I'm Not Gonna Write You a Blues Song

Every now and then it's important to have a blog that has absolutely zero things to do with me.  (Well,  more than every now and then, but still.  It's important.)

This one has nothing to do with me.

This one is because I just know that some people in my life - near in my life, far in my life, tangentially in my life - need some encouragement.  They need some love.

This is for the guy who's got the kick-ass job and the kick-ass degree in the kick-ass city that everyone says oh man, your life must be so cool, but he slaves to death and can't seem to find the time or energy to connect with friends or find the right person.  This is for the girl who can't seem to meet anyone because, despite being witty and pretty and sharp as a tack, she happens to live in a city where people are shallow and flakey; and it's also for the girl who can seem to meet everyone but it never seems to quite work out.  And it's for the people trying to raise their kids, especially if they're doing it alone, in a scary world (especially some states) that is insanely expensive compared to the salary ranges.  And it's for those who are trying to get their dream off the ground - whether that dream is starting school, starting a business, finishing school, finishing a business - because we all know that the real world means you've still got to pay bills and show up for the rest of your life WHILE you're trying to do all of those things.

And - just to be perfectly clear before I go down this next path - the world does not revolve around you.  Frankly, you should be glad it doesn't. You don't want that pressure.  You don't want that responsibility.  You've got enough weight on those two bony, fleshy shoulders of yours.

But being a little tiny piece of a great big world with a lot of challenges and a lot of other people with their own challenges means this:

Sometimes the world gets you down. 

I mean, it really kicks you in the face. You're doing everything, absolutely everything, you think you can do, and you

still. . .

 

ain't . . .

 

movin'

Let's not get into the granularity of whether you're doing everything you really could do, because not everyone's brain is creative enough to come up with every last solution known to man.  Let's just suffice it to say that you are doing everything in your power/knowledge.  Let's say by and large you're truly grateful for what you have.  But people are harsh critics and you still can't seem to catch a break.

And even though it sounds an awful lot like it, what I'm NOT gonna do is write you a blue song.

What I AM gonna do is tell you you're not alone.

And the good news about this is that, no matter where you are or how bad it seems or how rough it gets, you should know that someone, somewhere, out there is thinking about you and someone, somewhere, out there is going through what you're going through. 

And the good news about THAT is that you are both gonna make it.

Encouraging More and Competing Less: a Tribute to My Workout Friends

It's been a rough couple weeks.   My little cat's treatment for her IBD and pancreatic disease has not been successful, so we are having to add a pancreatic enzyme to her food.  Running back and forth to the vet has been trying.  Hearing that she pooped in a flip-flop because she couldn't make it to the litter was upsetting.


Back to a 5-year-old phone for me

Then, my eye prescription changed again.  I just tried getting used to a new prescription in February and I thought I was good, and then BAM! Migraines, blurry vision, vertigo, etc.  Because of the inner ear/eye relationship (Doctor Google vestibular-ocular reflex), it can be really hard for me to get an eye prescription that works without making me dizzy.  Running back and forth to the eye doctor has been trying. 

Next, my phone died.  All you Urban Athletes out there like me (I mean those of us who live in mid-rise and high-rise buildings) can relate: I use the RunKeeper GPS app for those days when my running watch GPS will not lock because the city blocks it out.  Oh, and tunes. So now I really can't use either, because my backup phone is +5 years old and barely makes calls/sends texts.  My phone contract isn't up until January. Whee.

Last but certainly not least: Mom's chemo has been stalled.  Her platelets are down and the onco thinks it might be something besides just the chemo.  We have another week of waiting for them to come back up to see what the next plan of action is.

Long story short: I needed some encouraging.

I am a big fan of a blog called Becoming Minimalist.  It's all about doing more with less (less material things), but along the way the author(s) and guest author(s) share their discoveries about how doing this has changed the way they look at life.

The other day they shared a list of ways to "encourage more and compete less."  Apparently, the author ran a marathon and was impressed by how supportive the other runners were. I thought right away about my workout friends.  I don't get to see them much now that we are on different sides of town, but they ARE so encouraging. They've set up cheering stations for first-timers at other races. They're zero-ego, zero-drama, fun people who are willing to share what they know about the sport(s).  They have never stopped to pick apart someone else's plan/workout but instead just stop to say, "Do you!" or "Nice job!"



Awesome workout friends. Always learning!
Always encouraging!

During the MAJathon, I met up with some of them.  We didn't all run together, and we didn't all force each other to run together, because we are all different paces and on different training plans.  ( I run Daniels; they run Galloway. We even talked about this before the race.)  They all have a zero-drama attitude: we all went at our own pace and were happy just seeing each other before, during and after the race. No one was upset because someone couldn't run with her: one of the ladies had to go to work afterwards; I had to go run another 4 miles. Sometimes we hang out and have breakfast afterwards.  It really just depends. 

I have learned a lot from them - not just about the three sports but about how to be a good sport.

So, in their honor and in that spirit, here were some of my favorite suggestions from the blog on how to encourage more and compete less.  I have received some of these from some of my supporters for the ACS fundraising I'm doing.  There are a few things on here that I actively do, and there are definitely some that I am working on.  But I think they're all wonderful, so I wanted to share.

  

Refuse to speak negatively of other people (publicly or privately).

Send consumers to other competing businesses if they can better meet their individual needs.

Use cards, telephone calls, and emails to offer encouragement to those around you.

Publicly promote other people’s success stories.

Ask how you can come alongside to help.

Share your ideas with others. The free-flow of information will always come back around to you.

Attend local, community events and promote a “teammate mentality.”