HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

A New Year. A New Blog.

Time to forge ahead with something new... — Time to forge ahead with something new…

Well, it’s time for something new. 2013 was a year of very interesting and unexpected changes. I hope 2014 will be one of great changes. One of my many goals for the upcoming year is to overhaul my digital life. This is no small undertaking! I’ve already been addressing this task since the clock hit midnight and it’s proving to be a nightmare. It started with an email migration gone wrong. At some point, my photos will be imported to Lightroom instead of iPhoto. I want to tackle online security with a complete update of my passwords and and exploration of data encryption. I know, it all sounds fun!

And then there’s my blog, which has becoming an important part of my life and my digital online presence. I write to recount the adventures and misadventures in my life. I set goals, create lists, track fitness, and write about distant places. Beyonce has received several shot-outs on here, so obviously I treat this blog as gold. Writing keeps my thoughts focused and oftentimes I find the process cathartic.

I’ve come a long way in my personal blogging. I remember wanting to find a way to tell my family about my adventures when I lived in London in 2006. At that time, Yahoo 360 was available and accessible. I really enjoyed writing while I was over there, especially since there were many days of solitude outside of work. I wrote about how I set off the fire alarm at the School of Pharmacy where I worked, and was caught on camera in a mad panic. My adventures took me to Leeds Castle, the Cotswolds, and on a Harry Potter tour across England. I travelled to Alicante, Spain to visit a friend who was there attending a conference and that’s where I developed a love for mojitos. I spent a lovely day with a Korean girl exploring great altitudes near Interlaken, Switzerland, and studied French in Montreaux. I’m writing a brief account here because unfortunately I lost that blog. Yahoo 360 shut down and with it, my blog posts vanished. Back in Canada, I decided to restart another blog, this time with Blogger, which eventually became part of Google. Blogger has been a great platform to discuss the amazing experiences I’ve had in Alberta: Hiking. Friendships. Travel. The Big Mountain Challenge. The list goes on.

And now, third time’s a charm. For a while I’ve considered taking my blogging even further. I have no idea what that means, really, but I’m convinced that a self-hosted blog is the way to go. As 2014 was approaching, I figured: this is the year. I’ll learn to build a website, host it, and explore blogging using WordPress. At the time of writing this, the new blog is in rough shape as the migration of my posts didn’t go as planned. It’ll be a project in progress for the next little while, but I’m excited about it! The new website is:

http://www.inspirationrick.ca

So why InspirationRick? It’s been my Twitter handle and Instagram profile name for quite some time. The name actually came about as a joke one day. A few years ago, I was hardcore into the fitness program P90X to the point where a few friends thought I put them to shame. This was not true, but alas, they remarked that I somehow inspired them to step it up. I sent them a photo with two thumbs up, a rainbow, and a magic star. From then on, the InspirationRick nickname was born.

Here we are years later, and to me, InspirationRick means something different, yet personal. It’s a reminder to keep my eyes and heart open for the people, opportunities, experiences, and adventures that inspire me to face this world head-on with the finite time I have. It’s a reminder that I need to slow down and smell the proverbial roses, and the world will give back in kind for the soul. It’s a reminder that even though the world is large, there’s never a shortage of inspiration around me, whether an arm’s length away or a far off destination. It’s a reminder to appreciate the friends and family who I love. Their love is the most inspiring of all.

We’re all faced with amazing things around us. We just need to pay attention.

And if something I experience results in a glimmer of inspiration for someone else, then that’s not a bad thing either :).

Rick

http://www.inspirationrick.ca

The Year of… 2014

Each year I spend some time over the holidays to think about the upcoming year. I tend not to think about resolutions, which in my mind, have a connotation of success or inevitable failure. Instead, I like to outline my focus for the coming year. Think of it as a vision statement that guides my goals. It’s important to jot these things down because ideas swirling in my head result in little action. Writing down my areas of focus act as a roadmap for the journey throughout the year.

Throughout the ups and downs related to my job, my mind would wander to three main topics:

1) Travel
2) Health and Fitness
3) Financial Freedom

And a fourth topic came to light over the past couple of months:

4) Managing my digital life

Travel

It’s no secret that I love to travel and experience new places, cultures, and all of the emotions that come with those adventures. I spent most of November reading the travel blogs of inspirational people who had left their growing careers for a nomadic lifestyle. Oftentimes we tell ourselves that there’s never enough money or time to travel. This is clearly false; if so many others can change their lifestyle to one of travel, then why can’t I? These people aren’t rich; they’ve just shifted priorities. These people don’t spend a fortune; they just adopt strategies for near-free flights and elite status upgrades. These people aren’t unique in thinking about an unconventional life; they’ve just decided to take action. And I’m jumping on that bandwagon: Travel Hacking. Couch Surfing. House Sitting. Remote Living. Discount travel of any kind. It’s all in the realm of possibility. I’m not saying I want to be completely nomadic and go off the grid, but I do want to travel more. That’s what it comes down to. And I’ll figure out how. Of course, I also have a list of places I would love to visit, but more on that in a subsequent blog post.

Health and Fitness

Admittedly, choosing to be as healthy as I can be and adapting my schedule to include fitness is a lifestyle, not a fad. So this focus is nothing new, but I write it down every year. I have been plagued with several injuries. My ankle hurts; I have tendonitis in my right elbow; curses to the chronic neck and back pain; and the entire right side of my body from the waist down feels like it requires some major physiotherapy. All excuses though! I’ll be taking control of these health issues in the New Year. A costly endeavour, but health comes first. Nutrition will also be a priority again this year after a miserable attempt last year. At the very least, I should try some new recipes. And then there’s my workout routine. I plan to complete P90X3, organize fitness challenges, and begin running again. It’s time to conquer some more races and inch my way toward that triathlon. Hiking will be a predominant activity as always.

Financial Freedom (well… sort of.)

No, I don’t want to retire… yet. But I will be exploring ways to add value to my current skills through workshops and certificates while I expand into contract work. This involves learning about small business ownership and how I can offer my statistical and data analysis services remotely. I also plan to look into the process of becoming a Beachbody coach and what all of that entails. Financial freedom is definitely a work in progress, but it’s on my radar this year.

Managing My Digital Life

This will be ongoing, but I’m so bogged down with different emails, software that I don’t use to its potential, gigabytes of photos that are spiralling out of organizational control, and an online presence that requires full-time hours to manage. There has to be a way to make things easier. There just has to be.

And those are the 4 areas of focus. Everything sounds fine and good, but how do I translate these points into actionable goals? I use the SMART acronym, of course. SMART goals are ones that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Oriented. I’ll be creating my SMART goals within the next few days.

So what will 2014 bring?

A lot of excitement! I know there will be many great experiences and changes as always. It will be busy, but I’ve come to realize I’m at my best when I’m busy. However the year unfolds, I know it will be a good and overall positive 2014.

A Blogger’s End. A New Beginning

So it’s the last day of 2013. At the beginning of the year I set a goal for myself. (After all, I do like goals). The plan was to write 100 blog posts during the year. I peaked at 88 posts last year, so I figured 100 would be no problem.

Yikes! The task ended up being more difficult than I anticipated. See, I have always enjoyed blogging for the sake of blogging: to recount stories, reflect on significant events in my life, and track fitness and hiking goals. With each mountain peak came a synopsis. But once I committed to writing 100 blog posts, writing suddenly felt like a chore. Even though it forced me to jot down my thoughts and ideas, oftentimes I would write for the sole purpose of ticking another entry off the list. For many posts, my heart wasn’t in it, and I don’t like that. Am I glad I did the challenge? Absolutely. But will I do it again? Most likely not.

Looking back, it’s interesting to see that I blogged the most in October. I wrote about random stuff like Heritage Park and toasted coconut ice cream, but I also wrote my most heart-felt post of the year on the anniversary of my grandmother’s passing.

It’s no surprise that the least blogged month was March. I never really wrote about what happened in March. To recall, I accepted a new position at the beginning of December 2012 as a senior analyst. I would only last 4 months. Honestly, the job did not go as planned. I will be no means play a victim in this post, but I felt that I was lead to believe the position would be something different. I also didn’t see eye to eye with management on certain issues. In the end, I acknowledged that the job was not a good fit for me, and resigned. Unfortunately, I didn’t have another position lined up, and would spend the following 3 months in a state of anxiety with the volatility of many highs and lows. It wasn’t until I began working in June when my writing would pick up momentum once again. As a positive, during my unemployment, I did manage to travel to Ireland, spend a week with my family at home, road-trip to Ottawa, and watch hours upon hours of How I Met Your Mother and Spartacus. Time well spent I say.

2013 was also a very interesting year for reflection. I assessed who I want in my life and the direction I want to take my life. This was not without emotional strain and sadness. I’ve pulled away from some connections, yet formed stronger bonds with others. I’ve looked at my career path and realized that maybe it’s time to work toward something different. I’ve grown attached to Calgary, and yet I feel ready for a big adventure. It’s been a year of dichotomies, and while they provide interesting forks in the proverbial road, they’ve kept the year unpredictable and exciting.

And so I conclude 2013 in a much different frame of mind than its commencement. My vision statement for the past year included points around: taking action, financial control, health and fitness, the outdoors, ownership of my choices, and finding some level of peace. I didn’t realize it until writing this post, but I really feel these focus areas characterize my journey over the last year. It’s been interesting to say the least, and I’m looking forward to what 2014 will bring. Oh, and why will it be a new beginning? Well, I plan to revamp the blog yet again, but this time, I’ll be transitioning over to WordPress. Yes, I think it’s about time. Exciting things ahead!

The 90-Day Fitness & Accountability Challenge

I sent this e-mail to some people today. This is a focus of one of my goals for the New Year.

*****

Hello and Welcome to the 90-Day Fitness & Accountability Challenge!

If you are receiving this email, it means that I’ve babbled on about this 2014 challenge and you expressed some interest. Wouldn’t it be awesome and fun to get a group together where we all work toward our fitness goals in a motivating and accountable way? Exciting!

So what exactly is the challenge?

When:

Monday, January 6th – Saturday, April 5th. That’s only 90 days.

The Fitness Goal:

Task 1: Set your fitness or physical activity goals.

“Resolutions” often come with lofty expectations and usually fall off the radar after a few weeks. As I began chatting with different people in December and during the holidays, it became clear that many of us have fitness or physical activity goals for 2014. Many of those goals require a training routine. Here are some that were mentioned:

Increasing cardio activity to N number of days per week
Practicing yoga at least 3 times per week
Training for the Vancouver half-marathon in May
Conquering the Tough Mudder race this summer
Creating a routine to train for a triathlon in September
A cross-country skiing schedule to prepare for the Lake Louise loppet
A 90 day round of P90X3: 6 days per week, 30 minutes per day

Think about what you want to accomplish in the 90 days, and determine what you are working toward. What do you hope to achieve with this 90-Day Fitness & Accountability Challenge? It’s completely up to you!

How Often?

Task 2: Set the number of days per week you are willing to commit to physical activity.

We all lead busy lives, but there is always time to dedicate to your health. How many days are you willing to commit to uninterrupted exercise or physical activity in order to achieve your goals? For each day, you should complete at least 30 minutes of whatever helps you reach your goal: yoga, running, a P90X3 workout, XC skiing, stretching. It doesn’t have to be the same activity for all days. Change things up and vary your workouts, but keep your goal in mind.

If you think you can do 4 days, then consider choosing 5! Remember, this is a challenge group, so take yourself out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. It may require you to reassess where your time is going, but trust me, you can always find at least 30 minutes a day for an intense, focused workout. Consider doing above and beyond the 30 minutes, or throwing in a stretching activity after each workout.

To make this a challenge and to ensure that fitness and physical activity become a routine, you must be willing to be accountable for at least 3 days a week.

Tracking and Accountability

Since this is a 90-Day Fitness & Accountability Challenge, we need to be accountable. This means tracking your fitness and progress each week. Accountability will help us all stay focused. It’s far easier to fall off the fitness wagon when it’s just you, but as a group, we want each other to succeed. Know that there are others working toward their own goals, while going through successes and difficulties that are similar to your own.

I will be checking in with each of you each week (yes, you’ll get sick of me by the end!), and centrally tracking everyone’s progress on a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet will contain your name, your fitness goal, and your number of “accountable” days. Then each week, I’ll record how many days you’ve completed and send out the spreadsheet to the group. Even though this is a group challenge, it is important to note that this is a very personal 13 weeks and the only person to compete against is yourself.

Some Perspective

90 Days, or 13 weeks, may seem like a long time. It is! But let’s use the New Year momentum and really create a scheduled fitness routine. It takes about 3 weeks of repetition before the workouts feel like a habit.

Remember, too, there is quite a connection between the mind and the body. A positive attitude will go a long way! Thinking that you’re lazy will make you feel lazy. Thinking that you are awesome and can conquer any workout and achieve your fitness goals will make it much easier to complete your challenge. Keep your eye on the prize: a healthy, happier and fitter you.

Action Items:

1) Please confirm if you would like to be part of the challenge. If not, please let me know- I will not take any offence. If I do not hear from you, I will assume your answer is “no”.

2) Set your fitness goals. What are you working toward? What do you hope to achieve with this challenge?

3) Set your frequency of fitness and workout activity per week. How many days are you willing to commit to per week? This will be your number of “accountable” days. (The minimum is 3 days a week and each workout should be at least 30 minutes. Take yourself outside of your comfort zone! If you think you can do 3 days a week, then consider choosing 4!)

4) Let me know by Saturday, January 4th.

Any questions, please ask!

I’m excited to be taking on this challenge with you all and I’m equally as excited to hear about everyone’s goals.

Rick

A Very Merry Christmas

It’s been a couple of days since I’ve been home and I’m loving it. I don’t visit home as often as I’d like, but Christmas is a great time to be surrounded by loved ones to chat, eat and being merry. Unfortunately, time seems incredibly scarce! I’ve planned quite a few things for the days that I’m here, and there are never enough hours in the day for it all. Between opening gifts, visiting relatives, Boxing Day shopping, bowling with friends and a family trip to see The Hobbit (and all within the first two days…), my mind has been thinking a lot about the upcoming year.

At the start of every year I set out goals for myself. These goals are not “resolutions”, which usually carry the stigma of failure three weeks after January 1st. Instead, the goals serve as an outline of where I want to focus my efforts (outside of family, friendships and relationships, which are always priority). I’ve spent the last two months thinking about what my goals will be, and though I am still formulating, I know that two foci will be 1) travel, and 2) fitness and nutrition. I can’t say these are anything new, but I do have some SMART goals in mind to tackle these two areas of my life. Of course, finances will be a third focus. Finances are always on the list.

Until I can articulate my goals clearly, I’ll continue to enjoy my time at home and focus my energy on the most important goal: To spend time with family and friends; appreciate their company and don’t take my relationships with them for granted.