IT'S ALL IN THE BALANCE

Many people say the life of a professional athlete is the simplest form of life...wake, eat, train, nap, eat, sleep, repeat. It is our goal that one day we will be able to achieve this simplicity and conform to a life of basic tenants to be successful in our physical endeavors. There is something mystical about surviving using one's physical strength and mental fortitude, but we have yet to achieve this simplicity. Unlike most jobs, a cyclist cannot go to work from 9-5 and remove oneself from the inherent daily pressures in any career, because a cyclist is constantly thinking about not only the daily training task at hand but the crucial recovery that catapults one's physical abilities to the next level. Combine this permanent mental state of productive thought with family, school, employment to survive financially, relationships, and the journey to find one's purpose in this world, and we soon become overwhelmed. Ultimately, it is the need to find balance.

Being a person chronically searching for intellectual endeavors, I have always been attracted to academia. This direction has led me to many incredible presentations by others and to many life-changing conversations. This past Tuesday I was fortunate enough to be able to hear a speech by professor Toni Zimmerman of CSU. She was charged with the task to present to a group of graduate students the role of finding balance in professorship. As the speech progressed it transitioned into an open conversation between all students and Dr. Zimmerman about finding balance in all aspects of life. I soon found myself secretly calculating my own balance and came to two conclusions that have become very important. One, nobody can achieve without a proper PLAN. Most people including myself can soon find themselves swallowed by the mental muck associated with all commitments in life, and simply be incapable of overcoming this hazy mental confusion to get tasks accomplished and move on. It is amazing how all of this can be avoided with a basic PLAN. I like to separate a daily PLAN into aliquots of time separated by progressive time points (i.e. train from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, eat, shower, relax from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, study from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm, bed by 11:00 pm). This brings me to my second point; work to "time" not to "task". By separating one's daily schedule into aliquots of variable-size time, one is able to accomplish more in the day. The challenge becomes overcoming the anxiety associated with not completing a task and being able to move on to the next task, but by working within a constrained proportion of time one is able to lie in bed, reflect on the day, and say "I achieved all I could have given the allowed time for each task. Anything I have not achieved can be incorporated into my PLAN for tomorrow."

It is now 10:45 pm. I have 15 minutes to get ready for bed and fall asleep. Although I have not written all my thoughts on this topic, I must move on because I am at the end of this aliquot of "time". Ultimately, remember life is all about the journey. It is important to set goals, but if you can't reflect on the journey, then how are we finding meaning in our existence? Make your PLAN, stick to the allowed "time", and look back saying I've done all I could.

With love,

Phil