One Apple A Day #71
Ok, this is about improving every day. Today, the plan was to write the second part of the post I wrote two days ago (the #70). So, I started reading the post to decide how to go ahead. While I was reading I found things I wanted to fix or improve. And here we are. I only added a few lines but I improved the previous post, so Today is a step forward but more in term of quality than quantity.
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I have a confession to make.
I have a problem with goals. More than one, to be honest.
I’m lazy, undisciplined and I would never include willpower in my list of best skills. I also have a vivid imagination that can create beautiful goals but can also create great excuses.
I started a lot of projects, but I finish only a few. When I was younger, I minimised the problem increasing the number of projects I started. Even if the success ratio is low, more goals mean more results. Growing up it was clear that this strategy wasn’t a strategy at all. I started feeling delusional. And with so many goals I lost the perception of what I want, of what I love. I needed a change. But how? For sure not setting another goal? While I was stuck finding a way out, life served me a sort of solution.
My partner received an interesting offer for a project in a Middle-East country. We were both thinking about moving out of London, so we decided to give it a go. On top of that, we also agreed that I would not have sought a job. I had an opportunity to go away from almost everything for a year.
Initially, it didn’t work as expected. For the first six months, I kept doing my job remotely. I loved the team, the client and the project. But the different time zone and the distance gave me some space for my personal quest. I didn’t want to set other goals. I already had the work and the preparation for my once-in-a-life journey in Patagonia. It was more than enough. So, my quest started as a growth process, without any particular goal.
I started reading books and blogs on a wide range of topics. I subscribe to online programs and classes. I researched outside and inside of me.
In the meanwhile, I had to find a way to avoid the risk of getting bored and fat. Life can be very layback for an expat in a rich MiddleEastern country.
By the way, the idiocy of the difference between expat and immigrant is very evident in these countries. But, this is another story. Back to my struggle to avoid boredom and fat.
I was working from home or some café, mostly alone. The rest of the people I know are very busy working. And I have plenty of free time but there’s not much to do here. In particular during the very long and hot summer.
I need to find other ways to keep me active.
First problem, avoid to get fat. I’m lucky to live with a raw food chef, so I’m very careful on my diet. But, it wasn’t enough, I need to exercise.
I did some sports in the past. Running, swimming, pilates, and some light weight training. Nothing sticks for long. I was able to keep swimming for a few years, but only because it was something I shared with my partner.
There’s a basic gym in the building and, because I like to train in the morning, I thought it was a good idea to use it.
I started doing some exercises I found online but it was boring. One day I discover HASfit.com, a website with plenty of exercises and a few programs. I thought it was worth trying and I started a 90 days program. The program was great, five workouts a week. Every day a different set of exercises. I didn’t have to prepare anything in advance or to check a program. Every morning I went down in the gym, launch the video and follow the instructions.
Without even noticing I went through the whole program without skipping a day.