Tag Archives: Exercise

The Evolution of the Scorecard

I’d been mulling changes to my scorecard for a few weeks now, and some recent reading is telling me NOW is the time to evolve my monthly tracking ritual.

Welcome to the 2023 Version of the Keen Mind Scorecard

First off, lets note the elements that didn’t change:

  • Meditation – This discipline remains a staple in my monthly effort. 20X minimum.
  • Exercise – There is slight change in this area of focus with a +2 increase in monthly minimum effort.
  • Church – No change to this effort from previous scorecard.
  • (2) Books – No change. I’ll continue to strive to consume one written and one audiobook per month.

Now for the NEW STUFF:

  1. 24-Hr. Fast: I got to this one in a roundabout and rather unconventional way. I’ve had my fair share of colonoscopies for a 40-year old. That said, I have learned something from this process. Each colonoscopy requires a 24+ hour fasting period as “prep” for the event. Prep is a funny word, as they really should call it [aggressively] draining every ounce of food in your digestive track. Either way, I’ll consume only coffee, tea, or water in this process and a really interesting thing happens. It feels odd from about the 12-16 hour mark because I’m typically hungry, but then it feels like my body really settles into the challenge. From here, I do feel a slight boost of adrenaline and mental sharpness. This is also when the body starts to detoxify itself and heal…two things my Autoimmune condition can really appreciate. For all these reasons, I’m going to attempt to conquer one 24 hour fast per month. Easy to do, easy NOT to do.
  2. Dating My Wife: I was primed to add this to my monthly scorecard by reading The Warrior Book. Balance is one of Garrett’s areas of focus with his family and his “date night” is something they DO NOT gravitate away from. Selfishly speaking this is something my wife and I can work on. We’ve got two young kids (4 and 8) and we’re busy. But we’re not sooo busy that we can’t make time for just the two of us to reconnect. Honestly, I was going to only have 1x per week on here, but that felt lazy and pretty weak candidly. So two it is. Grab a babysitter and get out there!

Pass on Resolutions – Find Momentum

As I’ve challenge many before, don’t go the path of New Year’s Resolutions. Instead, I challenge all readers to find the things that truly make you “feel good” and hone in on the frequency needed to gamify your own lifestyle. When you see it on paper in front of you, accountability ensues.

As former Navy Seal Jocko Willink says in his NY Time Bestseller: Discipline Equals Freedom. My scorecard is my connection to freedom.

~Happy New Year All!

PS – Here’s a short list of the elements that didn’t make the list:

  • Ice Bath – I was thinking of a 6-8X a month Ice bath but I’m going to leave that one alone for now and see how the current revisions play out.
  • Charitable Contribution – I was considering sticking to a monthly dedication of a charitable donation, but we do a pretty good job of this and didn’t feel the need to stay after it on a monthly regimen.
  • Kids Date Night [with each child] – Kids need total focus too and I was REALLY close to putting this one on there. I’m going to keep it in mind as my wife and I work on our accountability.

How Will You Arrive?

Fresh off a 5K run. Drenched in sweat and about to text my buddy Steve.

As the sun rises and the sun sets, I step closer and closer to that milestone birthday I once dreaded and made fun of in my 20s. Now as this milestone quickly approaches, I’m hopeful to believe life is less than half complete. Yes I’ll confess my age. I’m on the doorstep of 40!

What inevitability awaits is marketed to us on the daily. Do gray hairs now populate my head and beard? Could the waistline be slightly expanding? Is my club head speed beginning to deteriorate?

A couple months back around the holidays I was texting with a good friend of mine after a workout. Sweaty, but feeling energized from my recent accomplishment pounding the treadmill for a few miles I reminded him of the impending doom on our horizon. Our 40th birthdays would both come calling in March of 2022.

The question wasn’t if we’d make it to the milestone. No. We were certainly on a crash course with a “mid-life” encounter. The question I posed to him was, “How will we arrive at 40?”

How would I arrive for my wife?

Would I have the vitality necessary to keep a 20-year relationship fun and strong? Would I be desirable in my life choices or is the beer gut winning out? Am I doing my best to balance being a provider, a parent and a partner?

How would we arrive for my kids?

Would we have the energy, or more than enough energy to keep up with them as they grow out of babies into their adolescent years? Do we own enough discipline to know when to put work away and pickup a ball or book with our kids?

How would we arrive for ourselves?

How is our physical, mental and spiritual health at a time when we’re pulled in so many directions? Are we continuing to take on new and curious challenges to keep growing as individuals? Do we also own a deep gratitude to know we are “enough” today?

How would we arrive for our friends?

Are we someone a friend can trust or count on in a time of need? Or are we the one who seldom returns a call or text? Instead choosing the lazy route of disappearing into the ether of a “busy” life void of the connections we truly cherish?

A decade ago…

I shared somewhat similar and more surface level thoughts about this topic as I was nearing 30 and trying (unsuccessfully at the time) to start a family. Was I the reason my wife and I were unable to conceive? Was it my lifestyle that needed an overhaul? If we were blessed with kids, how would I arrive as a parent?

Time is a wonderful teacher. Ten years and a lot of life in between offer more perspective and more thoughtful reflection as I continue on this journey called life.

I now understand life is consistently presenting us with milestones. Each milestone contains a mini finish line on the horizon. Each finish line provides an opportune time time to ask, “How will I arrive when I break the tape of _______________ life event?

If you currently find yourself addicted, overweight, out of shape, anxious, or simply less than your best self…look forward to your next milestone and leverage the journey ahead for meaningful progress.

I don’t care if you’re soon to be graduating college, turning 30, welcoming your first child, turning 50, or soon to be 80 years young. Life is giving us all the opportunity to pause and take stock. Not that we are perfect or in pursuit of perfection. But that we HAVE ARRIVED!

HOW WILL YOU ARRIVE?