I’ve been thinking a lot lately about choices. It took me over a half-century to realize that it’s not talent or natural ability that determines success, but simply choices.
I’ve seen plenty of talent wasted (I’ve wasted some of my own), and I’ve also seen people with nothing but the willingness to choose, moment by moment, the behaviors that would make them successful. Those people are the ones who never fail to impress or inspire.
We’re lucky it’s as basic as simply choosing. There are no lines to stand in or applications to fill out before a decent choice can be made. You just do it.
I’ve been thinking about the key choices that take someone from Foiled to Fueled. Foiled is someone who is constantly thwarted by their own actions; someone who racks their brain for the reason they haven’t been successful – an action that, at it’s core, is just a search for excuses. Fueled is someone who has paved the road to success with choices. Remember those old Highlights magazines featuring Goofus and Gallant?
That’s how I’m picturing Foiled vs. Fueled in the following Typical Day:
Foiled vs. Fueled: A Typical Day.
Starting the day.
FOILED: Hit the snooze button six times to get that extra 30 minutes. Starts the day rushed and chaotic. Eye boogers.
FUELED: Got up with the alarm (or, better yet, with the sun!)
Breakfast.
FOILED: No time. Gas station coffee. Stink breath.
FUELED: Got to sit down to an easy pre-planned breakfast of bacon, eggs & sweet potato and a cup o’ joe. Sitting down activated the parasympathetic digestive process. Brushed teeth. Packed pre-planned lunch.
Work day.
FOILED: Check Facebook, coffee break, asks co-worker for stapler. Goes out to lunch and tries to eat “paleo.” Hits stride around 2PM and has to stay late to finish up.
FUELED: Gets $h*t done so work is finished by 5.
Workout.
FOILED: Um, yeah. Kinda skipped out on that. Tired. Frazzled. Pizza sounds good.
FUELED: Hit the Workout (day 3 of 3-day cycle) and did some myofascial release. Evaluated goals & progress. Home to steak and revel in own awesomeness.
Bed.
FOILED: After watching 4 seasons back to back of Breaking Bad on Netflix.
FUELED: ASAP.
You get the idea. Every day is a cascade of choices that start before your feet hit the floor. Meal planning and goal setting make the sequence easier and inspire accountability. Don’t lose sleep to watch Twilight for the fifty-seventh time.
We can choose to wake up and be better, and for that purpose, our choices meet us where we are. Some may be working on setting a fitness foundation or breaking a habit of lifelong poor choices, and that may mean simply doing 10 jumping jacks before making a healthy breakfast. And that’s just as awesome as doing Filthy Fifty. We can choose to eat right, bite by bite. We can choose to be in motion as much as possible when awake, and to value every minute of rest time we can get. Choosing is easy, and it’s one of our inherent rights. We can choose to change a behavior and implement that change daily.
Wolfie
I’ve seen plenty of talent wasted (I’ve wasted some of my own), and I’ve also seen people with nothing but the willingness to choose, moment by moment, the behaviors that would make them successful. Those people are the ones who never fail to impress or inspire.
We’re lucky it’s as basic as simply choosing. There are no lines to stand in or applications to fill out before a decent choice can be made. You just do it.
I’ve been thinking about the key choices that take someone from Foiled to Fueled. Foiled is someone who is constantly thwarted by their own actions; someone who racks their brain for the reason they haven’t been successful – an action that, at it’s core, is just a search for excuses. Fueled is someone who has paved the road to success with choices. Remember those old Highlights magazines featuring Goofus and Gallant?
That’s how I’m picturing Foiled vs. Fueled in the following Typical Day:
Foiled vs. Fueled: A Typical Day.
Starting the day.
FOILED: Hit the snooze button six times to get that extra 30 minutes. Starts the day rushed and chaotic. Eye boogers.
FUELED: Got up with the alarm (or, better yet, with the sun!)
Breakfast.
FOILED: No time. Gas station coffee. Stink breath.
FUELED: Got to sit down to an easy pre-planned breakfast of bacon, eggs & sweet potato and a cup o’ joe. Sitting down activated the parasympathetic digestive process. Brushed teeth. Packed pre-planned lunch.
Work day.
FOILED: Check Facebook, coffee break, asks co-worker for stapler. Goes out to lunch and tries to eat “paleo.” Hits stride around 2PM and has to stay late to finish up.
FUELED: Gets $h*t done so work is finished by 5.
Workout.
FOILED: Um, yeah. Kinda skipped out on that. Tired. Frazzled. Pizza sounds good.
FUELED: Hit the Workout (day 3 of 3-day cycle) and did some myofascial release. Evaluated goals & progress. Home to steak and revel in own awesomeness.
Bed.
FOILED: After watching 4 seasons back to back of Breaking Bad on Netflix.
FUELED: ASAP.
You get the idea. Every day is a cascade of choices that start before your feet hit the floor. Meal planning and goal setting make the sequence easier and inspire accountability. Don’t lose sleep to watch Twilight for the fifty-seventh time.
We can choose to wake up and be better, and for that purpose, our choices meet us where we are. Some may be working on setting a fitness foundation or breaking a habit of lifelong poor choices, and that may mean simply doing 10 jumping jacks before making a healthy breakfast. And that’s just as awesome as doing Filthy Fifty. We can choose to eat right, bite by bite. We can choose to be in motion as much as possible when awake, and to value every minute of rest time we can get. Choosing is easy, and it’s one of our inherent rights. We can choose to change a behavior and implement that change daily.
Wolfie
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