Resolutions? 2015 Goals – a Year of Flexing My Brain

A Year in Review

I deliberately avoided setting a list of New Year Resolutions in 2015. Instead, I opted for a couple of loosey-goosey goals.

In some ways, this was a mistake. In other ways, it was rewarding.

1. Cutting back on CrossFit helped me gain back 10 pounds of fat – bad
2. Re-prioritizing CrossFit helped me pay attention to having fun and recovery – good
3. Going barefoot during summer outdoor workouts made me feel like a kid again – good
4. Focusing on farmer carries has made me stronger – good
5. Focusing on Olympic lifting made me more consistent pulling the bar off the floor, and keeping the bar close – good
6. Writing fewer blogs in 2015 – bad
7. Retiring two blogs that were no longer relevant to me – good
8. Building Suzanne’s website (my wife) – good for Suzanne, bad for me – see No. 6 above
9. Tweaking my Paleo diet to my own Paleo Plus diet – good
10. Consuming more long-form reading – wicked good

Fitness Beyond The Body

I want to focus on that last point, bullet number 10. In 2014 I was frustrated by how much time I had watched run through my fingers, as a result of reading blogs, news, Facebook, etc.

It’s not that all that stuff is a time-sink, but it is often light reading. I had committed to myself strive to consume more long-form material, that is, to focus more on books, instead of essays.

I use the term “consume” to allow for the fact that one can “read” a book via Audible downloads, as well as hardcopy, PDF or ebook. Over the past twelve months I have read (consumed) at least a book a week. I spend 12-15 hours a week commuting, so most of that time has been reallocated from podcasts, to books.

Screen-time in bed is no longer Facebook, it is Kindle books (with a blue light filter on my tablet).

In years past, the little long form content I read was usually business related. In 2015 I read at least a dozen novels, several biographies, nutrition, personal productivity, business and marketing books, and of course strength training by some of my favorite coaches.

Deja Vu isn’t always 100% the same

I have also had a chance to re-read books this year. Many of us say some books are worth reading again, but this time I actually did it.

“Practicing without purpose is just exercise” – Twyla Tharp

Re-reading a book is an excellent opportunity to mine additional intellectual ore from the author. I read Twyla Tharpe’s The Creative Habit years ago. At that time, I read it as a productivity book. As the final book of 2015, I saw it from the eyes of an athlete.

Yes, the book is about the creative process of choreographing dance, but when you strip away the art or theater, you are reminded that dancers are remarkable athletes, fanatically committed to their craft. You are also reminded that great choreographers like Twyla Tharp and Martha Graham are among the great coaches of the world, coaxing the impossible from their team’s dancers/athletes.

But the real discipline come from showing up to do the work. Brian Johnson gives a great review of the book in the video below.

In my next post, I’ll share my ideas for goal setting for 2016.

Your Wins

In the meantime, what was your significant goal that you achieved last year? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Join the growing Defiant Wellness Tribe!