Week 41, 2024
Week 41 of 2024 has arrived. Is there anything better than sitting on a porch, on a chilly morning, with a cup of coffee in your hand? I feel like this is a common thread from the beginning of Homo Sapien Sapien.
Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square. Done?
This morning, I was eating a sugar cookie while drinking my coffee. The combo of the two was So. Freaking. Delicious. It was also fleeting. It was so good, and I was so caught up in the moment of trying to dip the cookie in the coffee to get the perfect ration of coffee-soaked cookie up to my mouth before it fell apart that, before I knew it, the cookie was gone and I wanted more.
And I knew that it would be a long time before I was tired of it, and yet it was gone.
I feel like that is life.
If in that moment of pure "cookie/coffee bliss" you can pause and soak it all in for an instant, that's winning... even though it's gone.
P.S. Time waits for no one. If you want to take action on your important work, we are beta testing the 33 Day Foundation right now... Analog card, wood desk stand, daily SMS and email reminders... If you want to get on the wait list, send Eli a message with "33" in the subject line...Info@4kweeks.com
|
Listen to this blog as a podcast! Search "4000 Weeks #40" in your app. |
Remarkable Weeks
Week 41 of 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union which forwarded women's right for suffrage. She was 2,360.29 (45.26 yrs).
Week 41 of 1929, James Cash Penney opened JC Penney store #1252 in Milford, Delaware, marking the company's expansion to all U.S. states and officially making it a nationwide business. I remember my mom taking me to Penny's before school started each year... ahh the 80's. He was 2,821.14 weeks old (54.10 yrs).
Week 41 of 2004, Wangari Maathai became the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in environmentalism. She founded the Green Belt Movement, was behind the planting of 30 million trees across Africa and helped nearly 900,000 women gain employment. A spectacular example of a Win/Win. She was 3,366.57 weeks (64.56 4rs).
This Week's Quote
This is a repeat. From Week 41 of 2023. I thought it was good enough to repeat... plus, it is right on point for the topic of the season... Effective Daily Action.
There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing." -Brian Tracy
Provided that you have:
- Determined what the most important thing is
- Developed a system to keep that "important thing" front of mind over time
- Made a commitment to doing that "most important thing" regardless of the distractions.
There are a lot of things on my to do list everyday... we own a few small businesses, and are starting a new one, we have kids, etc, etc.
And yet...when I wake up, there is no question that I am going to fill in the little square on my Massive Action Card before I go to sleep. It seems like just a piece of printed, diecut, card stock and yet, it has been the reason that, even on days where I was TOTALLY booked sunup to sundown, I have kept my promise to myself to do the things that I determined were "most important".
So, decide what is "most important", find a way to keep that "front of mind" and then DO IT.
What I am Consuming This Week
We are still traveling. This week we were in Copenhagen, Berlin and Prague. I find it hard to do nearly anything except be in the place we are exploring... the difference in my content consumption from my normal routine is astounding. I always think it is so interesting how a place has the vibe of the people. A place takes on the flavor of years that have passed, and it is enriching to learn about the places.
| The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. I don't like contemporary art 9 times out of 10. It is just very difficult, in a world of constant overstimulation of the senses, to make a person feel a thing without some very human elements. This memorial was an exception. I knew what it was, I knew what it was going to try to do to me as I walked through it, and yet... as confident and safe and secure and without threat as I am, I still found myself disoriented, moving deeper into isolation, and alone. In fact, one of the kids that was with us disappeared for a few seconds, and it was slightly terrifying for all six adults. Peace, and love, and hope for all of the innocents currently terrified of war. See a video that I took here. | 
|
| This Brass Plaque. We were walking in Copenhagen on the last day. We had made out way to the Baltic Sea, and on the way back from an hour or so of picking up shells and sand, we walked through a beach neighborhood. As I looked down I saw this little square brass plaque. I am a curious guy... the world is full of mysteries if you look... I can't read Danish so I used Google to translate it: "Here lived Willy Engel. Born 1871. Arrested 1//10/1943. Deported 1943. Theresienstadt Murdered 23/2/1944" |  |
| I take a TON of pictures of sculptures when we are in Europe... There is just so much more sculpture per square inch over here. This was a sculpture in Lund, Sweden... the folds of the cloak, and the way that it is gathered in the hand... Bravo! Peter Lind. |  |
What I am Thinking About This Week
This is the third post in a series of posts about how to get your crap in order, so that you can get the most out of your little square each week.
Some of these may not apply to you, and that’s great… congratulations.
But… I know that I find new value in Epictetus’s Enchiridion every time I read it… so review can be good too. My plan is to write this out, and then, once it is complete, give it away to anyone who needs a map from where they are to the beautiful land of life satisfaction. If you have thoughts, I would love to hear them.
Exercise.
I have a confession to make. Still, after 5 years of regularly exercising 3-5 times a week, most days I feel like I should be using that time for something else. I almost always stop doing some “productive” thing that I like doing in order to go lift weights.
Basketball is different, I love playing basketball, and I think that is a very important point that we will talk about later.
I have considered myself active most of my life. I played 3 sports in high school, I continued to play intermurals in and after college. I lost the thread when we had kids, and didn’t consistently pick it back up until around 2015.
Here is the thing. YOU ONLY GET ONE BODY!!!! You can get more money, you can get more stuff, you can do anything you want… as long as your body isn’t failing.
And let me tell you… it is much easier to change the oil than it is to replace the motor.
That is the number one reason for exercising. Your body is your most valuable resource… it carries your brain around.
But that isn’t often enough to get people motivated. We all have trouble with setting our future self up for success when it costs our present self valuable resources.
So, here is another reason, one that is a bit more immediate. YOU WILL FEEL BETTER. Exercise releases endorphins, which reduce the perception of pain, and also trigger positive feelings in the body.
Your brain will improve, your mood will improve, your self image will improve, because now you are a person who “does stuff” and that can’t be denied.
Now, if you have ever gone for a jog, don’t expect to be floating on cloud nine if you strike out for a few miles… But you know what is reasonable for your current situation. Take what you think you can do (a 45 minute walk? A 30 minute brisk walk? A mile jog?) and add 5 % to it. And then do it again tomorrow.
I know quite a few people who have used the “Couch to 5k” app to get started jogging.
But… don’t just jog or walk forever… I think it is fair to say that there are more people suffering from a lack of pushing themselves than people who are suffering from pushing themselves too hard. If you plan on aging, you must do some type of resistance training, and if it is going to work, it is going to suck at least a little bit.
Muscle mass is super important. Here is a great article on how to start strength training if you don’t have any experience. Everyone is talking about how important resistance training is for longevity these days. And I know from first-hand experience that my dad would have gotten a bit more out of his 80's had he been regularly lifting weights and fighting the age related loss of muscle mass.
At first, something is more than nothing. Once you get “something” figured out, then it is time to commit to a daily practice of activity.
And now back to basketball. My physical therapist (yes, I see him monthly even though I have no current issues… I like investing in my continued mobility.) says you should “use your fitness”. For a while I didn’t really know what he meant by that. I mean, yeah, I exercise because I “should” but it isn’t really ever joyful! And then my sister mentioned that she heard of a guy that ran a weekly pick-up basketball “networking” meeting called PickupKC. I gathered up my courage (yes, trying new things is hard for me, too!) and bought a ticket and showed up at the gym at 6am one Friday 2 years ago. Thank goodness I had put in all the work ahead of time, because had I not, I might have died. But it was SO fun. SO. MUCH. FUN.
It was so much fun that I eventually talked the guy into running it two days a week, and now I schedule all my other workouts around it. I played the morning I am writing this... a few rebounds, a few points... and joy. Most adults miss this kind of "running around on the playground" and I don't even think they know they miss it. And it is a different level of intensity... If I was in your gym, exercising with the intensity with which I play basketball on my worst days, you would ask me to leave.
If you can find a way to sweat surrounded by other folks with a smile on your face, that is the best way to stay fit.
So, here is what you are going to do. You are going to commit to exercising tomorrow, at whatever level you are capable of, and then, after you are done, but before you take off your exercise shoes, you are going to commit to the next exercise session, rinse and repeat.
You can do it. In fact, you have to if you want to make the most of your future weeks.
Next week… Nutrition... oof... This is the one I am having the hardest time with.
Spencer
Dad Joke O' The Week
Why couldn't the bike stand up on its own?
Because it was too tired. (Two tired!)
Leave a comment: