An inadvertent hiatus.

~ David Willis ~ 2 Comments

I have been on an inadvertent hiatus. It has been apparent over the last few months that my posting frequency has slowed way down. Some of this was on purpose. The first week or so anyway. I intended to take a break from the keyboard to catch up on some other stuff. I had no intentions of letting 2 months go by with very little time at the keyboard, but alas here we are.

I have attempted to sit down many times of late to start a new post. I have some things that I am going to write about in the near future, but every time I sit down to get at them they elude me. Has this ever happened to you? I park it right here in front of my screen and this heavy feeling hits me square in the face. I look at my list of topics. I pick one to start. I stare at the screen for several minutes. Frustrated I pick another topic. I sit for several minutes more. Frustrated, I get up from the computer vowing to do better tomorrow. Steven Pressfield calls this The Resistance. Over the past couple of months I have really discovered why he calls it that.

Have you ever faced The Resistance? That voice in your head telling you everything you do sucks so you shouldn’t even try? It is there. It is annoying. How do you get through this resistance though? Mr. Pressfield wrote a whole book about it called The War of Art. (Check it out if you haven’t. I don’t agree with every word of it, but it is a good read none the less.) One of the ways that I have discovered to break through The Resistance is this: I have to be willing to write some really awful stuff and keep writing anyway. This is extremely hard for me. I am the worlds worst at writing a few paragraphs and then rewriting and then deleting them all together.

I have discovered that I have to write through my whole idea first, even if I know what I am writing sucks. After I get the whole idea out, then I am allowed to edit. I catch myself going back on this a lot. I am still learning, but it seems to help.

What do you do to break through The Resistance?

If I did this in 8 weeks, what can I do in 80?

~ David Willis ~ 1 Comment

I have a workout program that I have been saving for 9 years. I did the workout routine in 2002 and have kept it ever since vowing that I would pull it back out one day. (Secretly knowing that I probably never would.) It is an 8 week program that is meant for guys younger than me, but I pulled it back out 8 weeks ago and am proud to say I finished it this morning.

I had one of those moments two months ago where I decided enough was enough. It was time to either get moving or get moving. There was no other choice. So, after much digging through old files I found the workout program and dusted it off. I had to reteach myself what many of the exercises were and how to do them properly, but in the end I am very satisfied with the progress I have made. Satisfied enough, that I am going to start the 8 week program over on Monday and see where I get in another 8 weeks.

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This brings me to this thought: If eight weeks could make me feel this good, what would 80 do? I have done my best to give this workout program my best effort. I have been sore many times, but it hasn’t stopped me from going back for the next round. What would this approach lead to if worked over a larger scale of time?

That thought leads me to the next one: in what other areas of my life can I apply this principle? If I am setting goals for the areas of my life that I want to improve and give it my best, why wouldn’t positive things happen? Answer is: they would.

I am angry with myself for my lack of motivation over these past nine years. I have done several workout plans, but have never stuck to one like this. I have no excuse for that. What has been the difference this time? I have tracked my progress. I have made notes so I won’t forget what has happened. I have done all of this with intention. No random acts. It has had purpose. It has been good.

So, I sit here at my keyboard 10+ pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of May and super excited to see what the next 8 weeks (and 80 weeks) holds. There will be other areas of my life that will be worked on in the next 8 weeks as well. More to follow!

Nike said it best. Just do it.

~ David Willis ~ 3 Comments

Today was a first. I have never worked out on the 4th of July. If I am being truthful, I don’t think there are many major holidays that I have. I have taken the opportunity to be lazy and over eat. That is what holidays are for right? No. Not really.

For the past 7 weeks I have been working out on a plan. This morning was supposed to be the start of week eight, but today is a holiday and I took vacation time from work this week, so my normal gym routine is going to be missed. I could either take the week off and rest, or improvise and workout with what I have here at home. As you saw above, I chose the latter.

The first couple weeks of the workout routine I spent training myself to get out of bed in the morning. I knew I needed to workout, but the voice in the back of my head kept telling me how comfortable my pillow was, how nice it was there in the dark, and how much better I would feel with another hour of sleep. Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Around week three the voice finally shut up because it knew I wasn’t listening anymore. Until this morning.

I got out of bed about 5:15. It is my normal time for the week and I came in here to the office. The voice knew it couldn’t keep me in bed, but it kicked into full gear when I sat down at the computer. It was a fight. A few months ago I would have given in and played Angry Birds in Google Chrome. Not this time. I took my workout plan and modified it on the fly and I am sitting here now tired and happy.

The moral of the story is this: I knew what I needed to do and I had to make the choice to just do it. No, it wasn’t perfect, but I keep moving forward. It is Independence Day. I celebrate the freedoms we have in our country, including my freedom to choose a better way for myself.

It is a small small world…

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

I grew up in a little town in southeast Oklahoma. I moved there when I was in the seventh grade and I stayed through my first year of college. By then, like most teenagers in a small town, I had the bug to go to college away from home. So, I won a scholarship for voice and I packed up and moved to the Oklahoma City area. That was 14 years ago.

When I got to school I was given the opportunity to be a part of a semi-professional choir. There were a bunch of people far more talented than me, so I did my best to blend in and help make good music. I sang with the choir for a semester. I remember the first practice well. I got very lost in the big city and almost didn’t find the practice site.

I had been to the rehearsal hall (a church in northwest Oklahoma City) only once before. It was about 15 miles from the school, but I figured I had been there and I could get back. I didn’t plan for the sun going down. I remember feeling panicked. I was the new guy. I was going to be late. It was going to be embarassing. Fortunately, after overshooting the church by a few miles, I doubled back and by chance found it just in time. There are still parts of town that I drive through and get flashbacks of being lost. It makes me laugh.

Fast forward 14 years. I just moved office buildings at work. Where is my new office building? Right across from the old church. It hit me walking across the parking lot today. (I had one of those “its a small world” moments.) For a second I remembered being a 19 year old kid. I felt far from home. Unsure of myself. Even a bit scared. Thankfully that is not who I am today.

It is not often that I can compare then and now so clearly. I saw it today though. The course I was on at 19 would not be my lifelong choice. Thankfully, it didn’t have to be. Many people assume they are stuck with the career path they chose for their major in college. It doesn’t. I thought I was going to be a music teacher and/or a performer. My life is very different now.

I am glad that one chapter of your life doesn’t have to dictate how all of the others go. The story can change. Different decisions can be made. The course can be altered. It starts with one decision.

I stood and stared at the little church for a while today. I never would have imagined I would be here 14 years later working across the street. It was good to remember all that went on then. It is even better to know that I am right where I need to be now.

Time is passing faster now…

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

It seems the older I get the faster time passes. You know what I mean don’t you? We get through the weekend and it is Monday again, and then before you know it the week is gone and so is the next weekend. There have been times of late it seems like every time I take a breath a few months have gone by. Has it always been this way? Or am I just noticing it more now? I think I am just noticing it more. The reason? My boy is growing up in front of my eyes.

It seems like just yesterday I held him just minutes after he was born. The nurse passed a little ball of blankets through the door and I was in love. In no time at all that little ball of blankets was crawling around the house pulling himself up on whatever he could reach. Then he was saying a few words and walking a few steps. Now, his is almost 41 inches tall and he speaks in sentences.

I think time drags by when we are young because we have no point of reference to base it on. We are eager to get older so we can drive, date, vote, move out of the house, go to college, etc, etc. We only think about the things that we get to do as we age and we don’t really take a lot of time to enjoy the age we are. I didn’t anyway. I just wanted to be older. That wish keeps getting granted. I have the grey hair to prove it.

So, time keeps passing. My son gets a little older and a lot smarter with every day that goes by. I feel the tug to slow down and enjoy the moments. I try to do just that on every occasion that I can. I know how important it is. I feel a sense of wonder as I watch him grow. He is precious to me. The time I spend with him can not be replaced.

Just like you, I am bombarded with things to take care of every day and I sometimes miss the invitations that he gives me to play. I justify my excuses. I miss opportunities. If I do this too much days go by. I choose not to let this happen. For as much as I am able, I  choose to be with him. I choose to play silly games. I choose to read Dr. Suess. I choose to wrestle and run and tickle. I choose him and his mama. Time with the two of them is time well spent.