all times comes from the original Shrek movie, its funny but has some deep-seeded wisdom lurking under the surface. Shrek and Donkey are walking through a garden discussing why Shrek didn’t torment a village, Shrek’s response is Ogres are a lot like onions, they have layers.

Ogres and people are very different, at least that’s what I’ve been able to infer from the movies, I’ve never met one in real life before. But just like onions and ogres, we do have a lot of layers. I’d be willing to bet that I could put my self in at least 2 dozen categories of groups I belong to. Like a surfer, aspiring farmer, runner, cook, husband, and father. Of all of my layers, those last two are at the core of the onion for me. They are why I go to work, eat healthily, exercise, and try to be the best version of myself I can be. I hope that I am better at those now then I was a year ago and that future me is better then I am today.

I am very grateful to have both my parents in our lives as they are fantastic parents and even better grandparents. They are a literal encyclopedia Britannica of wisdom on everything from parenting to building an outdoor shower. I’m 37 and I still need my parents for that wisdom and perhaps most importantly to watch our kids a few days a week so we don’t completely lose our minds as a result of working from home with an almost 2-year-old.

The most important thing I will do with my life is to be the gentle guiding influence that will hopefully turn my kids into kind and successful members of society as they grow and mature throughout their lives.

The best way I’ve come up with so far on how to accomplish that goal is to lead through example and take care of myself mentally and physically so I can be around for along time.

I want to take the next few minutes to implore you on the importance of taking care of yourself so we can be great fathers for many more decades to come.

If you haven’t been to the doctor to get a physical because your young and invisible in the past 5 years you need to stop and make that happen. In the spirit of brutal honesty, I belonged to that camp until about a year ago. I went, it didn’t hurt and I felt grateful walking out of there after getting my lab results knowing that nothing unforeseen hadn’t been lurking under the surface.
Take an inventory of what you eat this week, maybe even write it down. If you see something that surprises you next Sunday, pick that one thing and try to eat half as much the following week and in half again the following week. I truly believe that quitting cold turkey is bad for long term success.
Pick a couple of bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges, dips, crunches, planks you get the picture. Now pick a reasonable number of reps and days a week you will commit to putting in the work and start TODAY!!!

I promise you that if you put these three things into practice this year that you will be running circles around your kids come, fathers, day 2021.

Whats the Point???

Covid is running rampant, cupcakes are delicious, beer is cold and in the end when your only promised death and taxes does it really matter if you eat that third slice of pizza. In the grand scheme of things one days worth of decisions doesn’t really add up to much or does it?

We as human beings are the sum collective of all of our life experiences and what we do today, tomorrow and the next day will have a profound impact on who we become a couple of years down the road.

Sure our genetics have some impact on our overall health but its a lot less than most people think. According to the National Institute of Health – https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/traits/longevity Our genetic make up accounts for 25% of our overall health. Leaving us in charge of the other 75% of how our life plays out. I’m not sure about you but I really like those odds.

With that being said If there is another constant in life we can count on its this, LIFE ISN’T FAIR. Not even a little bit most of the time. I had a coworker that ate healthy, exercised like crazy and fought and ultimately lost his 8 year battle with cancer a year and a half ago. It sucked really bad to lose him but there is no doubt in my mind that the way he lived and ate had a profound effect on his quality of life and why he fought as long as he did.

So whats the point when healthy people die suddenly of heart attacks and people who eat McDonalds and smoke a pack of cigarettes a day live to 100? LIFE ISN’T FAIR, some times you get pocket aces and the professional poker player gets double 2’s and he walks away with all of your cash.

I’m not a doctor or a dietitian so all of my advice is anecdotal and I surely hope that you don’t walk into your kitchen after reading this and throw out all your junk food, that isn’t the best way to make a long term change.

What I am advocating for is a slow and steady change to our diets and exercise routine. My mom has a few things that I’ve heard her say a couple of hundred times in my life and one of the best goes like this. “How do you eat an elephant, Brian? One bite at a time! (Thanks mom, I’ve been listening all these years. Love you) When your 8 and trying to write a book report its a little annoying but now its become one of my favorite mantras.

Falling back to the Exercise is where you find it post – https://subjects2change.food.blog/2020/04/13/exercise-is-where-you-find-it/ You will remember that we need to go from 0-10 before we start thinking about whats happening around level 90-100. There we go again how do we get back in shape, one bite at a time.

Call To Action

All things considered the decisions we make today, tomorrow and the next day add up and we can take “control” of our health. You wont see or feel the changes today, tomorrow or the next day but if you remember what my mom always says you will see and more importantly your doctor will notice at your next physical.

We are living to an average age of 78.7 years in America and that number has decreased over the past two years for men. The sadder fact is that we are also losing independent quality of life on top of that, this means we are living shorter and less healthy lives.

I’ve always thought the point of life was to live a long and healthy life so that you can continue to have an impact on the people who need you the most, and that seems like a pretty good point to me.