Running After the Joneses - the Comparative Paradigm Trap

Photo by Gareth Mackay

This has become all too common in today's day of social media and instant information: you hear someone talk about running their first marathon, and someone else, often a non-runner will say, "hey you gotta beat Oprah's / P. Diddy's time!"  For what it's worth, I do believe it's great to have goals and sub-goals to keep yourself motivated.  Oprah (for the record) ran 4:29:15 and P-Diddy ran 4:14:54. It was on record that Diddy, or Puffy Combs or Sean or whatever he is calling himself now also wanted to beat Oprah's time.

Keeping up with the Joneses, or in this case, running after the Joneses is a very dangerous game. It is an extension of life lived in the comparative paradigm. The chief problem with the comparative paradigm is that we almost always put ourselves in deficit. We always have LESS than the Joneses, we're always LESS fit than those we're aspiring to be like and/or LESS fast or LESS tough.

I'm not suggesting that having idols, role models or heroes is unhealthy. But rather, when your goals (and/or dreams) are based around being "as good as someone else" or in some cases "better than someone else" it starts first with the premise that you are PRESENTLY LESS ____*blank____ (*insert your less word here: talented, genetically predisposed, wealthy, fast, tough, etc.).  Being less than someone else causes a whole other issue too, as it has us focusing on being (or beating) THEM and not just being the best version of us/me that we/I can be. (yeah, the English there is hard to follow, but give it one more read for good measure.)  When you are not focused on being the best YOU that you can be, you tune out your own body/mind's present in-the-moment needs.  It all becomes about being them, or being better than them.

Take this one step further... you've grown a little bored of marathoning.  Now you've moved onto Ironman distance triathalons OR ultra-distance mountain races.  You see these ultra-crazy people around you, you read the articles in magazines and in blogs, you start to want to train/race like those people.  Yet you're only getting a small snapshot of their life. In many cases, you don't know their genetic predisposition to speed/distance, nor their history and experience (in some cases these people have run their whole lives while we may only have a few months or a few years under the soles of our shoes) and trying to emulate something before you're really ready can lead to sickness, injury and setbacks (and these setbacks can at times have huge emotional consequences).

I invite you to take a moment to evaluate your life and your present goals and dreams. Are they grounded in being the best version of you, yet? Or are they smelling a little like they were birthed in the comparative paradigm (doing something because someone else did it)?  If you discover (like I have, from time to time) that you're putting yourself at the low end of the totem pole, break that cycle. Reassess.  Recreate from a baseline of loving yourself and being a little bit fuller, more expressed and healthier version of you than you've been recently.  Otherwise, the fear of being inadequate just continues to recreate itself, and like a dog chasing it's tail, you'll never catch up with the imaginary ghosts you've created in your mind.

Here's a little mantra I plan to utilize more often...

Today, I shall strive to be a little bit better than yesterday. Mentally tougher. Happier. More generous. Not more-so than anyone else, just more than myself previously.

But I ain't gonna lie, you do gotta go beat Oprah's time.

On top of the world, being the best ME I can possibly be...

Way of the Trail Runner VIDEO (see point 5 or 6) - "thou shalt not envy another runner"

Optimists Don't Climb Mountains - My Thoughts on Love, Loss & Partnership

So it's time to stop calling me an optimist. I'm no optimist. At least not anymore...

op-ti-mism
a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome and/or the belief that good ultimately predominates over evil in the world

I don't expect the most favorable outcome in life, ever.  Most often I simply choose the most favorable attitude for ANY outcome.  Stemming from my Grandma Margaret Freeman's imparted life philosophy: "In life you can rarely choose your circumstances, but you can always choose your attitude." (I will always love my Grandma Margaret) I have always made a very intentional and conscious effort to not revel in drama or despair too much over things.

Life is fucking hard, so buckle your seat belt, strap on your helmet and get ready.

While I have an amazing life (I've chosen and very intentionally created the space for what I have including career, marriage, relationships, people I've surrounded myself with, where I live, etc.), it all is still a far cry from perfect.  To every mountain peak there is a valley floor.

Yesterday, I explored the depths of my sadness, not knowing how deep it would go.  As someone with a history of depression (of the clinical kind), sadness can be a very frightening thing.  You always have it in the back of your mind, one event or incident can flip some switch and the downward spiral begins.  Since making a very clear and conscious choice in 2000/2001 to not have fear call the shots in my life (creating only from love, not actions based on what I feared and "did NOT want" but rather what I am passionate about and creating from "what I DO want"), my sadness has had a very different feel.  I explore the feelings now instead of hiding from them.  I share the feelings with those I love without dumping on them and dragging them through the mud to do it.  I'm no victim of circumstance.  Every failure, every trial, every tough moment is an opportunity to learn about yourself, to grow stronger, to spiritually evolve.

Imagine our spiritual evolution, personal growth & development as a mountain (for a moment). From the valley floor, you can often see the peak/summit you want to get to.  It's high, and often far away, and you know there's going to be a lot of climbing uphill to get there.  But when you hold the idea in your mind and heart of "I'm going to summit this thing" at that moment the work becomes secondary. At times, you even start to enjoy the climbing more.  The same thing is true when you solidify a commitment to self-growth. Nobody grows into the person they dreamed of being sitting on a couch watching old episodes of Seinfeld. I know, "but Jimmy thinks it's a GREAT SHOW" and we most certainly ALL can't be out running 100-milers, completing Ironmans, and summiting Mt. Everest every day, I totally get that. We're all allowed some downtime. But the downtime in a figurative sense is where the grade on the climb is a little less steep for a moment. Some climbs are so long, you have to pitch a tent and camp part of the way there, often multiple times (no, I'm not pretending I ever camp, don't even get me started on that). But your commitment that you want to get to the peak of the mountain (and for this analogy, becoming the best version of yourself you can achieve), you won't do it without some really hard work. Climbing is uncomfortable. Gravity pushes back hard. Gravity in our spiritual lives could be all the things that pull us towards "getting more comfortable." Eating foods that are bad for us too often. Drinking too much alcohol. Watching too much television.  I don't need to continue to list these things because YOU know what your vices are.  The things that get in the way of your best self. We all have them. Some of us justify them to ourselves more than others. Self-justification is poisonous to your soul, to the very core of your being.  Self-justification is quiet, it happens in secret shadowy seclusion. I invite you to break this cycle in 2013.  Pick a mountain top and start climbing.  Becoming a better you is really hard work, yet it is completely and totally worth it. Just wait for the view up top!

Now I'm not going to pretend to be the best version of me. In fact, I hope I have a long-ass way to go, as I've come to love climbing more and more difficult mountains (both figuratively and literally). As you strengthen your resolve, learn that the views are best enjoyed when hard work precedes them, you will eventually discontinue the dialog of "oh man this is SO hard" and all that drama that surrounds our most dramatic life events.  I will talk a little about specific drama so you can see how "un-dramatic" it can be when certain choices are made (inside the framework of choosing what kind of attitude you are going to have)...

*warning - very personal and traumatic information below, please proceed only if you are open to being emotionally agitated*

Kate & I traveled all Christmas week, logging some 20 hours of driving to-and-from Northern California where we both hail from (she grew up in Santa Cruz and I grew up in the Eastbay area of the San Francisco Bay Area).  On top of that, the last 4 days of that week included another 18-hours of running (I put in around 76 miles in 3 runs/hikes).  We slept on an air mattress a few days, a bunk bed, we sat in the car for 6+ hours straight twice.  We were both burnt physically.  Then you factor in the emotional roller coaster of splitting time between 3 factions of our family (her mom, my mom and my dad) in less than 3 days. We were both drained. Ready to sleep. Kate ran/hiked much less and slept a little more than I did.

Tuesday night (January 1st) we went to bed pretty unremarkably, it was a normal night at home. We even went to bed at 9:45pm on New Year's Eve, the earliest in our 11-years together.  Wednesday morning, sometime around 2:30am, Kate woke me up in a great deal of pain, as she was having really bad stomach cramps.  Gas pain?  Constipation?  These were my two initial diagnoses.  The pain was so severe Kate ran to the bathroom to puke. I sat with her for the better part of 2-3 hours as she writhed in pain, went back to the bathroom to puke, and I will spare you some of the more gruesome details.  I got her situated at one point, ran to the kitchen to make her some tea, got on the computer to look up some doctor information and speed-read up on her symptoms.  There was more to this than just stomach pain and prospective constipation: Kate was nearly 11-weeks pregnant with our first baby. I wanted to read (ASAP) all the allowable remedies I could offer her.  Tums and Tylenol: check. Decaf stomach soothing tea: check. At one point I desperately had to pee, but there was no way I was gonna say, "hey, can you stop writhing on the toilet for a moment so I can use the restroom", so I had to sheepishly pee in our kitchen sink (as to not distract her by the bizarre and unusual behavior of peeing in a bathroom sink).  A part of me wanted to wish this all away.  "What can I do possibly do for her right now?"  Answer: pretty much nothing, other than get her to a doctor.  She didn't want to go yet.  She too wanted to wish this pain & nausea away.  It's just her first case of morning sickness and some bad gas pains, I hoped. From the place of exhaustion I was in (travel fatigue, lack-of-sleep fatigue, emotional-holiday fatigue, ultra-running fatigue) I was fighting myself to not just crawl back into bed and go to sleep until she told me she needed something more specific. I didn't want her to feel alone in any of this. So I made up my mind: if this takes 2-hours, 2-days or 2-weeks, I'm fully investing in this moment and being there for whatever she needs. Commitment moves Providence. I was suddenly less tired. Clear headed. Ready for what may come (as ready as one can be). Chosen attitude: CHECK!

I wish I could say my Tweet for "love and positivity directed our way in the form of love, prayer, warm thoughts" went the way I had intended.  We were finally seen by Kate's OBGYN at 8:05am. The ultra-sound confirmed my fear (and Kate's too)... bye, bye, baby. The moment the two nurses stepped outside the ultra-sound room I broke down. Kate and I cried in each others' arms. We had bantered a lot about two names: "Miles James & Kensington Margaret" but neither of those were meant to be this coming July the 26th. The reality of that still has yet to fully sink in. It will continue in waves, I'm sure, as Kate and I work together to heal emotionally (and Kate, physically).  But I keep looking UP (when most might choose to hang their heads in sorrow) because I don't want to descend back into the valley. I just realized that the climb to the peak of the mountain I am presently eyeballing is a much tougher climb than I anticipated. But I will get there, Kate by my side, and the view from that peak will be unlike any I've yet seen (I know this intuitively). So this too is part of the hard work of the climb. Crying, losing sleep, peeing in kitchen sinks, holding Kate as tight as I can as she screams in pain, until we get to where we are committed to going.

In the 24+ hours since we posted a request for love/support, no less than 20 women have reached out to Kate (some knew we were expecting) and shared their similar stories of first trimester losses. Most of those have 1-3 healthy and happy children now. YOU know who you are, and we can't thank you enough for your generosity and sharing what you have with us. This is yet another one of those things that really NOBODY wants to talk about. But why not?  When we hide out and avoid our sorrow, it persists. It mutates. It consumes us. And worst of all you're ALONE and in pain. Kate & I have both accepted that this climb will be hard. We're open to learning from others who've already summited this mountain. So we share our story with you to ease your journey (for the "if and when" you take on this challenge too).

We don't need (nor want) any "I'm so sorry's" nor sympathy nor condolences.  While we are deeply sad, we are also so inspired and moved by this journey. In the last couple months we've come so much closer together, broken through some patterns that have held us in place for many years.  We've started things we'd been putting off.  We've gotten out of our own way in a whole new way.  We've traveled many Miles up this mountain and we aren't quitting any time soon.  Kate is going to be an amazing mother, heck, she already is to Spirit (and to me half the time).  We are both dramatically evolved from the people we were prior to mid-October. It all starts with CHOOSING the right attitude. No, making the choice isn't easy and it takes the commitment of stick-to-it-ness of running 100-miles over a mountain range in gnarly conditions, but with practice and intentionality, you can prosper in this attitude game too.

This quote first entered my consciousness on the walk from the UCLA OBGYN to the cafeteria to get Kate & I some food, our first such food in over 14 hours, as we passed the UCLA hospital gift shop. There are no accidents. When you've chosen to have a good attitude in the face of any circumstances, you'll notice things that will reinforce that choice.
Embrace your journey my friends. Love the climb. And know that Kate & I love you so very much.  Thank you for every text, for every Tweet, for every Facebook comment & message, and every email. The outpouring of support helped us through the deepest of the sorrow, and we are grateful for your friendship...

 

What If Our End of Days Was Tomorrow - Musings on the Apocalypse

We live in a sick, twisted world.  This world is cold and unforgiving.  No, something didn't just "happen to me" that's suddenly made me turn dark and negative.  Turn on the news anytime you like and you'll get the latest and greatest DOOM and GLOOM.  It's the reason I do not watch the news anymore (to be honest, ESPN SportsCenter is now depressing enough)...

*stands up on soap box, 1/2 of crowd walks away while 1/4 of crowd rolls eyes*

Most American news stations are there to make money (not necessarily to report the most important breaking news, as we may have been force fed to believe).  News stations will show us and report on the most horrific things they can find because fear is compelling and draws higher viewer ratings.  The more blood, guts and fear they peddle, the more 90% of the American public watch.  The higher the viewer ratings, the higher the dollars paid for advertising spots and the more profitable a news outfit is.

Think of it this way: when we pass a really, really bad accident on the freeway (that is on the opposite side of the divider), often times, traffic is worse for the lookie-loos than it is for the reduced to 2-lanes accident side.  Most humans simply can't help themselves.  In America, generally people get more up-in-arms over the sight of a woman's breast (on TV or movies) than they do seeing graphic violence in a TV show or movie.  Graphic violence is commonplace (and accepted) because we see it on the news nearly every day.

*steps off of soap box after having lost 1/2 the audience again*

ESPN SportsCenter news clip:
http://es.pn/12pmRGo

On a run a couple nights ago (pretty much how every one of my BLOGS starts and is conceived) I was back and forth with one of my best buddies, Josh,

JDF - "So, are you ready for the end of the world?"
JS - "Maybe. But might just be the end of things the way we knew it. New beginning, maybe?"
JDF - "The way things have gone in the world, recently, wouldn't surprise me if the powers that be hit the reset button saying, 'well, that experiment failed.'"
JS - "Yeah, no kidding. But I don't think it's going to end."
JDF - "Neither do I... but I can't help but wonder if one of these days, somebody is finally going to be right about it. If it really were the end, we've got a lot to get done in the next few days."

So, here's the thing (wait for it...)...

What IF the world were going to end in a day or two?

If you knew you had 1 FULL DAY left, what would you do with it?

Start here: nearly everyone regrets something (according to every interview of people on their death bed, they regret what they did NOT do most, very few talk of regrets of having done something specifically).  Most of my regrets are from interpersonal interaction, and again, generally I regret things I didn't SAY and didn't DO, not the mistakes I made (which I learned from, ultimately).  If you only had a day or two to live, would you call a family member OR close friend whom you've had a "falling out" with and bury the hatchet?  Would you make sure those you love most know how much they are loved by expressing that to them?  Would you do something new you've always wanted to do but never made the time for?  Would you be more courageous if our time was about to run out?

What would YOU do?

My invitation to you (if you had the mental stamina to make it this far in my blabbering foolishness)... call somebody, RIGHT NOW.  It can be someone you love to make sure they know how much.  Sometimes that's the easy call.  So make that call first.  Then when you hang up, call the person you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT TO CALL.  Bury the hatchet, fall on the sword, take your lumps, be the bigger person (insert whatever cliche will inspire you)... because the world MIGHT just end, and why not have the energy surrounding you be love and renewal?

Even if you don't believe the world will end, the person(s) you failed to call might be gone sooner than you think, suddenly, unexpectedly.  I lost a friend I loved dearly in October, the day before my birthday (she was my age), and I think about that almost every day.  Our time here is short, it's going to be done-and-gone before we know it.  Get right with the people that are (or were) the most important to you... and do it NOW. *I'm not writing ANY MORE until you do*

Let me know (in the comments) what you did!  Who did you call???