(For perspective, I ride over a part of a biking course called tour of the Gila. Lance Armstrong just rode it for the first time in his life this year and left it stating it is one of the hardest courses he has ever rode. Coming from a man who won the Tour De France god knows how many times, it gives you an idea of how mountainous it is here)

So I took one at a time, stating to myself… no more will I walk this hill. At first it was hard because my body always wanted to say, ‘Wanna bet?’ But at the time of riding it, as I focused on my intent, I managed until finally, I could ride the entire way to work.

Next came a problem of diet. Many of you have seen the diet I stick to. Basically protein in the morning, Veggies at lunch. Balanced both for dinner.

Well, it became clear fast that I was riding with too much on my stomach and no energy. And when I got to work, I was in pain and my legs also lacked energy.

So I adapted, went to pasta for breakfast in order to get the sustained carbs I needed, but much less of a breakfast. Then have a small brunch which is in this case 1 can of Campbells Vegetable beef soup (good stuff, 90 calories no soy products in it, its great) around 10am. Then another lunch around 2 with my standard dinner at night. Almost instantly I saw results. Energy through the roof as well as sustained momentum until that 10am meal… which right after I feel nothing as my body gets what it needs. Yesterday I rode the 4 mile route for the first time and did it nonstop, today I did it again and have set my mind that the only thing keeping me from riding is weather (rode home in a downpour once, normally takes me 20 minutes to get home, that day it took 15), when I am hurt, or when I need to do something which requires the car. (Normally getting my food and water to work)

Here’s the study that I derive from the above.

Mindset

Where I started riding my bike about a month ago (actually a little longer, do not remember when I started but I do know it was in July). It had been since February that I was setting my mind to do it. So one must always consider when wishing to accomplish a goal that sometimes it takes a while to set our minds to do something. In my case I was going through knee issues, just moved into a new place… and of course issues with my oldest which worked out well... I always had excuses why I could not. Good or bad, they were enough to keep me away from it. But it started with a decision that I finally made.

Motivation

What finally got me doing it was the cops in my area. When I finally decided to ride, that week alone I had been pulled over 3 times. Never to get a ticket, but face it, when you get pulled over, you know you are facing a person who can give you a ticket for everything. And in my case, my car makes it look like I am not wearing a seatbelt even though I am. Literally had a judge stand 5 feet away from me while I sat in the car with my seatbelt and agreed he could not tell if I was wearing one. Even with that first bike ride… I felt I was getting to work faster then if I drove my car and risked getting pulled over. God bless them I know they are just doing their jobs… but after getting pulled over 3 times in a week for nothing. It wears on your nerves. (and no, I never disrespected them when they did… that is a mistake no matter the situation) I look back on it and wish I had gotten the motivation earlier because now, this is nothing. But how often are our mindsets set by us deciding, ‘this is how life is now’? More often then naught, this is done by what feels good, what we perceive, and yes… what our attitudes have directed us to. Our own attitudes being our motivators in life. Or even worse, kind of like in my case, something which comes along which is so socially un-motivating or negative that our choice is something that prior we would never do. How many of us can look at something we do and think… god I wish I never started doing that? I seriously doubt there is one person here who cannot say that about something. (Would love to be wrong though) In my mind, where I do see that my mindset on bike riding was set due to this. It also is part of another mindset I had of not letting my knee get the best of me. Thanks to bike riding, I have not had knee problems since and feel in fact that it is 100%.

Adjustments Once your mind is set to do something, every else starts falling into place. The water intake, the diet adjustment, all due to the need to continue riding. But also, there were other adjustments that I did not think about or did not focus on as being a part of it. For example, this morning as I was thinking about this post. I noticed that I had not even noticed the first hill until I was past it. It just flew by. My confidence level is higher and because of that, my attitude is changed. My energy level is through the roof and due to the activity, the idea of genetics seems to not play a role. Because I have to tell you, if genetics ruled the day, I would be easily 300 pounds. I have a cousin named Ben who we call Gentle Ben (those who have been around long enough might remember this TV show based on a bear called gentle Ben… this is my cousin. ) who is easily 400 LBS and is simply a huge man. At my average of 200 to 220, I am easily the lightest of all of my family… and this is steadily dropping. Finally, sleep. Prior to the move in February, I could not get to sleep without something (Alteril is great BTW) to help me sleep. Now… I need less sleep and my sleep quality is great. (I sleep about 7 hours a night) None of which requires a pill.

Being open minded No mindset is complete without being open minded to problems. As I pointed out, I do not ride when it rains or might rain (still playing with it, but right now will not ride if precipitation is 40% possibility). I do not ride if I am hurt (as I am still doing martial arts, this happens). Or when I need to do something which will require my car. Once again, how many times have we set our minds to do something… only to derail it because of another mindset? I set my mind to loose weight only to have my mindset that I love chocolate over-rule it. Is this an example of a failed mindset or is it an example of two contradictory mindsets clashing with the most settled winning the day?

Failure is not an option All too often, when ones mindset fails, we either failed (I can’t do it), or succeeded in another mindset. The most productive mindsets will be the ones which are highly adaptable or can fit into many other mindsets. So the mindset of loosing weight for me does not work. I do love food and dabbling. I do have a mindset that I have a weak knee. I do have a mindset that I hate gas prices. So bike riding works great and fits with all of these as it allows me even more room to enjoy food, my knee is not weak anymore, and gas is something I have to worry about once a month if that. In this, it fits many mindsets. However, it is also adaptable in the fact that I know I do not have to do it, I can drive when I need to. But I am no longer reliant on my car for everything. It has also adapted me in many ways. So good mindsets are ones which reward as you go.

Productive mindsets require more responsibility and less emotion. Keep with me here, I am sailing in dangerous seas in this. This is not meant to offend anyone. But I also know it can very easily. And that is because the less responsible we are and the more we allow emotions to guide what we do, the less productive our mindsets are. If one eats when they are depressed, this is a non-productive mindset due to emotion. If one sets a mindset then pursues it to a point that they hurt themselves, this is a non-productive mindset due to lack of responsibility. There is simply no way I could ride a month ago like I do now, I had to take responsibility for what I had done up until then and adapt myself to what I was doing.

Respect your limitations In retrospect, I live a very blessed life. The limitations I have are over-come able or by-pass able. Not everyone is that lucky. Be it personal, physical, financial, we all have limitations we must work in. I cannot speak to such not having knowledge of the limitations one has to face. (Can speak to the financial but the next part to me is more important) Last Monday night, my Kioshi gave me a story which I found very applicable to this. In his dojo, he has a board which shows everyone he has promoted. One particular person on that board he pointed to and told me and another this persons story. I had met this person once as he came to train. The right side of his body barely worked, he could stand, but walking for him was more like step with the left, drag the right. 8 years ago, he had been hit by a car. Shattered every disk in his vertebrae. His back had to be supported by two steel braces and bolts (all internal). Kioshi would look at this and talk to the boys parents asking them if they were out of their minds. But the boy was 18 and could decide for himself. His response…’I am not going to waste away when there is so much I want to do’. My Kioshi developed an entire regimen for him based on one hand strikes… and boy did he learn them. He would go to spar and even go into competitions, being thrown to the ground and hit… but I will tell you, that being his only hand… that was a strong hand, so when he hit you (I never did spar with him) it hurt. He moved to Las Cruces a year ago to work towards a degree and continued…

Three months ago, my Kioshi was asked to speak at his funeral. Kioshi's final words on the subject was, ‘Its very hard to give words at the funeral of a person you helped to raise’. A statement he has made for students who have been in his class since childhood.

Am I stating this with the idea that he did not respect his limitations? I wish I knew enough about him to make such a determination. If I had, I doubt I would have thought that. More to the point, he understood what his limitations were and found ways around them.

Folks, our minds are so powerful. There is very little we can do when we set our minds to it. In his case, he had a real limitation, real in the fact that it is something few of us could even imagine. Much less to do what he did. He had everything against him… and yet, he died a black belt. If he could do such given what was put against him. How much can we do with no such limitations put against us?

/BOWS