The Switch and Support Team

The above is from, as far as I can remember, the __first__ bike ride I ever took as preparation for a triathlon.  Way back in '05 baby.

I stumbled across a post on another person's blog.  Here is the link.  I don't totally abide with everything on this person's blog, but I will say that she__hit__the__nail__on__the__head, when it comes to how I feel about healthy/unhealthy eating.  When the switch is on, it is the easiest thing in the world to say no to the fudge, cookies, chocolates and taffy.  (incidentally all things available at work just today)  Whereas when the switch is off, it is all I can do to get all the junk food I can find into my mouth.  Perhaps you think I'm exaggerating...but believe me, I'm not.  Anyways, I certainly empathize with the blogger and perhaps now those who read this can better understand my difficulties.

On a very different note, we had a 'roomate meeting' this evening.  One topic discussed was how much I rely on assistance from the fam during training periods, in particular while getting ready for Florida.  I think you'd have to be a fool to think that one can balance:

• a full time job
• dedicated Ironman training
• all the other stuff one does whilst not training (this covers religious, social, chores, and everything else)

and not go crazy OR do it without a lot of help from their circle of support.  Hopefully though next go around (Brazil) I will have learned a few things about time management to require less sacrifice on the part of my support team.  Gordo said some pretty good stuff in a post  of his a little while back.  Here is the juicy part:

As an aside, last week a friend asked me how he could get a person to care more about their career (the underlying point, possibly, being that if this person improved their career then he could focus more on his non-career goals).

Some points...

a -- if I could only get my wife to support me more... // consider if you are worthy of support! If you want someone to support you then they need to believe in you and deeply desire to help you. In other words, the support that we receive from our inner circle is directly proportional to the support we give back. True leadership is earned and must be personified/renewed daily. If you are seeking leadership so that you can kick back and cruise on the efforts of others -- your team will see through you, immediately.

b -- placing the burden of our achievement on another person -- these are fear-based excuses. True leadership comes from creating our own circumstances for success.

c -- Every morning ask yourself, what are the actions that I can take (today) that will directly impact my ability to achieve my goals? Most people spend their time on items that have ZERO bearing on what they are seeking to achieve. Does constantly surfing the internet directly support the most important items in your life? These habits are tough to break -- I know because I'm working on it too!

What he says above ties in really well with what I am reading in 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.'  Good stuff.