I got my bandages off this past Tuesday and while I was excited, I was also very unsure.  Unsure about what?  Let’s just way I walked into the surgeons office over a month ago with little certainty about how much I could do and how hard I could train because of my bicep’s tendon situation … and I walked out of the same surgeons office this past Tuesday with the same questions … perhaps more.  The biggest question of all centers around the fact that I still don’t know to what extent I can push my upper body without risking further damage.  To many, it is a no brainer to stop training heavy and just rely on light to moderate weight stimulus … but I can’t do that.  I have always lifted heavy.  It’s like asking Michael Jordon to stop taking shots and just play defense.

So then, what did I do Tuesday night to celebrate my first training session in over a week?  My stitches were still in so I did the only thing that I could do … RUN.  I thought that it was going to be much more difficult than it ended up being.  I struggled slightly at first, but all turned out well once I got into my groove.  I ran a slightly slower pace (7.0-7.5 MPH) for 25 minutes, but still managed to finish 3 miles.  It felt amazing!  Heck, it felt so good that I’ve been able to maintain a 3.5 mile per day pace since then.

I wrote an article a few months back about the importance of frequent reinvention through the use of continual physical challenges to promote longevity.  This article isn’t just about me … it should be about you as well.  Don’t let life’s setbacks, no matter how frequent, stop you from living your life to the fullest.  When you don’t grab life by the horns, life’s horns will invariably wind up throwing you around and impaling you.  As I’ve aged, I’ve definitely become wiser and much more aware of how vital having and maintaining balance can be.  For example, I have often been quoted as saying, “Before you can expect great things to happen, you must first be willing to do extraordinary things.”   Ten years ago, I meant it in a purely physical way … train heavy to break down the body and induce a net positive gain.  Today, I have a more expanded understanding of that quote … I apply that philosophy to everything that I do and think.  I don’t blame life for its maladies.  Instead, I focus on cause and effect.  What am I doing today to influence what happens tomorrow?  I don’t waste energy on things that I cannot control.  I utilize my talents to foster the talents from within others.  Not just for me and them, but for all.  Just as it takes just one small impact in a pond to create a succession of ripples, so to does it require one small act of good will to influence thousands, perhaps millions to do the same. 

This upcoming week, my challenge to all, including myself, is to share at least one random act of kindness to a stranger.  Notice I said stranger?  It is much easier to be nice to people who we love and know … much, much more challenging to share good will to those whom we don’t.  I am not say to go out and hand someone some money.  It can be as easy as a smile or a handshake.  Do what it is that makes you feel good.  Just in case that stranger does not react in a kind way, don’t give up.  Go to the next one and try again.  It is always easy to give up and walk away, and you can do that at any time.  You will discover ultimately that it is not in the end result, so much as it is in your willingness to try, that will gain you the most satisfaction and reward.  In closing … love often, smile often, and don’t ever forget to cherish the things that are closest to you.  If life is not a journey towards something greater, then why do we eventually die and leave all material things behind?  Just food for thought.