Tag: Change

Day 19 – Gratitude Challenge

There is a current trend on Instagram asking people to post an old picture of you. If you don’t, you will have bad luck for two years. My life changed with a picture. The picture is at the top of this post. I remember taking the picture. It was a seasonably warm November day. The semester was wrapping up and I decided to teach a class in a hoodie. More importantly, I decided to memorialize the moment with a photograph.

Those that know me, know I like to take pictures. I have three primary cameras, a Nikon Z6, Canon PowerShot G7 Mark II, and my iPhone. Two years ago, I set up the Canon on a small tripod outside, used the remote photography feature through my phone, and snapped the photo. I posted the photo on social media with the following:

I’m teaching class today in my @augievolleyball hoodie Why?
1. Because I love the coaches and players
2. Because I can!
3. It’s a great day
4. My @augietennis hoodie is worn out
5. It’s the only Augie hoodie I have
6. My mom will probably appreciate a picture of me.

The post was intended to be lighthearted and funny. It was. But later that day I looked at the picture and said “Something has to change. I can’t be like this anymore.” For two years, I have been living healthier and happier.

Today I am grateful for at least two things. First, I am grateful for my interest in and the gift of photography. Photography captures moments. I love the moment I have captured over the years. Photographs serve as a reminder of the past. While one shouldn’t dwell on the past, it is entirely appropriate to reflect on the past. Second, I am grateful for the ability to change. One has the power to change. You just have to decide and act.

The challenge today, in addition to no complaining (remember day 1), is to ponder your hobbies or passions. Be grateful for those hobbies or passions. I love the stories pictures tell. So today, find an old photo of you and post it…or you might have two years of bad luck!

The Battle is Rejoined

It all started with a picture. A picture of me I didn’t like. A picture that motivated a significant lifestyle change. The picture was taken 20 months ago.

Since the picture, I lost a lot of weight. Most of the weight came off in the first three months. Over the last 17 months, there has been a slight downward trend.

All of this is good. I am still 60+ pounds off my high. I have mostly maintained the weight loss (give or take 5 pounds). I am still walking every day (at least 10,000 steps per day for 899 days). Occasionally I jog. I eat healthier than before. I am still amazed by my progress and celebrate the progress I have made so far.

Yet, I want more. I have a new number and fitness level in mind. My new goal is 20 pounds lower (don’t worry – if I lose 20 more pounds, I will still be “overweight” according to CDC BMI guidelines). My new number is a good number. It will put me down 80 or two softener salt bags. My new number will also incorporate some more weight training to obtain a higher fitness level.

So I will blog about it in real-time this time. So I begin with my why:

First, I believe 20 pounds down will be a healthier and happier weight for me. Second, I want to lower my health risks. For further information, search “health risks of being overweight.” Third, I want to break the pattern. Both my fathers died in their mid-60s. (Note: Both ate poorly, smoked, drank, and got little exercise). Fifth, I want to see my children grow older. Finally, I promised my wife a trip in 2044. I need to be around for this.

So the battle is rejoined. 20 pounds or bust – or 20 pounds is a must. Let the fun begin!

Transitions

At the top of this post, is a picture of a place that was a sanctuary during the pandemic. It is approximately a 2-mile walk from my home. I would come here and look at the flowers, the gazebo, and the trees. I would ponder life and meditate. Today, I came here to do the same. I wanted to teach a class here but never did.

A little over a week ago, I gave my last lecture. Today will be my last class session. In lieu of a final exam, we will watch student-made videos and say goodbye.

This will be one of many transitions that will take place in the coming days. Seniors will be graduating from the institution I have loved for the past 16 years. Most will move into jobs and careers while others will matriculate to graduate school. Those not graduating will transition out of the dorms to home or other summer living arrangements. Many will transition from school to summer work and/or internships. And finally, many students and colleagues will transition out of Augustana into another phase of life (retirement, another school, work).

For me, I will continue my life change. I am moving out of academia back into the private sector (decisions will be made tomorrow). Next week, I will move back into our remodeled home. I will travel to see friends and places not seen for a couple of years (and a few new ones). My wife will transition to one year older and I will follow if a few weeks.

Today, I am pondering all of those transitions and wishing my students and colleagues the best. I hope we can remain connected but I understand that often life takes us in different directions.

I’m not attending any of the graduation festivities this weekend and my office is clean. When I leave Augustana today, it will be the last time as faculty. In the past, I often wondered how I would feel on this day. Joy? Sadness? Relief? Excitement? Mixed emotions? As I sit here on the bench looking at the gazebo, I have the answer. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. Harris out.

Who are you? (Part II)

In recent posts, I discussed identity. Identity is how you view yourself as a person. While identity is how YOU view yourself, we often have identities that others created for us. Further, our identities can conflict.

I did a three-step exercise with myself recently and found it helpful. I brainstormed as many of my identities as I could in two minutes. I utilized “I am” statements to list my identities. Example: “I am a father”, “I am a husband”, “I am a son”, “I am a brother”, and “I am a professor” I tried to cover the various aspects of my life including family, personal, professional, and health. After this step, I got a better picture of my own identity.

The next step provides meaning, importance, and priority to each identity listed in step one. If I am a husband, what does that mean? How important is this identity to me (extremely, somewhat, very little)? Finally, I rank each identity in order of importance and priority. This step takes a bit longer than two minutes. It requires you to dig deep. What does it mean to be a husband or a father? Where does this identity rank compared to being a professor or volunteer?

The third step is to determine if the definition and/or identity is something I wanted to keep, modify, or remove. Of the three steps, I struggled with this the most. It required me to examine long-held identities. In the end, I discovered identities that weren’t my own.

In diving into my various identities, I recognized that many of my identities came from other people. Put another way, most of MY identity was not MY identity. My identity evolved from what others believed I should be. My identity as a husband came largely from what I had observed from my father and what society expects of husbands. Similarly, much of my identity had its roots in how and where I was raised. This isn’t necessarily bad but it allowed me to modify some of my identities to meet who I really want to be.

Perhaps the most revealing part of the exercise concerned my professional identity as a professor. I became a professor, in part, to be a better father and husband. I wanted a career that allowed me to have a flexible schedule which allowed me to spend more time with family. The family was more important work. Yet, over time, my identity as a professor became more intertwined with my employer. Further, being a professor became more important and took up more of my life. Where initially the identity was a vehicle to be a better father and husband, it ended up actually harming the other identities. Had I recognized this sooner, I could have changed course sooner and avoided the unintended consequences.

This leads me to my final point for this post. Identity can be changed. In fact, identity should be changed. The world is changing all the time. James Clear provides a three-step process to jump-start an identity change and creation of identity-based habits. First, name the goal you and/or identity you want to achieve. Second, in one sentence describe the type of person who would achieve your goal. Third, list five very small steps you can take to become this person. Do each step for a week before moving to the next step. After five weeks, you will be closer to the new identity than before.

Do something today that makes you better tomorrow. Grow each day.

Weekend Thoughts

At the beginning of the year, I purchased two daily calendars: “Golf Tip-A-Day” and “YOU are a BADASS” One calendar provides inspiration, motivation, and guidance in life. The other calendar provides guidance for golf which is a hobby of mine in the summer.

Today, the comments appeared to intersect. One said “If it’s something you want to do, don’t wait until you’re less busy or richer or ‘ready’ or twenty pounds lighter. Start right now. You’ll never be this young again.”  The tile of the other is “Thinking of making a swing change?”  It advises that “If you are thinking of changing your swing, you should first make sure that you are doing the right thing.”  It goes on to caution that “[o]ften, change is difficult to accept as it may feel awkward and uncomfortable.” 

At first glance, the two appear to conflict with one saying act now and the other don’t act until you’re sure. Yet, a deeper analysis shows they complement each other. There is good advice in each. Here is my take. First, determine where you need to make a change and make the decision to change. Second, investigate the most effective way for you with the help of experts and/or people who made a similar change. Third, act and implement the change. Finally, understand that change is uncomfortable. Have a great weekend.

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