The first Sunday

THE LAY OF THE LAND

Merely a reconnaissance mission and not a battle. How is this all looking?

The first 3 days have really been a continuation from Christmas, but the 5am starts and exercise routine has been started successfully. I've read through a few of the previous posts and I can see where there's going to be a lot of work to fully understand what I've learned from 2015 and where it can be consolidated and put to good use.

So today marks the last day of the old routine and tomorrow, Monday, will be a first step out into the unknown terrain ahead, with my senses primed and wits fully about me.

Keeping The Journal Alive
I'm going to start a personal one paragraph diary where I'll keep track of the daily progress, make milestones on what I've been up to and achieved. There'll also be some notes taken on my mood diary, with gratitude and affirmations, plus visualisation board at home and on Pinterest.

My weekly and monthly findings will be posted on the new Blog ffc2016.

Taking A Review Of The Positives

A QUESTION OF PERSONAL TASTES

We all have different tastes in what we like and don't like. For certain open minded people (myself included), trying and experiencing new and different things in life is what's enjoyable and doing the same boring thing all the time, not much fun and hence not enjoyable.

On the whole enjoyment scale, there's many shades of grey. For others who have definite tastes, this means their preferences are very black and white. They either like something or they don't - ie, they have very distinct opinions of things that can make them happy and equally make them unhappy....sometimes even really angry. 

I appreciate that there are certain activities or foods etc. that can bring about feelings of great pleasure but I find it so strange that someone can strongly dislike certain things in their life to the point of rage. We're not talking about injustice or corruption here, we're talking about not replacing the soap or the loo roll in the hotel loos and then to tell everyone else about their long whiney opinions via the internet....it all seems such a waste of valuable time.

Yet, if you read through reviews on sites like Trip Advisor, you can see there's hoards of people expending their time - dragging out their misery even further by leaving long negative reviews - mostly on such trivial matters that it boggles the mind at how these people can enjoy anything at all. Why do they do it and do they realise that nobody really cares? We ideally need a filter to switch off all these types of reviewers so we can read the most helpful of reviews.

Thing is....I really like Trip Advisor, mostly because I can read these sad reviews. Although they offer nothing to me for making a decision on staying at a particular place or not, they are entertaining. And, the madder they are, the better it makes me feel about my own judgements and general positive outlook. I know I shouldn't laugh at some of the ridiculous reviews that people write up on their miserable holiday and I really wish I could help them to see how ridiculous they are being about their loo roll not being replaced, but it seems some people thrive on finding problems with even the greatest things in life.

Visiting some of my quirky and most favourite places a couple of weekends ago, I couldn't help but get swept up in some of these miserable people's lives and get dragged down for a while myself. Thankfully, I was able to move to a spot out of earshot and it was there in that moment that I realised how poor a lot of people's lives are. Having one of the most idyllic views in the UK on a beautiful sunny summer's day, with a cold beverage in my hand and the girl I love at my side, I pulled myself back through after being subjected to the negative energy around me.

It struck me at that moment, that I have a duty to speak up for the sane. I just had to put my first review on Trip Advisor to counter the negative reviews. I now vouch to do more positive reviews - giving credit where it's due - to counter the bad reviews, so others may benefit from hearing how a positive life experience should be. 

The Value And Excellence Scale

QUALITY NEEDS VALUES

Revisiting Georgham - another favourite spot in North Devon this week, we were again reminded about the 'UP' and 'UP AND OVER' theory that I proposed at the start of the trip.

On this journey, it's been clearly shown where some places have continued to thrive while others have lost out to complacency. Reliance on previous good ratings must be a common problem for many establishments. If they seemingly drop the ball for even a moment to allow disgruntled customers to leave a low rating on Trip Advisor, it can mean a decline in visitors & revenue - which then has a knock-on effect with the quality of staff employed and further adds to the downfall of a potentially great establishment as they struggle to cope with tired, over-worked, under-qualifies staff. 

We witnessed this effect recently at one place where they clearly failed to appreciate the relevance of leadership - leaving inexperienced staff at the helm in the True Lovers Knot), who didn't pay heed to the small details (bizarrely, replacing loo rolls is high on the list for complaints on Trip Advisor) and lost focus on the fact that the customer is always right. It's amazing what a complimentary desert or drink on the house can do to correct a minor - or even a major niggle - yet this has rarely been offered in the places where I've had to speak up lately.  

It's not just the establishments that fail to recognise leadership and over-delivering on service for retaining happy punters, it can also catch out the long established venues too. So many places think that having good reviews entitles them to hike up the prices. They need to retain a measure of humbleness like Pumblechooks do - a particular favourite of mine in East London, yet they get above themselves time and again. This is a big problem for a lot of places that I've frequented over the years and why very very few stay 'UP' (certainly in my estimations) for very long. 

It's a fine balance giving quality and value at the same time. The Kings Head in Hursley had it but alas, has it no more. But the Kings Arms in Georgham had - and still has it 10 years on. It's a real achievement, even with new management and so many different staff over the years, to retain the core values that mean this place can provide such a high level of quality food & drink. And all delivered with consistently great service at such great value, in comparison to the many other over-priced places around today and likely, not tomorrow. 

Healing

HEALING WITH YOGA

Since the beginning of the year, I've embarked on a mission to improve my health, wealth and happiness for a more focussed approach to living in 2015 and beyond. Now three months in to the year, I've firmly established a new, more positive routine, removed some harmful habits - forming more health-enhancing ones in their place - and over this relatively short time frame, already noticed marked improvements in many aspects of my life.

I took a Yoga class yesterday and was talking to one of the attendees about the class afterwards and we discussed how great it makes us feel and how everyone should do it. It's benefits are beyond just the physical. Not only does it help us to move better - giving us more flexibility and core strength, but also, just by the very nature of taking the time to focus on our body and it's movements, makes us more mindful, calms the thoughts away from the stresses of the day and brings us into the moment.

Yoga has saved my sanity
This is true. Working in a high-stress environment for so long has been having an effect on the way I respond/deal with stress. I, hadn't really noticed it until very recently, whilst on holiday last year. I'd had a tough year at work - as had everyone I work with, and the office was taking on a toxic energy that had depleted my reserves to the point of exhaustion. Luckily, I'd saved back enough holiday to take a last minute week-long break to the sun and for the first few days, I just switched off (literally and metaphorically) from the stresses of home. On the third day, I turned on my iPhone and a barrage of emails poured in from work which incensed me so much, that it instantly triggered a state of rage. I was filled with adrenalin, pumped and primed for war to the point where even our holiday neighbours had to come over and say something as my anger was affecting them too - how embarrassing.

What was really amazing to me, was my mood's change from serenity to anger. From the moment it was triggered, to it's intense peak took no time at all, but, calming back down took all day long. I went to bed exhausted that night and took the rest of the week to recover myself back to a serene state of mind. My partner pointed out that I'd been like this before, and suggested I do something about it as it was not good for me or anyone else around me who it also impacted.

It was on my return, when my happiness was tested again. The first day back to work, I made a decision to focus on how best to deal with this issue. I removed anything that could create negative emotion or hinder me from controlling my thoughts. So, I restricted alcohol for the next few weeks, got off to bed early every night and limped through the last few days of work to the Christmas period where I knew I'd have more time away to try and re-capture the serenity in my again. It was over this festive period, with time for reflection that I made a decision to change - and Yoga was first up on my list.

MRI Update

So back in Jan I wrote about my neck and weak bicep. Fixing this ailment has been one of my key motivators for change in 2015. The January post on MRI scans taken 2 years ago, showed a compressed disk and chipped vertebrae in my neck, with some compression on the nerve possibly affecting strength in my right arm. The symptoms have affected my work, sleep and ability to do the hobbies I love, like climbing and cycling. These hobbies have been an outlet to combat the stress at work and without them, I'm unable to properly switch off. So I've been on a mission to rectify the problem to enable a healthier life where I can enjoy these activities again. I've been actively monitoring and healing through doing my own rehabilitation and exercise sever since. 

From the beginning of Jan, I've stuck to a steady routine of 2-3 yoga sessions a week, some Pilates, core conditioning and a bit of light weight training. I had another positive comment from my yoga teacher yesterday who's noticed improvements in my flexibility and overall yoga practice. One of the class commented on how well and peaceful I look too.

Yoga is working miracles and all the feedback I'm getting is evidence of it's many healing benefits! I can see there's much more movement in my joints and my posture is straighter, lower back strength and neck mobility have definitely all gotten a lot better. Compared to before Christmas - I now feel tip-top!

Here's the scan with no significant changes indicated from what I see in the images. But what do these scans really show anyway? It's how WE feel that matters and, the consultant could immediately see more movement and better physical condition as proof. Something else is at work here - maybe he yoga has some part to play? I know I've been able to do more of the activities I love doing, so my self-healing programme is working for me. At the end of the day, we can't rely on MRI scans and a doctor to tell us when we're healthy/recovered. We have to take the initiative for improving recovery success ourselves.

It's only been a few months focussing on improvements and I'm confident that a continued, mindful approach to wellbeing, which includes my new yoga lifestyle, will reverse the damage done by the various stresses in life, promote even more healing over time and keep me youthful for longer. According to yoga philosophy, it's the flexibility of the spine, not the number of years, that determines a person's age.

Another thing I'm looking at and possibly why we feel better on some days rather than on others. Bio-rhythms. Reading up on the body's natural rhythms, I can there may be something in this and according to my generator results, there's confirmation that I'm on my game today!

Safe Sanctuary

RETREAT, REGROUP & REWARD

It's been a tough start to the year and it's time to pull back the troops from the front line, dress the wounds, heal and recharge the energy levels. 

Self Assessment

The most important thing I've learned about making life changes since starting on this new lifestyle from 1st Jan this year: Self assessment - ie. taking daily checks on any progress....schedules, goals and energy levels for making these good things happen. Without maintaining good mental & physical health - none of these positive achievements would be possible. Checking the status quo every day means any deviations from sleep/diet can be corrected and the energy levels can be kept in the green/amber rather than red zones. It's amazing how seemingly small things like skipping a meal or having one hour less sleep, can affect our productivity. Without regular assessments, we don't really pay proper attention to these energy dips until they manifest in physical/mental drops in performance - ie. injury & illness. 

Know your limits

When you're young, you have an amazing capacity to heal/recover/adjust to deviations from any sleep and energy changes. Your body's natural ability for healing means even sustained periods of general abuse/mistreatment can be corrected easily. This ability to heal, although still possible over longer time periods is not as easy to do and may not be a full recovery as we get older. 

The painful truth

I can remember feeling invincible at 26. I used to push my physical limits, always working and playing hard. I would always bounce back from overdoing it. From the early to mid 30's, there's been a change in appearance - greying hair, lines around the eyes and ailments popping up 'seemingly from nowhere' but I've been living the same lifestyle in my mid to late 30's that I did in my 20's and still thought I was 'bouncing back'. I've repeatedly dropped my energy levels into the red zone and the last few years have thrown up some clear signals that the body isn't 26 anymore. We don't want to face up to the fact, but once we do accept ageing and hatch a plan to manage damage limitation, we can adjust our levels of input/output and allow ourselves more quality healing time. This is essential if we want to keep doing the things we enjoy and stay looking and feeling vital/younger through to old age. 

This is why - although I have some major responsibilities on at the moment, I'm taking time by myself to visit my safe sanctuary in order to get my energy levels back on track. This will see me return fresh and ready for the next battles ahead. 

Peak Time Performance

"

THE RIGHT TIME TO PERFORM

We're on day 23 - just over 3 weeks into the new focus regime for 2015. The discipline has been applied consistently. It's been a steady march on the chosen path. Friday's are always time to reflect on the week, so it's time to evaluate and see if there's been any marked improvements.

Health:

I've been following a fairly low impact exercise routine that includes yoga, pilates and boxing. I cycle to work and back most days a week. I've also introduced a new strength training programme. I can clearly see/feel that the 3-4 times a week yoga & pilates, has improved my movement/flexibility and posture. The cycling, and gym work has helped up my general fitness, strength and stamina levels. In regards to the injuries - my neck has more mobility and my shoulders and right bicep appear to be getting better/stronger. Through diet, I've lost almost a stone in weight! (13lbs or 5.5kilos) and my definition is coming back through. My energy levels are up because I'm sleeping and eating much better and I'm able to cope with stress really well. 

Wealth:

Introducing the dry Jan rule has been an easy way to save money as there's been no money spent on alcohol. The Paleo diet means I've stuck to a very simple diet: eggs, fresh vegetables, lean meat & fish - fairly in-expensive too. Also, having a restrictive diet makes eating out a bit tricky - consequently, there's been little of that either. It's been fresh, home-cooked non-processed simple meals all round. But on the couple of times I have eaten out, the bills have been very low - especially as there's no alcohol in the mix!

I've spent some of my new free time organising my accounts, expenses and tax receipts - which has already saved on accountancy fees. I may also be saving considerably more money with a tax rebate too!

Happiness:

I've found some really great inspiration and info on the Internet - I'm actively learning, improving and creating every day. I feel and look healthier physically and mentally. Creating space for me at the most productive time in the mornings, means I have plenty of time throughout the day to accommodate others' needs. I'm more grateful of what I have and in a better mindset to appreciate the things around me that were taken for granted before. I have a positive outlook every morning and ready for what the day brings. 

Being at your best

Nobody wants to hang around with dull, depressive & negative people. But we do like being around energetic, uplifting, happy and positive people. So, which one are you today? How often are you like this? In your morning 5am comms meetings, take a bit of time to give yourself a daily check - kinda like the pilots do before flying a plane. This is how mine goes:

• How's the body feeling?
• Do I need to stretch?
• Am I rested/do I need more sleep?
• Is my mind clear/focussed?
• What's on the agenda?
• What nutrition do I need?
• Am I ready to take on the day?

According to sleep studies, you're optimum time for being the most productive is from about 7am til about 11am - then it drops to around 3pm when your energy is at it's lowest. So, If you can nap - do it at 3pm but keep it short because your energy goes up again at around 5pm (dropping off at around 9pm). If napping's not an option - this is when we tend to reach for caffeinated drinks and sugar fixes - switch for water and fruit & nuts instead. If you're going to bed earlier, you can change your internal body clock for optimum productive time to start at 5am. This gives you a few hours of quality time on your own to think and create.

I've realised making this extra time has had a massive improvement on my mental wellbeing. I'm one of the uplifting and positive people you'd wanna hang around with again. I believe everyone can benefit from doing this - and particularly introverts (see Meyers Briggs post) and the interesting book Susan Cain has written on the subject of living in a predominantly extroverted world. It can be energy sapping for an introvert if they don't get that time alone. I've found myself hiding from people at work, friends and my beloved girlfriend because I've not had the me-time during the day. If left for longer periods, this has manifested in periods with very low moods and extreme introversion whereby going deep in to my cave for recovery. While looking up the benefits of solitude, I stumbled upon Susan's insightful book which talks about introversion and coping in a predominantly extroverted world. I work in an open-plan office but as we're now able to 'hot-desk', I've managed to move away from distractions and into the designated quiet areas, which has left me in a much better place to produce good work.

I'm sure there's a lot of introverted thinkers out there who, stuck at their desk in an open environment, just don't have the luxury of being able to move to another place to work. Having everyone out in the open is a relatively new phenomenon and something that we need to look at in the workplace if we're going to have a happy, productive team.

For me, working in a creative role, keeping away from distractions and having a place of calm & order is key to ensure I'm at peak performance for longer to produce the best output.

Keeping It Real

EUGENE SANDOW

He didn't have tech. He didn't even have a special diet. But he had a phenomenal physique - honed through hard work & self discipline, following a regular training routine. It sounds like he lived a fairly regular lifestyle (he made a lot of money by the sounds of it so had free time) but ultimately he died young - likely from over-exerting himself. So, I'm not going to be two hard on myself about eating the 'wrong' kind of food occasionally for - let's face it - the sake of vanity. Yeah, I do want to fix my ailments and I'm loving the yoga, but I miss the pub and friends - so I know this routine will have to be a bit more flexible eventually. It's also proving to be quite tough getting up at 5am every morning. To get 8 hours a night, I'd have to be asleep at 9pm. That means no real social life and my partner and I are like passing ships! The key is balance. After 2 weeks of no drinking and 14 days up at 5, it's starting to feel a bit like drill camp. I'm also writing quite long blogs every day - which, I'm very pleased with - but are taking a bit more time than I'd like to spend on them and not leaving room for much else.

Next Two Weeks
I'm going to try and keep the blogs a lot shorter - maybe focus on just one topic. Then I'll write-up some pages with more researched content in and publish those every week or so. the plan is to keep writing something ever day - for the whole year. But I'll be a lonely single man if I carry on the way I've been going. Here's what I'm going to do:

5am Starts
I'll stick to these every day - even weekends, but if there's a social and late night, I'll get up when I need to get up - be it 5, 6 or 7am - I'll still find quiet time that day but won't knacker myself out.

Diet
The Paleo diet is very restrictive. I haven't craved bread, pasta or potatoes - but if I find myself in a position or at a social event where there are little other options, I won't beat myself up about it if there's a bit of the 'wrong' food on my plate.

Exercise
Listen to your body. I feel a bit jangly after doing a heavy training session yesterday - so I'm going to take it easy. Currently, the only day off is Monday - but if I need to rest, I'll rest. I'm going to stop climbing in the evenings as this is effecting my eating pattern and not helping with my bicep and shoulder injury.

Zen Yoga On A Rope
I love climbing, it's like doing yoga on a wall.There's a few great climbing centres in London. Westway has great lead climbs (for more advanced), The Castle has lead and bouldering - plus it's a pretty cool venue, The Reach looks good for leads (yet to try it) and The Arch @ Biscuit Factory is good for short bouldering routes. My true home is Mile End Climbing Wall and my local pub is The Palm Tree - the last bastion of East End London.

Take Stock
The changes are happening - and it's been a good, hard start to the year - it's time to take stock, measure and find a balance. So, while there's not much fresh material on this page - it's another milestone and on reflection, I've been performing BETTER than I could have hoped for. The discipline has been amazing considering how I can be (especially mixed with alcohol) but for creating more free time, there'll be a slight change to the formula starting from tomorrow.

Leaner, Stronger, Faster

HAPPY FOOD

So, it's nearly two weeks since I stopped drinking and I'm really starting to notice the difference in my energy levels and general positivity. The guy's who I regularly see at the reception to my office - one of the security team, asked what I've been doing, as I seemed different in some way - more vibrant and extra friendly (jeez, I must have been such a moody b*stard before!). I explained my diet and the early starts and he said he'd like to lose a bit of weight and was on a diet too - It is Jan after all...Thing is, I reckon his diet is wrong for him as it's essentially giving him a lot less food than a man of his size needs and especially as he stands outside in all weathers, he'll be feeling it in the cold at this time of year. I've passed on the Paleo info - and I'm going to send him a link to the blog today. I've also spread the word to my partner and a good friend to see if we can get our beach bodies back in a month!

I've been reading the Paleo book by Robb Fox and starting to get a better understanding of how our digestive system works to break down the food we eat and how we use it as fuel. This is why I can see the Paleo diet really works. I ate well yesterday, cutting out the carbs as much as possible and taking on my daily amount of protein. This seemed to give me enough energy to take two intense yoga classes. The first was a dynamic yoga class with Geraldine of The Radiant Hand - these are excellent teachers who really teach yoga through discipline - giving clear direction, watching, walking the room and correcting poses. I'm starting to get a real flow now, my flexibility is really coming on and I believe I actually got an 'excellent' yesterday, my first - and coming from this teacher, it has spurned me on even more! The second class was at Fierce Grace in the City. I tried Bikram yoga before and liked the intensity of the stretching in the hot environment - and Fierce Grace is a newer cooler version of Bikram - with music. The class I took was 1.5 hours long and equally as much of an endurance test in the 40+ heat!

We had food after - tricky eating out on a Paleo diet but Busaba Eatai have some grill options and I went for the cod stir fry with broccoli, garlic and shitaki mushrooms instead of rice. I had to take my lemongrass tea without honey in it but it was still sweet anyway. I confess, I ate the cashew cookies (it's my weakness). The greatest thing about the meal was the bill, as it is 50% for the whole of Jan - and you can go as many times as you want!

Restocking the cupboard
Day 3 on the Paleo diet - and it's time to get the right foods in. So, we've been down the supermarket at 7am buying meat and fish amongst other things...

Funny how giving up drinking gives you more time - but it can leave a bit of a void for what to spend your money on...I'm really trying to save money, but so used to getting the wallet out - so the motivation for going down to Aldi at 7am this morning as it opened, was to make the most of picking up this week's offers! Aldi now has an organic range and it's a good place for getting packaged meats like ham, turkey and chicken and great value for buying bags of nuts and fresh veg, fruit etc. We also need to stock up on quality fish & meat - we have Waitrose and Sainsbury's very near - but there's a great butchers called Chadwicks also nearby (who also do delivery) that's going to have the best grass fed beef and free range stuff in the store - plus we have a locally sourced fish mongers that comes to our farmers market every saturday which I'll be buying from. My parents befriended our local butcher to ensure always getting the choicest cuts...and we ate really well as a kid. It's going to be more expensive as a rule, but if there's a proper fish mongers or butchers nearby - it makes sense to make the most of it.

Improving digestion
The daily dose of Aloe Vera is really helping keep away any stomach issues and sticking to less acidic and non spicy foods is helping too. I've also been taking a supplement called Argi+ with anti-oxidants and vitamins - including L-arginine which is claiming to aid faster recovery after training. I've noticed that when taking before and after climbing or mountain biking, I've had less aching muscles the following day. I'll have to continue taking it to measure longer term benefits.

I'm not drinking tea or coffee during the day - but having an espresso in the mornings after eating. I've taken to regularly drinking freshly squeezed lemon in hot water (no honey or sugar added now though) and having a shot of Milk Thistle first thing in the morning - allegedly good for liver function.

Fit and Flexible 
First proper week back on the exercise routine. Here's how it's been in the week so far...

Tuesday was the first day back on the early boxing routine - really enjoyed pushing myself physically and mentally, it really helps to clear any angst or frustrations. I noticed a change in the core strength immediately after doing 100 situps at the end of the session. If you're in the London area and a member of Fitness First - we're having the sessions every Tuesday morning at 7.15-8am. If you'd like to know more and to join, email me at fitclubbox@gmail.com

Wednesday was a double helping of dynamic and hot yoga. I'm really starting to notice the difference in my flexibility and posture and my lower back aches and stiffness seem to have subsided considerably. I've got a great iPhone/iPad app for the days when you just want a quick 20 minute session at home or are on holiday - it's called Yoga Studio - available on the app store.

Thursday is my personal training day. So I'm going to really push myself and with all the good food I've been eating, should be on top of my game today. The guys at Ultimate City Fitness really know their stuff! Sign-up to get their daily newsletter giving advice on personal training, nutrition and achieving a leaner, stronger and fitter you. I'll be posting my routines up on a separate training page at some point in the near future.

Touch and Go
I realise I'm spending considerably more time on the keyboard typing these days. I should know where the keys are after 20 years using a computer but I just do two-finger typing. So I've decided to teach myself to touch type. I've been using this great free typing tool called Typing Club and after doing 20-30 minutes a day for 5 days - I'm up to about 20 words a minute! There's still a lot a of work to do before I'm speedy enough to be using this method full time - but it's a start.

A final note on speed
Saving seconds from my day to do the important things by being efficient, are part of my research on how to do things better. I wrote in a previous post about using a long-life, aluminium free deodorant and said I'd come back to it soon. So, I applied a very liberal amount of cream on Monday morning. I've washed 1-3 times every day with soap and water, but haven't had to re-apply any deodorant in 4 days. That's pretty good considering all the sweating I do. So this product is £8 but it's meant to last for over a month. That means I don't have to carry deodorants around with me in my gym bag, saves me time and could save money in the long run - plus it has to be better for me not using aluminium products. This will be great for festivals me thinks...

It's not that I ever get a chance to smell, because I wash a lot - 1-3 times a day typically. I'm usually having a shower after cycling in to work in the morning, one at lunch time if I'm hitting the gym and one in the evening after cycling home. Do I need to wash so much - probably not? I'm also getting through a lot of shower gel - so I only use soap now. I've got a small bar of aloe soap (which you can get from Holland & Barratt) and a Speedo sports towel - which is small, light, faster and more efficient for drying yourself off with - it can also be used as a flannel if, like me, you don't want to wash yourself away with constant showers. It's easy to carry around and you don't have to wait for it to dry like a conventional towel - just wring it out!

The First Milestone

ADJUSTING TO A NEW SLEEP PATTERN

I've managed to keep the 5am starts going for a whole week now! It was fine the first day, then the 2nd day I stayed a few minutes longer in bed quietly contemplating the day, the 3rd day was the same, I nearly fell back to sleep on day 4 and then day 5 onwards I've had a better way to get myself up and motivated.

The Key to getting up early:
– Bed early. Go to bed when you start to feel tired - I missed my slot a couple of days this week and struggled to get in...resulting in an even later time and less hours sleep
– Eat light. Eating a steak or or other types of meat, will generally take more energy to digest. So avoid anything heavy, start with a protein rich breakfast, have a substantial lunch and keep the evening meal plain/simpler, with fish, pulses and vegetables.
– Eat early. I try and eat before 7pm. I have a decent canteen at work, so this is easier for me to stick to, as like many people these days, working/travelling means I don't get home from work til after 7pm.
– DON'T have a snooze option. OK, so I nearly fell back to sleep on day 4 but having a sleep function gives your lazy voice the chance to kick in and convince you to stay in bed. Turn it off - remove the option for a snooze and you have to get up!
– Prepare yourself the night before. I tell myself that I'm getting up no matter what the voices tell me on waking. I have my list of things to do and everything at my work place ready in order before going to sleep.
– Use your inner drill sergeant. Mine says '1-2-3 UP!'
– Get a tight routine going. When the alarm goes, I first flood some oxygen into my body with 3 deep yoga breaths - then the voice kicks in and i'm up, into the kitchen to switch on the kettle, then bathroom, where I splash cold water in my face to wash the sleep out of my eyes, then back into the kitchen to have a 60ml shot of Aloe Vera, drink a glass of water and make a hot drink. I have my start routine down so I'm ready to go at 5.10.

The no drinking rule:
So this other rule also has a 1 week anniversary today. One of my best friends is having a 'wet the baby's head' tonight...in a pub of course. Whereas the girls get together and sew names on to baby grows, eat and drink maybe a glass of wine or two – it's traditional in the UK to get a few pints in - certainly that's the case in my circles. These are guys that like a drink (no food) and the same guys that rib me for my manliness - usually 'cos I'm in a brightly coloured jumper - and consequently, I'm usually the one ordering whiskey chasers by the end resulting in crashing on a sofa at someone's house and waking with a fuzzy head! So tonight will be a real test. It has to be zero alcohol - having one drink can slip into two, into three, 4
four, five...there never is a one - this is FACT. So I'll also want to avoid the caffeinated beverages and keep the sugar levels down too if I'm going to make 5am tomorrow. Not sure if I'll use the old antibiotics/medication cover story or be bold and come clean about my no-drinking rule. My sergeant major voice just chimed in - so I'll be bold!

The result of a week's no drinking and 5am starts...
I've been in a much more productive mood. The extra 3 hours in the morning are allowing me time to plan, organise and get down my ideas. I'm doing a 3hr session for myself when I'm at my optimum. Then the 8 hours at the office are more productive from the moment I arrive. I'm able to better react to situations where others are stressed - staying calm - responding with a smile, civil and forgiving attitude. I can see a clear path of actions by assessing the status quo morning and evening – writing this blog, I've taken ownership of my days rather than letting each one slip away – I've been able to lift my head and look around me to see what I'm normally oblivious to.

The first week has gone very well!
This is the fantastic view from my window last night...

Healing Body First Steps

SECOND DAY OF 2015

How's it going so far? After getting up early yesterday and with no hangover, I was able to write a short entry into my blog and relax a little knowing I'd started the year on a good foot. A massive step considering all the other temptations to go out late on NY and sleep in the next day – plus a real positive considering my mis-trust of the internet. I'll come back to the topic again at a later date but just a little on the subject here... I got into bed (early again) after a lazy day watching a couple of pretty decent films, read a little and used the quiet time before sleep to think about what I wanted to achieve the next day. A good bit of this time was taken up with preparing in my mind, the next instalment for my journal and sharing my words on the internet. We have such a powerful tool to discover pretty much anything that we wish to learn – and there are so many people out there willing to give their advice for free – and yet, I'm actually wary of putting any of my opinions, findings and (I'm over 40 now, so justified...) wisdom out there. I struggle with Facebook (to the point of never using it) and I haven't even gone public with this post – or allowed comments....yet. One step at a time....thing is, I have a real issue trusting the integrity for what is shown on the web and difficulty connecting to others in a virtual space, which stops me using the internet in the way many others do - and I'm likely missing out.

The last thing I looked at before going in – was an email from my dear friend, Dean. It was on the subject of healing injuries which is exactly what I needed to look at today!
It's interesting how those things that you open your eyes to – stuff that is all around you all the time but you just don't 'see' – seems to 'jump' when you need them. I've read about this – I've watched video clips and talked with friends about the 'magical' things that happen when you're in the right head space. It's kinda like when you buy a new car. Suddenly everyone has the same car and even the same colour – and the reason you're reminded of that same car/colour is because it's new and you love your new car. My reasoning is that to keep yourself in the right head space and to keep 'plucking out of the air' all those thoughts and acting on all the new found wisdom you've taken on board and to then make progressive improvements – you need the time to be in this receptive head space and you need to have that fresh feeling regularly. This is where the blog writing comes in. Keeping a fresh, daily journal is the way to remind myself, cement the thoughts and track progress. I'm on holiday today – so I have the head space, but as of next Monday, it's going to get messy in my thoughts again and I'll have to find that time with the 5am starts. Let's see if I can keep this going for a week...

So, to get back to the healing first steps.
I have a weak right bicep – likely caused by injuries from neck and shoulder accidents from my younger snowboarding past. Other muscles are over-compensating (and consequently getting injured too) and because I continue to be active in my hobbies (climbing, biking, boxing), plus I'm not doing anything to try fixing my ailments – things are getting worse.
Here's what Dean sent me – Paul Chek – this guys really knows his stuff and I'm going to use these techniques today and see if I can make some progress.

There's more on  there - I've subscribed for later reference...I'll definitely go back to look at Paul Chek more at a later date - as I can see he's got a lot of great stuff on complete physical, mental and spiritual health...

I'm going to watch a film later on that Dean has also suggested called The power of the Heart

I'll feed back what I thought of it tomorrow and write up any thoughts for day 3...

Jan 1st And A 5am Mantra...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


This is how I will start and intend to maintain my mindset for 2015....Happy.
Not just a smiley, be nice to people and easy to be around kinda thing, but a truthful, focused and progressive approach to being happy. Sitting here in front of a computer at 5am on the 1st of Jan – writing these words down – fresh thoughts from a stilled mind – this seems the best way for me to hold a mirror up to my face. Writing a kind of diary – a cemented honesty of my feelings for the present state of mind – will be a definitive way to mark my progress from this day forward. This way, I can look myself squarely in the eye and say I've done my best to improve my life path. If these words are merely vapour trails of thoughts from the past then I'll be sitting here 1st Jan 2016 in the same (or worse) situation. Things need to change.

Here's where I currently stand on the things that currently have a negative affect on my mind set:

Health. I'm currently 4-5 kilos or 3/4 of a stone heavier than I should be and I've got a couple of injuries that will get worse if left as they are. This should all be addressed and maintained by keeping a regular exercise routine and by doing some physiotherapy. I'll post some before and after pictures to mark progress on physique improvements.

Wealth. This is not good! I earn a decent salary, but there''s been far too much spent on house, car and going out/away on holiday over last 5 years. I'm in debt at the moment. Also there's a £30k tax rebate that HMRC have been hounding me for – so that's a bit of a dark cloud to sit under. This could be slowly chipped away at for years or I could look at making extra money to clear it faster. I'll keep a tally of how much I'm clearing every month – the no drinking rule for Jan (longer if I can) will help me stay on top of things.

Career. Could always be better. I'm still working 40+hrs a week in an environment which is going to eat away at the first word on this blog over time unless I do something about it soon. Not to say it's a bad office - because it's great and the people are nice generally - but it's not a place I can really be myself in...I'm sure there's a lot of people having this same issue and possibly know they can fix this one quite easily by getting another job – but after 20 years of making stuff look nice to help sell more stuff, what I really want to do is change my output. The best achievements I can recall for 2014 were talking with kids about making their future career plans and taking on a few challenging charity events. Generally, helping youngsters and giving back are on my todo list for 2015. I'll work on what tools I have on hand already – and see what I need to learn in order to make a change at some point down the line but for the mean time, find some viable outlets to better express myself in, to get that swagger back in my step.

This blog is for me btw – it's a tool to mark my progress and make a commitment to improve the status quo. I'm not making any deadlines just yet but there will be some progress milestones along the way. I'll check back in tomorrow with an update on how the first day of the year has gone...