Smashing out words

I made a promise to myself  a couple of weeks ago that I would start writing everyday. I haven't done too badly on that promise, missing only a couple of days. The interesting thing for me has been how much more creative it has made me and how it has helped my moods.

Writing my book "Crotchless pants are all the rage"* I have discovered a new found respect for structure in writing and have seen an improvement in my story from writing everyday. Even if I only scribble out a page or tap out a short blog post I notice more of a flow. This is important when creating a book because there are always times when you have no decent content, no great ideas, no funny remarks. By continuing to write during these moments it helps to clear the scum from the top of the lake of ideas (or in my mind the puddle) and free up creativity. *This is just a working title.

From the side of mood changing it helps me whether I am happy or sad to write everyday, so that I maintain more of a consistent mood. A bit like a Buddhist monk not holding onto happiness or sadness I can just be and be content. It is sad that whilst I have been writing more and avoiding the turmoil that my mind loves to create that Robin Williams has moved on. Like many others I always loved watching him, from seeing him in Mork and Mindy as a youngster to Good Will Hunting when I was older. For all the sadness that I have experienced with similar experiences, the passing of RW made the most sense and hurt as much as if he was my family. It is hard to explain to people that when you are in a depressive state you don't see the world with rosy glasses. You can't see the wealth you have in whatever form you may possess it. You can only feel and that feeling is the lowest you can be, set in the darkest place in your mind. It is indescribable, because for each person it differs. But it's not something that others can easily help with. It is in the hands of the beholder and is up to them what happens. It is also not as simple as just being able to choose to be happy or choose to be helped, it is much deeper and more complex.

On a happier note I have this weekend off, aside from a few hours at Apple tomorrow morning. So Catherine and I are booked into our favourite little Italian restaurant to celebrate seven years together. We will be cracking some champagne early as the table is booked for 6pm, though I think drinking is allowed from 5pm, isn't it Mum?

I hope that you all have a good weekend. You can expect a training round up for the week on Sunday after I have completed my 20 mile run.

Until then,

Happy running/walking/skipping/jumping,

T :)

New starts

This week Catherine started her new job at Freehills in the CBD after a two week break. She was both excited and nervous on Monday morning when she headed off, but I think she has settled a bit now after a couple of days there. From what she says the work place is well catered for and probably a little bit better than Lovells (I'm sorry it may be true). I am just glad that she is starting on a new challenge and able to move forwards in an environment that is healthier (relatively speaking) when compared with her last job. I know that C will miss her friends from Double Bay, but hopefully she will be able to still meet up with them when she isn't working long days!

I know that C has her priorities right though, because she immediately found out what the gym situation is like, naturally it won't be as good as Lovells when I was there ;) She is quite happy that there is a free gym membership she can use nearby and excellent showers at work for when she runs in. There are also nice touches like solicitor lunch Wednesdays where she gets free lunch and the usual free teas etc. It's just as well I don't work there though, I'd probably bankrupt them after two Wednesday lunches!

I have been working slightly less over the last week, but am thoroughly chuffed with how things are progressing at Apple. I am working towards a full time position there by taking as many opportunities to learn as possible. Everyday is a school day there and I can see plenty of varied routes to take a career with Apple, with the support of the leadership team there are endless possibilities. Before you think about asking me I don't know when the iPhone 6 is coming out, just look at the bloody website!

Catherine and I have been fairly productive on the wedding front too. Well, when I say the wedding front I actually mean the honeymoon, but it's all part of the planning! We have actually only got a few important things left to organise, which is comforting. Of course that isn't considerig the hundreds of smaller details left to sort out, but I am sure they will come together over the next few months. Oh I nearly forgot, one of the big things sorted out this week was the purchase of my wedding suit. I don't want to ruin the surprise (because it's all about my big day), but it looks cool. As long as I don't work too much on the "guns" before January I should fit into it.

I am working away on my book at the moment and trying to write a little everyday. At this stage I am still planning and structuring the story, however it is developing well. I am starting on my sub-characters this week to add depth to the storyline and prevent a monotony with the main characters. Give me a year and I may have finished it!

Not much else to report this week, but check out www.runslothrun.blogspot.com for an update on training in the next few days.

Tom :)

Getting back in the game

A week is a long time off of training for Catherine and me. It's even longer when you have a marathon to train for in 8 weeks. But today I returned to the good old days with a less than inspiring gym session and an hour of hot yoga.

As much as it has been hard to do nothing, skip training and miss the City  to Surf it has been a necessity. Sometimes when you get ill it's not just from the sniffling bastards that you work with. It's also because you've run your system down from stress of one kind or another.

Now that I'm back to 78% health I am ready to get back to some serious training in order to prepare for Melbourne marathon. However I'm also in a stronger mental state after stressing about work and money too much. I've told myself to let it go and stop worrying, because everything is actually ok. With that in mind I can balance training to ensure I run a sub 3:30 marathon in October.

Naturally there are more important things in life than running a semi-fast marathon. Namely enjoying time with your loved ones, making yourself happy and possibly creating world peace. Whilst I enjoy the challenge of running, I never forget that the aforementioned things are more important and my reason for living.

It has probably taken me this many years to realise that being good at something doesn't really matter. The people that care about you don't give a damn if you can run fast or get paid really well for selling stocks. They are only concerned by how you treat yourself and them and that is the source of happiness and contentment in life.

So as well as training hard for this run I will also be focussed on loving my better half,  laughing with friends and giving Kofi Annan advice. God knows he needs it right now.

Tom :)

Outliers

I read in the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell that masters of skills have accumulated around 10,000 hours of practice. People like Bill Gates and professional sportsmen amongst many others have had practice, opportunity, luck and determination to get them to the pinnacle of their chosen fields.

I have thought about this dedication and with it the fact that most humans only use 10% of their brains potential. It would be amazing if we improved this figure considering how much we have done with such a small utilisation of our faculties.

Most of us are too lazy to commit so much of our time to one pursuit. But we will often bemoan the fact that we are not as successful as someone else. Our own inertia is the main prevention of our success and happiness. Let's be honest,  if it was easy to motivate ourselves and try hard everyday then we would all be Nobel laureates, millionaires and amazing athletes.

When I ponder what it takes to be great at a skill I think back to my first days as a gym instructor. We would practice the movements in front of a mirror to ensure we had proper alignment and repeat many times. Once we had this down pat we could add resistance and progress. But if we added weights to an incorrect movement pattern then we enforced misalignment and risked injury down the line.

In essence whatever the skill may be we must research the right way to do it. Then we must break it down to its most basic elements and practice these everyday. We can't run before we can walk and if we walk funny then we are screwed when we begin running.

I am by no means perfect at this process. I frequently skip steps to progress quickly. Despite my patience with others I have little for myself.  I do have friends that are sticklers for the specifics however. They follow and practice the basics because they know that these are the foundations on which all the advanced skills are based. They are admirable in their consistency, they work on the little things as much as the big things and they practice, practice, practice.

Am I jealous? Of course! But only because my own inertia and impatience want to skip the everyday routine. All I need to do is focus on the basics and give myself time. As I write this in my notebook I realise that I have to make a commitment to myself to practice little and often. To write each day in order to finish a book I started a long time ago and to practice each day for a certain dance next January.

I'll update you on my progress.

Tom :)