The Story of 2 Dogs

A STORY OF 2 DOGS

I have 2 dogs, both Alaskan Husky's. To me they are the most intelligent looking dogs I have ever come across. They are part of my spirit world. They are not fantasies, they are very real, they have made their appearance known to me through the SEAL Academy course on mental strength. Kokoro-Unbeatable Mind

One of my dogs is named Fear, and the other Courage. I have gone so far as to have a picture of Courage in my wallet to remind me of the mindset that I need to take with me every day into my life. But it has only been like that recently.

My other dog Fear has been standing by my side for most of my life. There is no doubt about him, he is one tough dog, and we have done a lot of things together. But his, and so my decisions have been based on the fear of failure. Yep, I will have a go at most things, but I am always driven in my preparation and training in the mindset of that fear of failing. Fear of failure can be a real "drive", a motivation. I wanted to succeed, so I would not be a failure.

I have been a driven person all my life, but none more so than after we had to leave dairy farming for good after 25 years, when the drought of the decade finally got us during the late 1990s – 2000s. Lots of reasons and comments were bandied about. Most were not positive, and some were downright unhelpful. Basically I saw myself every day as a failure, and up until recently I would get the whip out and beat myself up with it as a "penance". So when I had the opportunity for a new career I threw myself into it like a driven animal, and yes the fear was primal. Fear was talking to me now, saying you know what it is like to fail, so do not fail again. It drove me way beyond my limits, but I was so afraid of failing, and guess what happened I failed again. That episode cost me my health over a time, it cost me my personality, it cost me my perspective, and it cost be my chance of being in the top group in my age group racing Ironman triathlons, marathons and ultra marathon's. In the end I failed again and out came the whip. I was literally thrashing around like a bull bogged in a dam. The more I thrashed the more bogged I became. I was on a one-way road to God knows where, but I knew it was not good. And that motivation of fear always fuelled my attempts to get back. It was not going to happen. My dog Fear was always there. Yes okay you want to do this to prove you are not a failure. Well okay, but do not let us fail again and then after it happened he would comment, see you failed again. I told you not to fail. I was getting more than a little tired of it all, and I really was quite morose over it all.

So I decided I was going to turn my hobby of athletics into my job. So a personal trainer I became. My sport is running and triathlons, so I got certified in both as well as Kettlebells and Strength and Conditioning training. I also gained my certification as a Nutritionalist. It was while I was doing my Strength and Conditioning studies that my course leader mentioned he was going to do a Kokoro Challenge with the SEAL Fit Academy. Of course this pricked my curiosity. He gave me the website details, and so began a fascinating journey that continues to this day. Kokoro Camp is a 50 hour non-stop challenge of being cold, wet, and weary beyond belief, as well as getting an earful from a Navy SEAL instructor. Part of the SEAL Academy course is a 2 year course on mental toughness. I naturally thought of "Tim the Tool Man" tough, macho tough, the bigger the better. Well that could not have been more further from the truth, and this is where I realised that I had another dog in my spirit world. His name is Courage. If I had have spent some time looking behind me, I would have seen him, patient, waiting for an opportunity to become my protector, and encouraging me on to a different path, but I had not seen him and now I was in a bad spot.

One of the lectures talked about "What Dog are you Feeding" and this is where I realised that in the distance there he was, head up, chest out, looking right back at me with those searing, wolflike eyes, and he knew that I had seen him, finally. He waited for my call, and when it came, he came up and stood there. I patted him on the head and he just accepted it. He knew before he took his place at my side that I had to do some hard things, and that was to tell Fear that he had to go. That meant a lot of struggling on my part, as we had been together for a long, long time and i had to be forceful in the end, and I had to stand up to him. He finally left at the finish line of my 18th Ironman triathlon. It was the most disciplined, and happiest race that I have had. It proved to me that Courage could take me a lot further than Fear ever did. He moved up alongside of me in my preparations and asked me to give him a chance, and I did. He wanted me to trust him, and I eventually did. Now I am not afraid or fearful. He taught me that fear is my teacher, and not a stick to beat myself up with, that it is okay to make mistakes and learn from them in a positive, constructive way. He taught me about not the fear of failure, but about the fear of being a success, that I was afraid of becoming successful. About being the best that I could be. He taught me about compassion, and patience,  about soft gazing, about yoga and meditation, about looking deeply into myself, and owning and dealing with the walls and fears that would stop my success. He also taught me about the concept of positive actions. The use of mantras, of breath mastery for the ultimate mastery of oneself. These things are now in my toolbox. There is no room for fear. It is healthy to be cautious at times and not to be" gung ho" all the time. Any projects that I now undertake, whether it be in my career, or my athletic life, I use the SMEAC model for the development of my plan and then use the OODA Loop to execute it. Do I use these tools all the time. Nope, but I am getting better at it. It takes time to make them part of your conscious thinking. It takes discipline, and daily practice, and patience, not when you feel like it, or if you just have a spare moment. These things need to be taken seriously if you want to progress.

Courage and I are now on the pursuit of excellence, not perfection, because none of us are perfect. There will always be something we can improve. The pursuit of excellence is about getting better every day. To be the best you can be today, knowing that with effort and courage you will be better tomorrow.

Courage will always be with me. He has shown me a path that in time will open up my potential to be the person that I was meant to be. But I have to do remind myself that this will take time, which is the rest of my life.

Where is Fear these days. He still follows, but these days he knows his place, far enough away that he has no influence. I turn back and look at him everynow and then with compassion, something that Courage has taught me. Fear is just the way he is and I have to be respectful of that.

COURAGE

How ever dark the night. How ever deep and black the pit, know that with courage and persistence we will overcome.

 What dog am I feeding?  Courage my spirit dog.

FEAR

                                                                                                                                                

S.M.E.A.C. Mission / Project Planning

SMEAC

The SMEAC system is yet another acronym borrowed from our mighty Military [they do a pretty good job, so we may as well learn something from them!] and is short for:

S Situation

M Mission

E Execution

A Administration and Logistics

C Command and communications

The Military use the SMEAC system to document their orders and instructions for field operations, so that they can pass this information on to their troops.

While you probably don’t have a personal army at your disposal, there are times I’m sure when you need to give a colleague, team member, training group, instructions or directions for a task or project – and this system is ideal!

Situation This is the background to your task, or a description of what has happened. What were the events leading up to where you are now? ( for years I've been inactive and let myself go physically and mentally)

Again, consider the 5WH of the situation. What has happened? Why is it a problem? Who else is involved? When did it happen/ sequence of events? Where did it happen? How did it happen?

The point of this part of the process is to provide a snapshot or background to the following set of instructions.

Mission So now we know what has happened, the mission is what we need to do about it. The mission should be a short, clear and concise statement of what you want to achieve ( I want to journey towards better health and fitness physically and mentally. At this stage, there’s no need to include any detail – because that’s what the EA&C is for.

Execution Execution is the “how” part of the plan – how you are going to achieve your mission.

Detail the steps required, and again 5WH applies.

What are you going to do? Why? When? Where? Who is involved? How? I have highlighted the WHY because if it is not convincing enough your mission will fail when things get tough and issues come up that are hard to deal with.

The execution part of the process is usually the longest and should provide sufficient information to allow you [or your team] to go and do the job.

Administration The military term is actually “Administration and Logistics” and is about what resources you need to do the job, and how these resources are to be coordinated. Join a gym, use a P/T, join a running or cycling group. New clothing and or shoes.

Command and Communications This is the who’s who of the job – who’s in charge, who do you report to, and how you communicate with each other. Sometimes you need someone else other than yourself to report to. Look for accountability and objectivity.Have a look at the following link for a visual.

 http://youtu.be/vx-8BGAdops

S.M.E.A.C.– for documenting instructions

Situation (what has happened, background
Mission (what you need to do about it)
Execution (how are you going to do it)
Administration (and logistics what do you need to do it)

OODA Loops

                                  Understanding the Decision Cycle

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Has it ever struck you just how many military terms have become everyday terms in business-speak? As well as "fighting off threats" or "engaging in a price war," we talk about "gathering intelligence," "making a pre-emptive strike," and even trying to "out-maneuver" the competition.

War and business are often compared and contrasted. And it's fun to read books like The Art of War, written in 6th Century China by Sun Tzu, and to think about how these can be applied to business strategy!

So, when former US Air Force Colonel John Boyd developed his model for decision-making in air combat, its potential application to business soon became apparent.

Boyd developed his model after analyzing the success of the American F-86 fighter plane compared with that of the Soviet MIG-15. Although the MIG could climb and turn better, the American plane won more battles because, according to Boyd, the pilot's field of vision was far superior.

This improved field of vision gave the pilot a clear competitive advantage, as it meant he could assess the situation better and faster than his opponent. As a result, he could out-maneuver the enemy pilot, who would be put off-balance, wouldn't know what to expect, and would start making mistakes.

Success in business often comes from being one step ahead of the competition and, at the same time, being prepared to react to what they do. With global, real-time communication, ongoing rapid improvements in information technology, and economic turbulence, we all need to keep updating and revising our strategies to keep pace with a changing environment.

See the similarities with Boyd's observations? Brought together in his model, they can hold a useful lesson for modern business.

This tool is very important not only in business but our daily lives. It helps us become better at decisions in our daily life. It is a logical process to follow so you gather the right information to make a good decision for anything. It is slow at 1st untill you get the hang of it and becomes imbedded in your thought processes and then like the fighter pilots it becomes "real time" fast  but it takes work and thoughtful practice.If one of your weak areas involves poor and or slow decision making ,then this is a practical tool to change that into a strength.

Understanding the Tool

Called the OODA Loop, the model outlines a four-point decision loop that supports quick, effective and proactive decision-making. The four stages are:

1.      Observe – collect current information from as many sources as practically possible.

2.      Orient – analyze this information, and use it to update your current reality.

3.      Decide – determine a course of action.

4.      Act – follow through on your decision.

You continue to cycle through the OODA Loop (see figure 1, below) by observing the results of your actions, seeing whether you've achieved the results you intended, reviewing and revising your initial decision, and moving to your next action.

Figure 1 – The OODA Loop Sequence

Observing and orienting correctly are key to a successful decision. If these steps are flawed, they'll lead you to a flawed decision, and a flawed subsequent action. So while speed is important, so too is improving your analytical skills and being able to see what's really happening.

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Let's look more closely at what each stage involves:

Stage 1: Observe

At this initial point in the loop, you should be on the look-out for new information, and need to be aware of unfolding circumstances. The more information you can take in here, the more accurate your perception will be. Like an F-86 pilot with a wide field of vision, you want to capture as much incoming data as possible. The kind of questions you need to be asking are:

·         What's happening in the environment that directly affects me?

·         What's happening that indirectly affects me?

·         What's happening that may have residual affects later on?

·         Were my predictions accurate?

·         Are there any areas where prediction and reality differ significantly?

Stage 2: Orient

One of the main problems with decision-making comes at the Orient stage: we all view events in a way that's filtered through our own experiences and perceptions. Boyd identified five main influences:

·         Cultural traditions.

·         Genetic heritage.

·         The ability to analyze and synthesize.

·         Previous experience.

·         New information coming in.

Orientation is essentially how you interpret a situation. This then leads directly to your decision.

The argument here is that by becoming more aware of your perceptions, and by speeding up your ability to orient to reality, you can move through the decision loop quickly and effectively. The quicker you understand what's going on, the better. And if you can make sense of the situation and the environment around you faster than your competition, you'll have an advantage.

And it's important to remember that you're constantly re-orienting. As new information comes in at the Observe stage, you need to process it quickly and revise your orientation accordingly.

Stage 3: Decide

Decisions are really your best guesses, based on the observations you've made and the orientation you're using. As such, they should be considered to be fluid works-in-progress. As you keep on cycling through the OODA Loop, and new suggestions keep arriving, these can trigger changes to your decisions and subsequent actions – essentially, you're learning as you continue to cycle through the steps. The results of your learning are brought in during the Orient phase, which in turn influences the rest of the decision making process.

Stage 4: Act

The Act stage is where you implement your decision. You then cycle back to the Observe stage, as you judge the effects of your action. This is where actions influence the rest of the cycle, and it's important to keep learning from what you, and your opponents, are doing.

Using the Model

The OODA Loop isn't meant to be a static, linear "do this, then this, then this" type model: it needs to be a smoother, more continual process. With this approach, the faster you can move through each stage the better. In fact, if you were to sit down and map out each step, your decisions would likely slow down instead of speed up.

The goal of the model is to increase the speed with which you orient and reorient based on new information coming in. You want to be able to make a smooth and direct transition between what you observe, how you interpret it, and what you do about it.

When you make these transitions rapidly, you're in a position to be proactive, and you can take advantage of opportunities your competition isn't even aware of yet. Boyd calls this "operating within your opponent's OODA Loop." Here, your competitor is moving too slowly and simply reacting to environmental changes. By contrast, you're working on the offensive, making strikes and forcing them to react to you. 

Tip:
Be careful with this emphasis on speed. In some situations, you genuinely need it. In others, a more cautious, deliberate approach is appropriate. This is likely to be affected by things like the length of product cycle times, the rate of change in your industry, and the consequences of a poor decision.

Key Points

Whether it's looking out for the next big opportunity, making a move before your competitors do, or assessing the current state of affairs, you often need to be sharp-sighted and decisive. The OODA Loop gives you a great way to maintain this vigilance, and be proactive in a rapidly changing world.

By using the OODA Loop, you can be nimble in your decision-making, and make changes to your decisions and strategy quickly and decisivel

http://youtu.be/JIVWM0ldJ6w. Have a look at this video and apply the steps to your daily desicion making. It is very practical tool in all desicion processes, not just business and warfare.

Reflections

I must be getting on in years I think. I am in my 59th year and I seem to be spending a lot more of my time reflecting on what has been going on in my life. The lessons I have learnt, and the lessons that I have been given, but have not learnt from. How I have played my cards when met with success, and non-success. I do not think we fail at anything if we find victory where it's at because you learn a lot from both sides of the coin, and sometimes how you deal and play your cards after success or the achievement of your goals can put you back 10 steps in your overall development. And I am not talking only about physical effort.

Careers seem to be a very important part of people's lives these days and physical effort and practice can be a great playground for the development of skills to deal effectively with the challenges of day to day lives where the stakes can be a bit higher, and how effective you are can change your life and those that are around you, i.e. family, friends, co-workers. By being  the role model, and leader. By living your life and taking the lessons that you learn through your physical practice out into the rest of your world as it is.

One of the aspects of my physical effort is now how I see my fellow competitors. When I was younger all I wanted to do was to beat the person in front of me or my clubmates. I felt this aggressive feeling that they had to be beaten at all costs. Now I look at those people around me during a race and their best efforts, and to use the effort of those athletes or co-workers to draw out the best of myself, it is replacing the "it is all about me" and substituting it with a bigger picture of" we", to draw from their best efforts in a very caring and compassionate environment, and do the same for myself to draw out my best efforts by the inspiration that others around me give. In this way we become integral in that we are all connected.

To be able to do this we need to be comfortable with ourselves. To be grateful for all that we have, and to reframe our small world in a positive way. How we look after ourselves spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, and nutritionally all play a large part in how we see ourselves, and how we can reframe our world in a positive way. Very hard to do on little sleep, poor diet, little or no exercise and the wrong type of activity, and I am sorry but a 20 minute walk the dog while he stops at every 2nd tree for a scent party is not exercise or physical practice. Each day you need the discipline to set aside time to reflect on how you went to-day. How did you improve today and how did you help others to improve themselves. Use the breathing  tools, arousal visualisation, and the mantra that I find very helpful these days is "slow is smooth, smooth is fast". Slow down your thought processes before you act. Develop the skill set to look at yourself in "real time" and how you are going and whether your decisions are reflecting  on yourself and others in a positive or negative way . If things are not going so well, tough times at work, missing your daily physical practice, yoga, and meditation, you need to stop, and spend a few hours in a self imposed retreat to redirect yourself on a subconscious and conscious level, so you can regain your effectiveness. Your physical practice gives you all the physical bodily benefits of achievement but it also refuels your emotional and spiritual parts of yourself to put you "into the right frame of mind" to be able to settle down to a time of contemplation and be able to redirect yourself with decisions based on what values you hold in high regard and the practice of breath mastery, visualisation, and physical decision-making models such as the OODA  loop the SECMAC models which I will have a closer look at in my next blog.

Get back on track having used your tools to make a good plan. Now you need the courage to come forward and give your spirit the nourishment it needs to put your plan into action. The OODA loop was developed by the U.S. Navy fighter pilots to help them think in such a way that they are continuously orientating  themselves in their situation, making a decision, putting that plan into action, and then reviewing that plan, and so the loop goes around again, orientation, decision-making, putting the plan into action, and then reviewing that plan. They get so good at this, that this is the thought process they use flying at quite often supersonic speeds during warfare simulations and the real thing. Your plan may not be perfect but your mission now is moving along getting better every time you complete the loop. Use all your positive tools to feed your dog of courage. Again breath control, visualisation, mantras, posturing, and displaying a Kokoro spirit of never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, giving up. Self mastery is a path to a better life that not a lot of people take on these days. It is a very effective way to be true to yourself and to be a model for others to follow. It does not happen overnight but it will happen with patience, time, and practice to be the master of your own destiny. In mastering yourself you are able to help those that are part of your world down the same path.

" People look at me and laugh because I am different. I look at them and laugh because they all look the same."

Eating What Our Ancestors Did

Learn to Like the Foods that are Simple and Clean

This is a bit of a change from my last couple of articles. But that is the life of an Integral Warrior. The point is to develop yourself as a whole person and lead a balanced life. To do this you need to develop yourself on a number of levels. Yes we all concentrate on the exercise stuff, and that is an important point, but so is developing  your spiritual awareness, emotional awareness, mental intelligence, as well as your physical ability and your nutritional awareness as well.

It is no good committing to a physical practice and expect to get results if your diet is no good, or has not changed for the better at least. It is like a V8 Supercar turning up for a race and putting in the lowest grade of fuel you can, thinking you are saving money and still thinking you can win. Not going to work. Okay maybe your diet is all right, but you work 14 hour days, or run your own business trying to do everything yourself to save money. Heaps of stress, poor sleep,poor diet. It is all piles on top of one another and at 50 years of age you could possibly be a Type II diabetic, or have high blood pressure, will be 10 to 15 or 20 kg overweight and just a bloody hard person to be around. How can you expect results when on some level of your total person you are way out of alignment. You need to bring yourself along on a reasonably even keel. So you can see one part is interlinked with the others. If you are good in one area then you need to be attentive to your other areas as well, "bring them along". What I want to do here is to talk about the nutritional aspect of your whole person as part of being an Integral Warrior.

Now I know you might be thinking just another dammed article on what we can and cannot eat and making our lives in abject misery. Well, yes and no .

My views about Nutrition have changed a lot with since I completed my nutritional course and I am living what I have learned. And I do feel a lot better for it. It does make a difference.

I might start with an interesting quote attributed to Thomas Edison whom I am told invented the motel. When I heard this I thought he did not invent the motel he invented the light bulb and then a light bulb came on in my mind in that all motels have an abundance of lighting to advertise themselves in all different ways shapes and means.What a marketing guru!!!!!. Creating a market for his invention( just joking) . His quote is this, "The mindset, thoughts and decision processes that were used to create the problems should not be used to get yourself out of that hole". Otherwise you are all doomed to failure. The take-home message is, we have to change our mindset and the way we make our decisions regarding what we eat and when we eat. I guess he was trying to say that we have to think out of the box, left of centre and not be stuck in the same old way of doing things simply, because.

Gone are the days when you had to chase a reluctant horse around the paddock  to ride to school, or to a large extent a decent walk to the school bus stop, testament to the huge pile of cars at school at the start and finish of the school day. The hard, hard truth is we are not that active any more, and the type and amount of food we eat is way beyond our level of activity. Food manufacturers spend millions on observing shoppers, and using every trick in the book to get them to buy their product. Have you ever wondered why the Tim Tams are at eye level in the biscuit section and  all the other delicious chocolate coated delights?  The advertising of these products just goes on and on. These people are very skilled. They mostly do not care about how good or bad their product is. They make it with the cheapest ingredients or artificial substitutes, and bend the labelling and advertising laws to the maximum, to maximise their company's profits.

The harsh truth is we are as addictive to the easily digestible highly processed foods with God knows what in them as the people who are addicted to drugs. Do not believe me? Try an experiment on yourself. Don't  eat any processed foods at all for a month  including cordials, lollies, biscuits, cereals, bread ,cakes, pastries and  most things that come in plastic or cardboard. I bet you become pretty damm irritable, because that is what happened to me.  If I had not thrown out all the rubbish in our pantry I would have just binged 'till they were finished.  I tried an experiment with ice cream during my 2nd week of this trial. I really have a weakness for  that stuff. I bought a 2 L container and ate the lot over 2 nights, and I only stopped on the 1st night because I got an ice cream headache!! I hope you get my point. You have to "hold the line" get over the hump.  It does get easier, much easier. For me it was an interesting experiment as I did this while I am training for my 18th Ironman triathlon. I must admit I felt terrible during training initially, with no energy, and I slept like the dead and just mentally felt right out of the game, but after 4 weeks or so, one day I realised I was flying along. My body had finally adapted and that is how it will stay- for life, not just 6 months or 12 months.

OK  you say what is the secret, and I will tell you there is no secret. There is a lot of information out there that makes this whole nutrition "thing" very confusing. Everyone seems to be promoting something. And you can get a scientific study to support almost anything. Yes I am promoting something too, it is called "eating clean".

If we decide to start a physical training program and think that we can eat whatever we want then wrong. Most training plans are 3 to 4 times a week for 45 minutes, 60 minutes, 30 minutes.  Fact:  The body during very high intense exercise, Resistance or Cardio will burn roughly a maximum of 10 calories a minute (sorry walking and jogging and all other activities at the same exertion level do not count) so you do the maths. Most people are not doing that much. 60 minutes equals 600 cal. 30 minutes 300 cal. Go and have a cappuccino and muffin  or carrot cake, whatever,  because you have been so good and you have just added 800 cal. You have just wiped out all that effort in your physical practice. Not getting the results you want? Do not blame the trainer, or the program. Look at yourself, your own mindset and decision-making processes. Could it be you that is holding yourself back? Go back to what Thomas Edison said we really have to think out of the box, we have to change our mindset and the way we think about things to actually get the results that we want.

The basics are this: Plenty of protein. Fish, lean meat, (no processed meat) chicken, eggs, egg whites, whey protein, tofu, legumes, and nuts.

Carbohydrates need to be broken into 2 groups.

High density carbohydrates and Low density carbohydrates. This is really where we need to change the way we look at these 2 food groups.

Carbohydrates per se are not bad. In fact we need them to operate effectively. If your career is a very physically active one i.e. a framing carpenter, then part of your meals need to be high density carbohydrates. And I am talking about pasta, bread, rice, wheat, barley, potatoes. They need this to be able to match their energy needs with their food intake. (Unfortunately it does not include the beer some of them down as well!!) But for the large majority of people these high density grain based carbohydrates are not required to get us through the day and so to make ground with good nutrition we need to rely on the low density carbohydrates. They are fruit and vegetables with a small amount of nuts (not the whole packet) and good quality omega 3 oils. So for the majority of our day, your meals and snacks need to be high in protein with either salads or vegetables with good quality high ratio omega 3 oils found in walnuts and flax seeds and Chia seeds and olive oils. Vegetable and salads are not about cabbage and lettuce. I am talking about tomatoes, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beans and peas, zuchinni, cucumbers, peppers. You get the idea. If you eat a meal that has a good fist size steak, chicken, fish, that takes up one 3rd of your plate, and two thirds vegetables. Your full stomach will win often before you are finished without the huge load of calories that grain provides along with its insulin spike. One of the things we are trying to achieve by (eating clean) is to even out our secretion of insulin and energy that we eat. This poor organ works flat out in most people for most of the day and eventually you wind up with adrenal fatigue, things like type II diabetes, or metabolic syndrome. The more you can keep your insulin levels on an even keel and not spiking up or down the better able you are to control your urge to eat whatever is closest to you.

Make sure your snacks are the same. Some whey protein, various, fruits or fruit salad, a small amount of chocolate, some flax seeds or Chia seeds some flaxseed oil and some milk. If you mix it up in a blender with ice, I can tell you it is a pretty damm  good snack. The only time that we make a change to this is when you do your physical practice i.e. your training program. This is only if you are doing high intensity resistance training or cardio training. With a small snack beforehand, a small whey protein shake mixed with some rolled oats and may be a small amount of honey and afterwards some tuna some rice potatoes or pasta in one or 2 small meals afterwards. If your physical practice is close to one of your main meals then grain based carbohydrates are part of that meal. Your window for these high density carbohydrates is about 3 hours, after that you go back to fruit and vegetables, good protein sources and good quality oils.

So over your day you need: Breakfast, lunch, tea plus 3 snacks or mini meals to replace your normal morning and afternoon tea and a small snack at night. Most people get caught up on all food that you suddenly have to eat and yes the volume of food is increased but not the overall caloric value. What you must do is break up your meals so that you eat smaller meals each time but with more regularity so the total energy for the day quite often will be less but  the volume will be more.

Tea and coffee are okay, but try and drink as much water as you can, but do not force the issue, rely on your thirst.  A big NO is soft drinks unless you have just completed an Ironman triathlon or marathon or other long endurance event. These drinks can be up to and over 350 cal per can. It causes a huge spike in insulin production, it is like throwing petrol on a fire it is a quick burn and then the fire dies down. It is the same in your body. A big hit of sugar a big release of insulin a big release of energy and then it is gone, and then it is I want another can. A vicious circle that leads to a tractor tyre around the middle.

Dairy is a sticking point for some people. Whey protein, low fat cheese, plain flavoured low-fat yoghurt's to add to your protein shakes are all fine. Just keep away from anything dairy that has sugar in it. So no mousses or any other dairy deserts including flavoured yoghurt's, use fresh fruit to flavour your yoghurt's.

One important point I want to make is that no one is perfect. And you do not have to be to get the results. The 80% /20% rule makes this very easy to fit in to modern day life. If you go to a restaurant occasionally or out to someone's party then have a good time and eat what is there. Then when you get back home you go back to what you were doing without feeling the least bit guilty because for 80% of the time you are doing pretty well.

Remember at the start I said something about being Integral Warrior? Nutrition in today's modern world can be likened to a fire storm, a huge battle where the stakes are high. It is your long-term health that is on the line. They are high-stakes. As you age do you want to be medicated to keep some quality in your life, and hand over your health responsibilities to the medical profession, or do you want to stand on your own 2 feet, be fit and healthy energetic and responsible for your own health and those of your family.

Be a leader and be responsible for yourself, for your children, and your grandchildren. It starts with you and then you lead those that you care about along as well. That is what being an Integral Warrior is all about.

The Pick and Shovel of Yoga and Meditation

Balance, Mastery,Focus

THE PICK AND SHOVEL OF YOGA AND MEDITATION

As I have mentioned in my last blog words mean nothing without actions, and so the tools that I use that have been taught to me by Cmdr Divine at the SEAL Acadamy are as follows.

I use yoga for peace, tranquillity, mastery, focus, to set yourself up mentally, and spiritually for your meditation practice. The yoga poses I use are taught at the Navy SEAL  Academy under the name of Warrior Yoga. They are essentially a series of poses to get you to focus intently on your actions of mobility, and flexibility. The tranquillity and mastery flow from these. To mesh one pose into the next, to maintain balance, mastery, requires concentration and all the while focusing on your breath control, and your ability to relax, or you will not be able to complete the movement. These were all things I was not very good at. Again, getting the mind, and body to work together under the leadership of your spirit is very difficult to master. I fell over a lot, and at the very least was wobbling all over the place, but with persistence, consistency, and practice, I noticed that I was getting more balanced, and I have felt more relaxed, and had some sort of control over my movements. Have I mastered it? Not likely!!! That will take the rest of my life . The mastery of my breath also has  improved a lot with time, and became a lot smoother and easier  the more relaxed I am. I'm talking about 5 months of nearly daily practice here, I am only a white belt still. It will take a life time of practice. The words consistency, and persistence have become the bearer of good news as I become better. Now I love doing it. Some days I find myself in the peace, grace, and tranquillity. Other days I feel the movement, the mobility, the flexibility, and the balance. It also sets me up for my meditation practice. At the moment in our classes, Cmdr Divine has us doing Box Breathing, Breath Awareness, Still Water Visualisation and Focused Visualisation Practice. I liked the Box Breathing, because it provides a strong structure as a tool to reach a meditative state. I use Box Breathing most of the time, and  when I want a break, I use the visualisation. At the moment preparing for my Ironman Triathlon I visualise every step of the marathon leg. Every part of that course , nothing escapes my gaze, and how I want to feel, and what to do if things are not going my way. I have the tools. These are very strong tools and with constant  practice are very successful . Box Breathing is essentially being in a relaxed position and breathing in, filling your lungs from the diaphram up, and then holding your breath for a count, say starting at 5, then breathing out, right out and then holding for another count of 5. Breathe in again hold for 5 and then breathe out hold for 5. Cmdr Divine gives us some latitude on how we hold our concentration. He has given us the tools, and we all choose the ones that are suited to our own specific success. I use visualisation with box breathing, and I literally draw a number in my mind. If I start to think about other things,I don't beat myself up. It's very important to stay calm. I choose to bring myself back to the task and I concentrate harder on drawing that perfect number. A simple task, but not easy. Many people think that meditation is about thinking about nothing, this could not be further from the truth. Meditation is the ability to be able to master the thought process in your mind. Another part of box breathing is the "feeling" you have  when you are holding your breath. It is the "how about taking a breath now fella" feeling. You remember when somebody challenged you to swim the length of the pool underwater. You remember that feeling turned into a very strong urge to actually take a breath, but you did not because you knew you would get a lung full of water. It is the same with Box Breathing meditation. The urge to actually take a breath and to renounce that urge produces an intense focus, and concentration on the job at hand. When you do take a breath make sure it is a controlled breath. You do not  fast breathe, you take in one deep breath from the belly all way up to your chest and then relax hold the breath and count again. I can tell you it certainly holds your attention. And even though I am aware of sounds around me they do not impact on my thought processes. The point of all this is to actually master the art of your thought processes. That is what meditation is all about. The mastery of your mind and thought processes. One of the reasons people do not persist with it is that they do not see any difference in a week or two,  or they just forget for a few days and it becomes intermittent, and then the excuses come rolling in, and then they realise that they have missed so much so they give up. But it is a practice which is so important as I am finding out after 5 months, I am starting to notice the difference. I can master my breathing up to account of 10 now, and control it. I can hold that feeling of stillness for 15 minutes without thinking about what is going on today, tomorrow, or what happened yesterday. It is still only a short time. And some days are better than others, but I know if you persist, have consistency, and courage to do something different, to walk the path less  trodden, then you will discover a peace, and  a calm that was not always there. How does all this relate to the 28 km mark of a marathon, or an ultramarathon, or an Ironman marathon. Now in these endurance challenges, when things get tough, you feel the wheels wobbling, and you feel like the end is near, and I am not talking about the finish line. I will now use these tools of relaxation, of breath control, of visualisation and to be able to mesh with the mantra that works for me, "slow is smooth smooth is fast" and instead of worrying about finish times, or pace, or whatever other silly thoughts pop up, the tools of relaxation, breath control, mind mastery will come to the fore, as it has been practised  and as I have said before it is fine to have a goal, but if you keep looking for the finish line, you might just trip over the stone right in front of you. So set that goal and then concentrate on the journey, and success will be yours.

Self Mastery is a Life time project of Improvement

Peace and Tranquillity.
Would you rather be here or in your office 

Kokoro-Unbeatable Mind Yoga and Meditation

The magnificence of the universe

YOGA AND MEDITATION

You hear a whole heap of phrases about "pushing  through, be tough, hang in there," the list goes on and on. As one who regularly undertakes long endurance challenges, I often ask myself what the hell do they all. They are just meaningless words in the end. At the 28 km mark of an Ironman marathon you can hang tough all you want and still fall in a big hole, spit the dummy, or have your "wheels fall off ". What I have come to realise is that you really need some solid tools to use. You need to use those tools to train your mind to pull itself into line, and mesh and be at one with your goals and your spirit. I hate my mind dominating my spirit, and  it was a big reason why I enrolled in a course that has just opened up, called Unbeatable Mind or Kokoro which is the Japanese term. This course is run by the SEAL Academy in America. Interestingly, my teacher is Commander Mark Divine. Commander of SEAL Team one for nearly 10 years. He was a Navy SEAL for 20 years. These days, now retired, he is running an Academy to train seal candidates before they do their selection process. He was getting calls from the general public wanting to participate, to develop themselves into better whole people. And so minus all the military specific training, he has developed a course called "Unbeatable Mind" – Kokoro, . This is the stuff they are teaching seal candidates to help them bring focus, concentration, and intense trust and love of their teammates. These men when on a mission where ever it may be, need to be focused, and aware on a way higher level than the common man in the street, because their life literally depends on it. If you blink at the wrong time, you are dead. Two tools that are reiterated again and again are YOGA and MEDITATION. Who would have thought that these men and women would do something like this on a daily basis to help keep themselves alive. Just like physical practice needs to be undertaken on a regular basis, so does mental training and has for me at least been the missing link in my development. You can be as fit as anything but if your mind wanders all over the place, and you do not have a mastery of your mind  then you could end up with your race in tatters and for the SEALS worse. It is that black and white. Lots of people are attracted to yoga and meditation, but few persist. Why? Well like me they thought it was for sissies and really did not improve anything. I personally saw it as a fad. But when these 2 practices are part of a daily ritual of a Navy SEAL, then it raised my attention level, and gave me the courage to do and try something different. Whenever I have not felt like practising I think of these SEALS, I am all over it then, because I want to attain that higher level of mastery and focus.But like your physical practice it needs time and patience to develop some sort of mastery, infact like the physical side the mental practice should be seen as a life long journey  Never will my mind take over. My spirit is in charge. Because now I have the tools. They just need to become part of me which only time, patience, and courage to tread the road less followed.