I have been on my 100 Day Strong journey for 49 days. Seven full weeks. It feels so good. I wish i had started before, but i wasn’t ready. I am just glad I finally got there.

I don’t know why I am surprised. In retrospect, it is not a long amount of time. However, it has been an amazing amount of focus inside those days. That is what has made the difference. I have been very purposeful these past 49 days.

So, what have I accomplished?

1. I have taken a progress photo every day. Here is one that I am eager to share. The picture on the left was this summer. The other was from a few days ago. I can’t believe how much losing 20 pounds changes my face.

2. I have exercised daily for 49 days straight.

3. I have stuck to my eating program. That is a miracle in itself.

4. I have read a chapter every day. So far I have read the following:

• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.
• Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller.
• Make Your Bed by William H McRaven
• Creative Calling by Chase Jarvis

I am currently reading:

• The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman.
• Extreme Ownership by Lief Babin and Jocko Willnk.
• Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg
• Ted Talks by Chris Anderson

5. I have written every day. All on this blog site. Posting here has helped with accountability.

6. I have drank 100 ounces of water or more per day.

7. I have encouraged at least one person per day throughout the journey. This may be my favorite part of all of it.

Tomorrow I will be halfway to my goal. Time to grind on.

Recently I picked up a challenge sheet for different creative writing prompts. The following is a fictional account of something my family would probably do. This was a fun attempt and good practice.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” Deep inside I knew the answer. I was all alone, but it didn’t stop me from checking. “Hello…” Nothing.

Where were they? It was almost time for dinner. It was out of place for my wife and son to be out of the house at that time of day. I reached for my phone. There it was. A text message from my wife that I never felt.

We are running an errand. Won’t be long. What should we have for dinner?

Feeling relieved, I dropped my things and put my earbuds in. A quick phone call would be better than texting her while she was driving. The phone rang twice and the call was answered.

“Hello love,” I said. “What’s up?”

“Hi. Can I call you back?” That was not the response I expected.

“Um, sure. Is everything ok?”

“Yes. I will call you back.” With that, the phone line went dead. What was going on? This was not normal at all.

To keep myself busy, I started rummaging through the fridge. There had to be something in there to whip together for dinner. Leftover steak. I could transform that into something while I waited.

A short time later, I heard the garage door open. I moved quickly to meet them at the door. My son ran in smiling from ear to ear. He threw his arms out as he approached me. Having a little one never gets old. The hugs are amazing.

“Daddy, you want surprise?” He caught me off guard.

“A surprise?” I asked as I stared into his excited face.

“Yes!” He squealed. “MAMA!!!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. I could tell this had all been arranged. She quickly walked through the door with a lump in her arms. The lump was moving…

“Is that a..”

“DOG!” my boy squealed.

“Happy birthday,” my bride said as she smiled at me. “Are you surprised?”

It was my birthday. I had forgotten my own birthday.

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

I admit it. I am afraid. I have never faced an enemy like this. I know it is there waiting for me…stalking me. Every nerve in my body is on fire. Every sense is alert. Where can it be?

I could have chosen a safer route, but I don’t want safety. I want to test my skill. Skill that has been hard won in smaller battles. Battles that have hardened my muscles and my resolve. I refuse to shy away from danger. I will meet this enemy when it presents itself. I watch carefully for it’s approach.

I step further down the path. It is darker now than it was. I know there is light on the other side, but now I go through the forest. This is the harder road. I chose it of my volition. If I come out the other side I will be different. The time I have spent preparing will have paid off. If I make it that far. I can hear movement. I remind myself, without struggle there is no progress. I must move forward.

Out of the shadows it appears. It is massive. With scales of red and a smell of brimstone, my enemy squares itself in my path. I can see the red glow in its eyes. Smoke billows out its nose as it peers down it’s enormous snout. Slowly it moves toward me. The encounter has finally come.

I grip the sword in my right hand and adjust the shield in my left. If this is my appointed time, I will not disappoint. I stare into the enemy’s eyes and with a hardened resolve I step forward. I will not turn and run. I will not give this enemy that power over me. I am uncertain if I stand any chance in this fight, but I will pour out my all for the test.

As we near each other, eyes locked, muscles tight, I have only simple thoughts of what my approach should be. I stop in the middle of the trail and speak into the night. “I no longer fear you. I have come to do battle with you. This struggle may be epic. I may fail in the end, but not before I pour out ever ounce of who I am. My future lies behind you on this path Dragon. It is a future I intend to take, or die in pursuit of.”

The Dragon peered down at me. It moved so close that I could feel the temperature rising, the smoke overwhelming. “Are you certain Warrior? Are you willing to die in your quest?”

“Yes. I am not going back. This is the way.”

The dragon swelled up and shrieked. Fire poured out of the sides of its jaws as it took a deep breath in. With one movement, I snapped my shield to the ready as the Dragon covered me in a raging fire. I did not move. I was true to my word. Would this be my final moment?

With the blast complete, I lowered the shield. I was still there, unharmed and unburned. The Dragon was nowhere to be seen. My path lie ahead. I stepped forward uncertain of what had happened. I looked down to see a scroll of paper in the road. I picked it up as I continued to survey my surroundings. As I unrolled it, this is what I discovered.

“Brave warrior. I am not your enemy, nor have I ever been. I was your challenge and test. You have passed now, but know there will be more tests ahead. It was never my intent to hurt you, but to expose you for who you really are. You stared at me and refused to be swayed. I congratulate you on this. You must keep this resolve as you move forward, because the tests to come will be even greater. They will not look the same. Show the same resolve you showed today and you will be victorious. For now, walk the path. Do the next right thing. Remember this encounter. Build from what you have learned.”

I passed the test. I faced the enemy. There will be more. For now, it is time to rest until the next challenge presents itself.

It is raining outside my window. The soft lull of it beating on the room has been a pleasant sound all throughout the morning. It is not too heavy, just steady and comforting. When it rains like this, I like the rain.

It does make me get more intentional with my exercise. I live in Texas. I always have to be intentional if I plan to exercise. Thankfully there is no 100 degree heat anywhere in sight. So, I made it over to the local gym and put in my time lifting and on the treadmill.

That has been the pleasant surprise over these past 47 days. I have been living and moving with a higher degree of intentionality that before. There have been many days in the past when I would have seen a rainy day as a good excuse to not do anything, but eat and lie around. I like that I am still taking care of the necessary despite what is going on around.

So, now that the exercise is done. I am going to lie around some and eat within my calories. And spend time with my family. All of the work to get to that one thing is very sweet.

I am almost half way through my goal. I have been very pleased with my progress, but I feel I could be doing better. So, it is now time for some fine tuning.

My exercise program has been the most consistent thing that I was doing prior to my 100 Day Strong journey. I was lifting weights six days a week with some walking occasionally thrown in. When I shifted my focus to the 100 days, I cut the lifting in half as I want to lean down.

For the first 6 weeks I have been lifting 3 days a week and walking the other 4. I revised the plan today. Here is what the workout portion for the rest of my 100 Day Strong workout will look like:

Sunday: Weights, Walk 30 + minutes

Monday: Yoga, Walk 30 + minutes

Tuesday: Weights, Walk 30 + minutes

Wednesday: Yoga, Walk 30 + minutes

Thursday: Walk 30 + minutes

Friday: Weights, Walk 30 + minutes

Saturday: Yoga, Walk 30 + minutes

I am stepping up my game a notch with the daily walking and the yoga. I am going to try this for the remainder of the 100 days. Let’s see where this goes. At the very least I should be more flexible and have some more endurance.