If you’ve read my blog regularly, you know that I started stretching last year, soon followed by doing yoga (this was a post where I showed the inspiration for that). What I have learned is that being flexible is so important to our health. While I’ve been spending so much time on getting flexible, it’s gotten me to thinking. Our physical bodies aren’t the only thing that can benefit from being flexible. Our lives in general can benefit from having a flexible mindset and attitude, too.

A Flexible Mindset Allows Creativity

It’s true some people are more creative than others, but we need to allow ourselves the opportunity to try to be more creative. Don’t just tell yourself, “Oh, I can’t do that xyz thing. I’m not a creative person.” Get flexible with yourself! See, you’ve been thinking so long that you aren’t creative, or that you can’t do that xyz thing, that it’s like there is an INFLEXIBLE thought rolling through your mind. Stretch that thought-puppy out!!

You might think I’m kidding, but you really can do this–and you do so, by doing new things or by doing old things differently. Neuroscientists call this phenomena neuroplasticity–essentially, that “experience can actually change both the brain’s physical structure (anatomy) and functional organization (physiology). Yup–found that on wikipedia (among other places).

Stop for a minute and consider the possibility and opportunity if you DID do that xyz thing. And then dip your toe into those unchartered waters, even just a little bit. You might be surprised, and find all sorts of things that you are good at that you never knew. Whether it is marketing, writing, drawing, crafting, sewing, or whatever, there are a lot of creative things you can be doing.

Creativity is an important outlet, offering stress relief, opportunities to bond with other people, and can be therapeutic, adding to your sense of satisfaction of life.

And I’m not just talking art! Creativity is useful in many aspects of your life. Use your creativity to re-organize your office (or whatever you need organized) in a new way. Use your creativity to market yourself on your blog or LinkedIn page. Think of new ways of doing things—do your research if you can’t think of new ways and see how other people are doing them—and try those things out.

10 Neuroplasticity Exercises to Flex and Stretch Your Mind!

Be flexible in what you do today. And to get you started, I’m going to give you a few things that you can do differently today or this weekend (small things) that might help get that creative muscle stretched out. Because sometimes just doing something differently than our normal routine can break up the fog in our minds. Consider these “exercises” for the mind, that will strengthen the creative muscle.

1. Drive home from work taking a different route.

2. If you walk around your plant/office building/place of work, getting from here to there, take a route that is different than you would normally take.

3. If you normally eat chicken for lunch, switch it up with something else, like tofu!

4. If you normally check your email when you log on to your computer, then don’t check it this time, until you have finished another online task.

5. Drink water instead of your normal drink of choice—just even once!

6. If you normally blog about fitness, blog about something entirely different and tell your audience you are doing a stretching/yoga exercise for your mind.

7. If you normally work out inside, go outside this time!

8. If you normally add sugar to your coffee or tea, don’t add any this time. And consider the taste and aroma as you drink it.

9. If you normally go home and watch TV, instead try reading a book. Or cleaning out your closet. Or something other than TV.

10. If you normally sleep in on Saturdays, try waking up early with a small project in mind to do.

Now go on out there and get your neuroplasticity on!

Recently, my friend Dan, a fellow blogger, redesigned and renamed his blog to breakfree.me and since then, I have thought about this idea of breaking free. Now, his blog is specifically about breaking free financially, so that you can have the life you want. But I’ve been thinking about breaking free in other ways.

This post is about breaking free in my blogging.

I have read way too many blog posts about how to have a great blog, get more readers, get more engagement, blah blah blah!! I co-hosted that giveaway for the camera, and suddenly I felt like I had readers because I had people subscribe, and I felt like, oh no! Now I have to write something really good to keep my readers interested!

Between all the “rules” that I’ve read about having a good blog, and then suddenly acquiring new subscribers, I think I’ve been a little frozen lately. I piddle paddle around about what I’ll write about. I worry about what I put out there. I didn’t worry about this before—at least, not in the same way I’m doing now.

Oh silly me! It has occurred to me that just because people subscribed to my blog in order to get a chance to win a camera, it doesn’t mean they really care about my blog. Some of them might. True. But many won’t even open the email that this comes in. I could be writing naked words in here and those people will never know, because they never opened the email that my blog sent them!!

So why in all the world am I worried?!! I don’t need to be! If there’s one thing I’ve learned in nearly 2 years of blogging, it’s that readers come and go. And that answers all the blogging “rules” out there too. Readers come and go and you will never make all your readers happy, so you might as well write about what you want to write about.

This is not a professional blog.

I make no money from this blog. On the contrary, I put money out because of this blog. It’s a hobby; and hobbies typically cost money, right?

So I’m breaking free!

I’m breaking free of all the blogging rules I’ve ever read and I’m writing what I want, when I want and how I want it. And just to prove it to ya, I’m not going to add a freaking picture to this post, because that’s just another rule, and I don’t really have a picture to go with it and anyways, I don’t want to put a picture with it. So there ya go!

And I feel really good about this, and I say it’s about time! Because I have a lot more in me than what will fit into my categories, and sometimes I just want to write. Ya know? Sometimes I just want to write.

So there it is. I’m breaking out on Project Whitespace. And that’s what whitespace is really all about.

Break free from something. You should try it.

One of my favorite movies is Schindler’s List. Many of you have seen this movie, but for those who haven’t it’s about a man named Oskar Schindler, “a vainglorious and greedy German businessman who becomes an unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews.”

There is a scene in this movie that always remains in my mind. It’s when Oskar realizes he could have done more, saved more Jews. He begins looking at material possessions as money that could have saved more Jews.

I could have got more out. I could have got more . . . If I’d made more money . . . I threw away so much money. You have no idea. . . This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people. . . this pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this.

(Quoted loosely from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/quotes)

When I first watched this scene, I was struck by the regret of this man, that he didn’t do ALL that he could possibly do. The thing is, he saved 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Many people would have considered him selfless in this act. But when it came right down to it, he realized he could have done more.

As I have been learning about giving, I have been thinking a lot about this scene in Schindler’s List. I once wrote that Jesus and Mother Teresa are my two heroes in life. And they are my heroes because of how they gave entirely of their lives. Both of these people gave from the very depths of their soul, giving and giving and giving till you might think they had nothing left, and then they would give even more. They gave all the way up to their deaths, and even after their deaths, the legacy they left behind continues to give to this world. For both Jesus and Mother Teresa, it was their love of God that powered their ability to give, and their giving came out of their pure understanding of their purpose.

In this scene from Schindler’s List, Oskar regrets that he could have given more, but didn’t. From the moment that he turned to saving the Jews, it appeared that he gave all that he knew to give. It was not until after the fact, that he started looking at his material possessions also as a means for giving. I believe it was not until after the fact—when it became too late and he could save no more—that Oskar really understood that he had not emptied himself entirely for this purpose. And this is where his regret came from.

In my mind, though, I hoped Oskar forgave himself. Because while he was paying money to save the Jews that he saved, he was in the learning process. He was learning how to give. And from that perspective, he really did give all he could give. He gave out of what he knew. It wasn’t until after the fact, when it was too late, that his eyes were opened as to how he could have gave more—that was a moment of monumental learning for him. That was when he learned to give from the heart, and not just from his head.

As I think about this scene in relation to my own giving, I want to take it as a learning lesson—give as much as you know to give, or else someday be flooded by the regret that Oskar felt. But I’m afraid to take this as a learning lesson. If I learn the lesson, what will become of me? What will become of my relationships? My job? My dogs? I know that I am thinking very extreme here. But in the lives of Mother Teresa and Jesus, and in the regret of Oskar, I see just what it takes to give to that extent. It takes extremism.

Who does that?

Who lives like that?

Certainly not anyone I know.

Luckily, I don’t think I have to learn this lesson all at once, the way that it fell on Oskar. In my giving, I do not have a life and death emergency staring me in my face. At least, I don’t think so.

But there is another lesson I’m taking from this, and which I am able to comprehend. It’s the idea that I need to be prepared to give. I need to be ready when that time calls. And that doesn’t just mean saving enough money to help someone out in their time of need, but it’s a preparation of the heart. That, unlike Oskar before he learned his lesson in giving, I need to make sure that the priorities of my heart are focused on love, and not me, my material possessions, my reputation or anything else self-serving. And like Jesus and Mother Teresa, I need to know my purpose for giving and let my love for God power my ability to give.

I am hoping that my lesson in extreme giving doesn’t come upon me all at once as it did to Oskar. But in the meantime, I’ll keep learning, and practicing the beautiful art of giving in the hope that I’ll be ready for my lesson when it comes.

I wonder—is there an extreme lesson that you might need to learn—a lesson that is about who you really are and what you are supposed to be doing? For me, it is about giving, and I want to be ready for it when it arrives. For you, whether it is about giving, or courage, or love, or commitment—it’s about who you really are, and I believe it’s in the deep practice of that act where you will find joy. Will you be ready for your extreme lesson when it comes?

 

When I first posted about my decision to focus the year of 2013 on learning and practicing the art of giving, one of my readers and fellow bloggers (with a darn awesome blog whose content is close to my heart), Levi Clampitt, wrote in and said: “Giving: The #1 Depression Cure. It should be a pretty happy year for you, Bethany.”

For some reason, this really struck me. When I read the first line, I thought, “oh, cool.” But I didn’t think beyond that first phrase until I got to the second: “it should be a pretty happy year for you.” Glad he connected the dots for me, as I sure didn’t at first.

Something about those words stirred inside of me, as I felt their truth. “It should be a pretty happy year for you.” And I imagined the possibilities of my year if I really pursue this giving thing throughout the whole year. For the truth of these words goes only so far as I put the learning and practice of giving into action.

How to Keep a Resolution: Receive It As a Gift

As I imagined the possibilities, I had the distinct idea that my resolution was a gift.

Have you ever had a moment where you felt like you had been given a gift, a most awesome gift, and you looked at the package it was in and imagined this gift as a key to “the next door”? All you had to do was open the package, take the key and unlock that door, but unless you opened the package and used the key, that gift was useless.

When we create resolutions, what we are doing is nodding in agreement, accepting and making a pact with ourselves that we are going to change something in our lives. I suggest that a resolution comes to you from the future you. The future you says, “here. This is what you need to concentrate on right now. You can do it, or else I wouldn’t be here, giving this to you. All you have to do is open this gift (the resolution), and use the key that’s inside.”

The act of unwrapping that gift and using the key can be a slow and arduous one. I suggest that the “unwrapping” is the learning, which can be a combination of actual book learning, research, etc. as well as practicing (for we learn when and as we practice). At some point, the act of practicing turns into “doing” and it is at this point that we are, in essence, turning that key to “the next door” in the journey of our lives.

Keep Your Resolution: Imagine With Me

Now, I want you to think about a resolution you made for this year, or that you made last year, but dropped. Chances are, it was a resolution that would help to make you a better person, or get you to a place you would rather be. Now, as you are thinking of your resolution, imagine that it is “inside” a package–all wrapped up. Now look at the person holding that package–the you, deep down inside of you who nudged you to think about making this thing your resolution. Nobody knows you more than that person. And what you thought was a simple resolution, one that you could ignore in a few weeks, is really a beautiful gift that your future you is trying to get you to receive.

I challenge you to receive it with much gratitude. And if you haven’t already begun to open it with the act of learning and practicing, then do so. And learn and practice that resolution, learn and practice until you move beyond the practice and are “doing” that resolution, and you realize you have opened the gift, and used the key.

When I feel the joy of receiving a gift, my heart nudges me to join creation’s ballet, the airy dance of giving and receiving, and getting and giving again –Lewis Smedes.

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about space lately. As you know, I’ve been working on a 100 day streak for 100 healthy habits, and in doing so, it’s opened up some space in my life. I will give you an update on the 100 day streak later, just know that I haven’t kept a streak, but I’m still working on it.

Space is truly opening up in my life. And as it happens, I have realized that we often blame lack of time on what really is a lack of space. And it’s not exactly a lack of space, because when you look closely at it, that lack of space is actually simply clutter.

Space for Relationships

One of my 100 things to do is to clean something in my office everyday. I have been doing just that, and my office is gaining space. I have desk space where once I had piles and schmews of papers. And if I keep it up, I will have filing space that right now is jammed with drafts of manuals that I don’t need to keep, but haven’t taken the time to go through.

Best of all, I am keeping my extra office chair open. That leaves space for my coworkers and I am able to serve them better when they can pull that chair up to my computer with me. There’s not this awkward, “here let me move my things so you can sit in my office.” Instead, it’s an obvious space for visitors (i.e. coworkers) who come because they need to meet with me about something. I have taken that space and opened it up for them, thereby making them feel welcome in my office right from the start. Instead, I can motion to the chair that I have kept open, for them.

I hope and assume that this makes them feel more welcome, but one thing for certain—it has changed my perspective. I look at their visit differently. Suddenly, because I’ve made space for them with the chair, and I’m organized enough to get right down to business, I don’t feel like I “don’t have time” for this visit. I feel ready and able to help them.

Space for Productivity

The space is happening at home too (and yes, that’s part of my 100 things to do), and I have space on my closet floor where once was strewn all of my many pairs of shoes. And I have space on my racks where I once kept clothes I no longer wore.

When I’ve created space in my closets, my office and my house in general, I find that I am more organized, and therefore, more productive. I’ve created “space” for productivity. Being productive makes me feel better about myself at work, and gives me more “space” to work on the things I want to work on at home–and not just the things I need to work on.

Finding that “space” for me means I have more room for my creative pursuits as well as my responsibilities. Aha! Maybe not having time to work on my hobby project  wasn’t a lack of time at all. Maybe, just maybe, looking at time and space from a different perspective opened me up to the possibility of producing some of it for myself.

Space for Health

Another one of my 100 things to do is yoga everyday. Now, since I got on this yoga kick, I’ve been pretty regular about it, but now I’m thinking of it differently, and I’m doing it quite consistently. But as space has opened up in other areas of my life, this word has been drifting around in my mind, and I remembered how I am supposed to keep my chest open in certain poses, to create that “space” for my lungs, chest, my heart. I am breathing better, remembering the power of intentional breathing in my yoga practice and how circulating that air through my open chest is beneficial to me. Inhalation of spirit, exhalation of waste. An open chest creates that “space” for spirit, which produces a deeper exhalation of waste.

This Space is Whitespace

This “space” I’m referring to in this post, is really that “whitespace” which is this blog’s namesake. When we create space, when we open things up, it creates room for something else. That “something else” doesn’t have to be a physical replacement. It can be mental, emotional, financial . . . anything. And yes, it can be something negative too. So watch out for that, and as you think about where you can make space in your life, concentrate on the goodness that you can allow into it. Be sensitive to the goodness, because if you ignore it, it might go away.

Take Action; Create Space

Look at your life. Where can you create space? Is it your refrigerator? Your closets? Is there some way you can create space in your finances? Do you need space in your thoughts?

So, the next time you think to yourself or say, “I just don’t have the time . . . ” stop and think of it as space. Where can you create space that will produce time for you? I guarantee that making space in some shape or form will create something magnificent, something that you didn’t expect.

 

 

Starting over is not always easy to do. Especially when you have made it so far and something happens to set you back in a big way. My friend, Dan Myers of Break Free was kind enough to guest post for me, and tell us his story of starting over. I have had the pleasure of knowing Dan for some time now, and met him just after he one of the incidents he relates here. Be sure to check out his website too–Dan is doing some awesome giveaways this month and his forte is money!

In my first 30 years, I was pretty lucky to not suffer any major physical setbacks even though I’ve always participated in sports.  I was the type who could sign up for a 10k run with no training and make it through just fine.

The First Setback

However, that all changed when I turned 30 on March 29, 2012!  The week before I turned 30 I took an errant swing at a couch armrest and broke my hand in the process.  I earned my black belt in Tae Kwon Do in my late teens, so punching wasn’t foreign to me, and I got offended when my doctor said the break usually happens because people don’t know the correct technique when punching!  I told him I knew how to punch; I just caught the edge of the couch on accident.

It was a minor setback but something that couldn’t even stop me from rejoining my kickball team the next week – clearly against my doctor’s wishes.  I wanted to feel like those tough football players who play when they have a broken hand… football is similar to kickball right?

My kickball team was winning games and the only thing my broken hand caused was a few missed fly balls.  That was until April 25, 2012.  I ran towards a normal fly ball in the outfield with my hand still in a cast; nothing I hadn’t done before.  As I realized I wouldn’t make it to the ball in time for the catch, I slowed down to get it on the one hop.

Figure 1 Watching a kickball game in a hand and leg cast!

The Second Setback

That’s when I went down.  I reacted in anger while lying on the ground because I thought someone ran into me.  When I looked around and saw no one, I thought I must’ve been hit in the back of the foot by a baseball or something.  As I reached back to feel the back of my ankle, I realized something was very wrong.   I won’t get into the details, but I ruptured my Achilles tendon.

It was a complete rupture so surgery was required.  After five weeks in a cast, I moved to a boot and crutches for the next two weeks.  It was an incredibly painful time, and I literally had to learn to walk again while still in the walking boot.  I then went to physical therapy for six weeks and finally started jogging towards the end of my physical therapy.

Approximately 12 weeks post rupture in mid-July, I jogged without assistance for about 20 feet.  The pain in the tendon wasn’t the only thing holding me back as the rest of my foot, ankle, and leg weren’t ready for running.  I’m sure anyone watching wouldn’t have called it jogging, but I was glad to be moving on my own and faster than a snail’s pace!

Starting Over

I learned what it was like to start at square one.  My walks to the end of the street eventually turned into walks around the block.  After that, I was able to make it six blocks to the park and back while battling some major pain.  Four months post rupture towards the end of August, I was able to increase my running distance to 1.6 miles and now I’m all of the way up to four miles.

If you’re starting at square one, you’re at the right place.  Following Bethany’s advice; I’ve set goals and new distances to hit that have kept me going.  I still remember how terrible it was when I couldn’t even walk, but I also remember how sweet it was the first time I was able to run around our beautiful park in New Orleans again.

Now’s the time to set your physical goals, even if you’re starting at square one.

Dan Meyers writes at www.BREAKFREE.me and has a passion for helping others take control of their money so they can pursue what they love.  You can find him on twitter @YLTL

Did you come up with a theme or idea to live by this year? Some people do that instead of resolutions. They choose a word or phrase, and then use the year to live by it and keep it as a component of their motto, and learn about it. I choose giving.

This cute little bugger was kind enough to give me a sweet look.  

My theme for this year is giving

You might remember that on my 100 things to do list, I wrote that I wanted to give and to learn about giving each day. Well, I have been doing that, and already it is making me happy. Each day, I give in some way, and I learn a little something in the process, and then I jot that down. My true desire for this year is to learn and practice the beautiful art of giving.

Why did I choose giving? I chose giving because I honestly believe that this is one philosophy that I personally need to live by–a life of generosity, a life guided by giving. I believe I have always had it in me to do naturally, but I wanted to take this year to really learn about it. I believe if I do this consciously, then I will likely learn things that will change my perspective on giving and maybe even change my life along the way. You see, two of my heroes are Jesus Christ and Mother Teresa. These are two people who gave of their whole lives in such a selfless way, that they changed the world.

I probably won’t change the world in this study, but I wouldn’t mind making my world a little better place. Already, my studies are teaching me more than I expected, and so I wanted to write this blog to let you know that I will be writing short notes on this subject on my Facebook page, if you are interested in reading them. I would love for you to read and voice your opinions on these things and help me to learn even more.

You might be wondering what it means to be synergistically dominant. Well, I’m about to tell you what it is, based on what I learned from studying about tight and weak muscles this weekend. And then I’m going to show you how these concepts can be seen in interpersonal relationships too, and what these concepts can teach us about those relationships.

Man, I LOVE how the workings of the body can teach us about life!

This weekend, I had the pleasure of studying the flexibility chapter in the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) textbook for the personal trainer’s certification. The whole chapter is about flexible muscles, inflexible (or tight) muscles and how the concept of the kinetic chain all plays into this. I was particularly interested because I spent seven days hiking in the Smokey Mountains, and I came back with painfully tight muscles in the gluteus maximus region.

Synergistic Dominance: Definition

Synergistic dominance is “the neuromuscular phenomenon that occurs when inappropriate muscles take over the function of a weak or inhibited prime mover” (NASM textbook).

What that means to you and me is that there’s this really cool thing that happens when you have a weak muscle, or a muscle that just can’t move the way it’s supposed to. A different muscle will take over the job of that weak muscle—you know, to help it out. That muscle that does the “helping out”—he’s what we would call synergistically dominant. We’ll call him Mr. S.D. for our purposes here.

As in nature, our bodies, our lives are connected. When one thing is weak or hurting, it will affect other things as well. 

The problem is, when this happens, Mr. S.D. may have been trying to help out his weak buddy, but in the end, it creates a problem for him too. Like, now he’s breaking down and he can’t do his own job, let alone anybody else’s job. Sound familiar?

How Synergistic Dominance Plays Out in Our Lives

You might be one of those people who feels like you have to “take up the slack” for your office buddy or co-worker. Maybe this person is a good friend. That’s cool. You can help him out in hectic times. Or, maybe this person is one of those people who is always getting behind or who is just plain lazy. Either one of these situations can cause you problems. The first situation is ok, for a time. But if that friend keeps getting behind or keeps letting you handle their work, you should step back for a moment and think about how it’s affecting you and what you can do about it.

The second situation can be worse. Especially if it’s a person you have a hard time liking. Wanna talk about tight muscles? You are going to be experiencing some “tightness” in your neck over this guy (you know, pain in the neck–haha!). But it can become something worse than just a pain in the neck if you don’t do something about it!

Every organ and part in our body was made with a purpose. I’m sure you have experienced some of this synergistic dominance in your own body–whether or not you termed it that. You might have suffered from back pain, leg pain, shoulder pain, or any other kind of pain because some other part just wasn’t doing it’s job. Think about that. For me, I’ve been walking around in a weird and BAD posture because I had something wrong with my hamstring, and my glute muscles had to take up the slack of the hamstring muscle. This glute problem turned into a back problem and before I knew it, I was bent over! Couldn’t even do my regular workouts!

That’s not good. Not good at all.

Some Things To Think About

I have found that the laws in our bodies often work the same ways in our lives. And if this is true, then if you are “taking up the slack” of someone in your life, pretty soon it’s going to show up in a negative way in your own life. And over time, you won’t be able to do your own “job” or responsibilities. You’ll be hurting in a bad way.

Take a moment to think about your own life. How are you being synergistically dominant for someone else? Is there someone in your office, or in your family who won’t do the thing they should be doing? I’m not talking about those cases where you should help your co-person. There are times when people just genuinely need help. In those cases, we should totally pitch in. But I’m talking about those people who are taking advantage of you, or who just haven’t figured out how to handle their priorities. Maybe the kind of help they really need is assistance with understanding their priorities.

Now think about your body. Is there any part of you that is weak? If you start to feel a weakness, that’s when you need to jump on the ball and fix it–before another muscle (or organ) comes around to try and help out that weakness. If I had done what I needed to do for my hamstring (instead of ignoring it), I probably wouldn’t be having the pain I’m having right now. Learn from my lesson.

But there’s another area this concept works out in: finances. If you are pulling money from one area to pay for another, where’s the weakness? Can you find the weakness in your own spending habits? In your need to endlessly invest in material possessions (chuck chuck, I’m preaching to myself here, people!–but I’m working on it!).

Or, is there any other area of your life where you can see this concept at work? Take a moment to think about it for a while. And then figure out what you can do to correct this “imbalance” of resources (resources here being anything from energy, strength, money, time, etc.).

 

We learn a lot about life as we travel our health and fitness journeys. In this guest post, Christopher Walker tells us some life lessons he learned building a pull up bar. Christopher Walker is a new friend of mine that I connected with via my LinkedIn group, Health and Fitness Bloggers (which you should join if you are a HFB, btw, because it’s really starting to rock). This is a great post, and I’m honored that Christopher would write here at Project Whitespace. Be sure to check out Christopher’s new blog, NoGym, and subscribe. My intuition tells me he’s an up-an-coming health and fitness blogger, and you will want to be there from the start.

We all struggle, at one point or another in life, with purpose.

It’s a lifelong odyssey.

Even when we find our purpose – that path we are meant to follow – we find ourselves continually challenged to fulfill it.

As a 20-something year old man, purpose weighs on my mind daily. I’m at the point in life where it’s time to make some choices…big choices. Choices that will affect the rest of my life.

And this weighs on me sometimes.

Luckily, as a minimalist thinker, distillation has helped quell my apprehension time and time again. You see, when you take a complex situation and boil it down to its core you can usually find some universal truths… lessons that will help you in any situation in life.

And cognizance of these lessons will deliver meaning.

Case in point: I built (and then rebuilt) a pull-up bar in my yard last week.

Now at first glance, this probably doesn’t sound like anything special. Don’t underestimate the power that lies below the surface of simple situations.

The Story

I’ve been wanting to build the bar in the woods for some time now. Before now, I’ve had to drive to get to a park with a sturdy pull-up bar where I can perform my favorite exercise: the muscle up.

Rising gas costs and traffic are a pain, so I figured it was time to build something here. Off to Home Depot I went, bought some 4x4x10’s and a lead pipe along with several bags of concrete, and the project began.

Well, long story short, I messed it up.

The concrete didn’t set correctly and I didn’t use the proper bolts to hold the bar in place. I didn’t make sure it was level before pouring concrete and I failed to dig the holes far enough apart. The result: one goofy-looking pull-up bar that rocked back and forth when I used it.

Fail.

 

Luckily I’ve got a dad.

He’s not just any old dad, either. He’s a born-and-raised dairy farmer turned weapons-system engineer who’s built everything from classic cars to computer motherboards with his bare hands. He’s the kind of guy who spends all weekend in the yard and the woods; he builds all sorts of contraptions and add-ons for our lawn mower and house. If you can get the parts & materials without having to break into a top-secret Chinese production facility under the dead of night, he can build anything you want.

He’s basically a super-dad.

He took one look at my sad excuse for a pull-up bar and said, “Let’s do this right.

So we did. And here’s what I learned… about building a homemade pull-up bar & about a meaningful life:

Life Lesson #1. Learn By Doing

Take action. Seriously, stop putting off that thing you’ve been wanting to learn. Just do it. Now. Who cares if you mess it up (as long as you’re not trying to free dive or cliff jump)? Theory means nothing if you don’t apply it.

Reading tons of books and blog posts, listening to podcasts and being inspired by awesome YouTube videos means nothing if you never go out and use that knowledge and inspiration. Live your life.

Sure, I royally screwed up the pull-up bar the first time. But you know what, I now know exactly how NOT to build a pull-up bar. I made mistakes and learned from them; and I won’t forget them.

Experience is salient. It sticks with you.

Life Lesson #2. Try and try again

“Tis a lesson you should heed:

Try, try, try again.

If at first you don’t succeed,

Try, try, try again.”

- W.E. Hickson

Failure is a huge part of success. Learning from your mistakes and applying that knowledge to your second, third, or 100th attempt is paramount to your eventual triumph.

I could’ve just thrown in the towel and left that goofy-looking bar sitting in the yard. I would’ve looked out the window every day and it could’ve been a nice reminder of how I screwed something up. Instead, we rebuilt it. We tried again. And now it looks awesome and works like a charm.

Life Lesson #3. A Rock Solid Foundation Matters… A Lot

One of the big issues I had with my first bar was the fact that I poured the quick-dry concrete incorrectly. I followed the directions on the bags but, alas, it wasn’t correct.

The concrete was marketed as a pour-into-hole-then-just-add-water turnkey solution, which appealed to me, naturally. Little did I know, it’s pretty much the same as regular quikrete – it works best when premixed then poured.

So we did it right the second time.

And guess what, the bar doesn’t rock back and forth and I probably won’t feel the need to have my buddies sign an insurance waiver before they use it.

In life, a solid foundation matters even more. Your foundation – your support network, morals, ethical code, religion, habits, and education – are what the rest of your life is built upon… so make sure you get these right before moving on to other things.

Life Lesson #4. Be Careful Where You Lay Your Roots

For real, it seems I did EVERYTHING wrong the first time. It turns out I ended up digging the post holes and setting my bar in the WORST part of the yard. It’s apparently the part that floods every time it rains. Idiot.

Anyways, we decided to dig it up and move it back into the woods to higher ground. Now it sits on a nice little patch of elevated pebbles, which also provides some padding when you drop down off the bar.

In life, be careful where you settle down. Because once the concrete sets, it takes a lot of digging to move.

Life Lesson #5. Let Other People Help You

Without my dad I would’ve struggled. I also could’ve just told him that, no I’m fine, I’ll figure it out by myself. Instead I let him help me and learned a lot about proper construction practices in the process.

And I apparently reflected enough upon the experience to write a post that will help others. So yeah, his help was worth the momentary embarrassment at my horrible craftsmanship.

In life, let other people help you – especially those who have plenty of experience in an area you don’t.

You can learn a lot from them and strengthen relationships in the process.

Life Lesson #6. Ensure Your Support System Is Level Before Setting It

Can you do pull-ups on a crooked pull-up bar? Yes. But over time, one side of your body is going to start getting stronger – you’re going to become imbalanced.

The same is true in life. Do not base your support network upon weak, unstable relationships. If you do, you risk consequences down the road.

Life Lesson #7. You Need The Correct Tools

I completely used the wrong tools the first time around. Yep, I hammered bolts into the posts. Boy, that was fun to try and undo.

I used a wide spade to dig the post holes instead of, yes… a post hole digger.

Hmm, I’m actually kind of embarrassed to be telling you this right now.

Moral of the story: when we used the correct tools, not only was the entire process simpler, but the job was completed correctly. And now we have a useable bar that won’t fall over if that fat squirrel who steals all the bird food decides he wants to hang out on it.

Life Lesson #8. Don’t Cut Corners

If you’re going to do something, crush it. Do it with everything you’ve got. Don’t screw around and make bad stuff, because it reflects poorly on you.

I’ll admit it, I thought I could build the bar without any help and without studying up on the correct techniques that would actually have made it work the first time. I’m a little stubborn. And like most guys, I don’t like to ask for directions.

But when it comes down to it, what if this wasn’t as petty of a project as a pull-up bar? What if this was a product that I was releasing on my website?

What if I released a half-assed product to my loyal readers, whom I absolutely love? Do you think they’d appreciate being sold a piece of crap? Nope.

And that would be horrible for the site and any hopes of having a business in the future. It’d be decimated. All because I was lazy and tried to save time and effort by cutting corners.

Don’t cut corners. Do it right… every time.

Life Lesson #9. Concrete Dries Quickly (But You Can Still Dig It Up)

We generally experience consequences for our actions almost immediately. The concrete sets. What’s done is done.

This is why doing things right the first time and really premeditating your actions is so important. However, in many cases, you can still dig up the concrete slabs. But it might require back-breaking effort.

It might even require a jack-hammer.

Don’t let it get to that point in the first place and you’ll be fine. But know, that no matter how bad things may seem, there’s always a way to right a wrong.

Life Lesson #10. Doing It Correctly In The Beginning Will Reap Benefits For Years To Come

Even though it took two tries, we now have a well-built, sturdy bar in the woods. And I’ll be able to use it for years as long as a tree doesn’t land on it.

And even then, since I now know how to build it, it can always be rebuilt.

The same is true in life. Set yourself up for continual success. Set up systems and relationships that will endure. Devote time to keeping them rock solid – because they will serve you well for the rest of your life.

Bonus Lesson: Be Open To The Lessons Around You

Many tasks in life seem meaningless… just another hoop to jump through.

Don’t think like that. Shift your worldview to one of abundance. There is an abundance of worth in every little thing we do. Every interaction.

Be conscious of it all because it’s all there. You just need to know where to look. Glean lessons from everything and you’ll be a more optimistic, positive, and wise individual because of it.

For You…

Have you ever found truths or lessons in ordinary everyday tasks in your own life? If so, let us know in the comments! Would love to hear them.

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About the author: Christopher Walker is a writer, male model, and entrepreneur – completely addicted to creating awesome stuff. He is the Editor of  NoGym  and you can connect with him on Twitter @CTheFlow.

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There are many reasons why health is important for success in our lives. I’m not into health and fitness just for the fun of it–although, I DO find it fun. But health and fitness for me goes way beyond that. I have found that being healthy and fit is foundational for success in life.

Before listing these reasons, I would like to explain what I mean by “success,” and it is a definition that I think most people would agree with. First, success isn’t just about how much money we make. Success encompasses all aspects of our lives from our family, faith, finances, our social relationships and reputation, and the quality of our physical and mental health. Each of us might include something else in there, but for the purposes of this article, I would like to suggest that success encompasses at least these things. With that in mind, here are some of the reasons I have found being healthy and fit is foundational for success in my life, and for all of our lives in general.

#1: Health for Success: Because It Provides Us Energy

What successful person do you know that lacks energy? The profiles of the most successful people in life will be those of people who have the energy to be up and about DOING their passion. Considering my definition of success, it makes sense that we would need to have energy in order to invest adequately in all the important things of our lives. We can’t work our butts off on our career, and then come home and lounge on the couch the rest of the evening. We need to have the energy to spend those evening hours investing in our families, our communities and in our health.

#2: Health for Success: Because It Means You Get To Show Up Every Day

To really participate in life, you need to be healthy. A person who struggles with their health will miss days of work, miss time with their family, forget a bill that needs to be paid, be stuck in a hospital when something important is going on in their, or their loved ones’ lives. But this isn’t just about being physically present. A person who is healthy inside and out, and I’m talking body, mind and spirit, is able to really show up to their day. They are engaged in their lives, they are not just working, but they are producing, creating, collaborating. They are not just going to a party, they are experiencing and enjoying that party. They are not just sleeping, they are getting good rest, re-energizing.

#3: Health for Success: Because Life Demands Vitality

Lets face it: life isn’t always easy, but we must keep going. A person who is healthy that faces a challenge won’t crumple up under they pressure. They have the energy they need to troubleshoot the problem, to work out solutions and to endure the mental and physical challenges that life puts in front of us. A catastrophe at work is when the unhealthy person goes home, and the healthy person is able to stay until the problem is resolved.

#4: Health for Success: Because It Helps Us To Be Independent

This is important at every stage of our lives, but even more so important as we age. Preserving our health and vitality when we are young and taking that with us into our old age will help to ensure that we can continue to live independently long into our elderly years. I think of my grandmother, who, even at the age of 93 will still get up and rearrange her furniture, entertain guests and fend for herself everyday. She has a helpful family, yes, but it is the healthy life she managed to keep until now that has brought her to the place where she is still able to live on her own.

I think about the man I once knew who played basketball at the local YMCA, ran laps around the gym, and strutted his shirtless muscular self proudly at the age of 83, because he maintained his health and fitness. I think about the man at my first triathlon who ran through the finish line, not long after me, his index finger held high in the air because he was first in his age group: 80 and older. I think about a woman, who in her mid-seventies jumped from an airplane for the first time, and a picture I have of her in my mind, is the one I saw of her where she’s at a hotel, jumping on the bed.

I lift weights now, and plan to continue to lift weights into my old age because I want to be able to carry my own grocery bags into the house, take the trash out by myself, and rearrange my own furniture. But I want to do more than that. I want to be able to continue travelling–and walk with energy on streets that are new to me. I want to be able to walk a big dog without worrying if he might pull me off my feet, I want to have my chance to be first to cross the triathlon finish line–in my age group. I’m thinking that might be the only chance I’ll ever get to finish first. And that’s ok with me.

#5: Health for Success: Because It Helps Us To Serve

I saved this for last because it is my favorite one, and one I am still needing to work on. If you are a person who loves, then you are also a person who wants to serve. If you are not healthy, it is likely cutting down on your ability to serve those you love. I know there are things I would like to do in the evening for my husband, or for my community, but I don’t do them because I don’t yet have the vitality needed to take me from a full day of work to an evening of service. My evenings are often spent recuperating from a hard day of work, or doing chores or tasks that got put off because I was too tired earlier in the week to do them. This is something I want to work on in the upcoming year (starting now).

Look at each of these points. Do you lack in any of these areas? Maybe you lack in one of them, or in all of them. What area of health and fitness in your life can you work on to enable you to do them?