Post Number: 75
Review of Yesterday's Progress
Daily Points Left: 53 of 71 (Goal: 31)
Weekly Points Left: 49 of 49 (Goal: 49)
Pedometer Reading: 7002
Meetings Attended: Weight Watchers
Exercise Completed: At the Y -
Swim Laps (3 laps, 150 yards)
Water-Jogged Laps (2 laps, 100 yards)
Daily Points Left: 53 of 71 (Goal: 31)
Weekly Points Left: 49 of 49 (Goal: 49)
Pedometer Reading: 7002
Meetings Attended: Weight Watchers
Exercise Completed: At the Y -
Swim Laps (3 laps, 150 yards)
Water-Jogged Laps (2 laps, 100 yards)
SciFit: Recumbent Elliptical Machine (6 minutes & 0.5 miles)
The lesson of this week so far that I am hoping to apply for the last two days before weigh in is this: Evenings are rough times for me. I would say I was at very nearly the same level of hunger several times throughout the day immediately prior to eating. Breakfast and lunch were small, simple, and did the job of lowering the hunger level while nourishing the body. But when dinner came along, I started out at the same level of eating and stopped temporarily. That is the point in time I need to get up from the table and head elsewhere. Otherwise, I am prone to use excuses to eat just a little more. If I am at home, there are endless amusements available upstairs to distract me away from the whatever it is that is motivates me away from the best choices.
The evening food choices is the process of learning to make the best choices in a situation. This is one example of a lesson I am working on making ingrained into my thoughts. Another example of a lesson I need to complete is following through after making the best choices in planning. I was late to just about everything I scheduled yesterday. Part of that was me scheduling a few things a little too close together. Then there was getting a late start out of the gate. I am good at planning. And I have an exceptional sense of time that allows me to know when I am going to be running late long before I actually am.
And once I am running late, other external impediments tend to get me riled. Which is the third lesson I need to ingrain: Letting go of the anger when I am frustrated. I made it through the day. I accomplished everything I needed to and even a couple I wanted to. And since I know that the kids will cause hiccoughs, I need to put them into motion with time available to waste.
The hard part in these lesson is not the learning of them. I see them. I recognize them. The hard part is being in the moment and then recognizing the failure after the event instead of preventing the failure during the event. Which is why I am grateful for this blog. It allows me to think things through. See what works. Review the thoughts of the past.
But more than those powerful forces available to this individual, this blog needs to be something more. While I have been reviewing what I get out of this blog, lately I have been evaluating what a reader might get out of this blog. Most of the popular blogs (not that I am seeking popular) have something in common. They are trying to teach their audience. While I am learning about me and posting about me (and this is a good things), I need to be providing value along the lines of some of the things I have learned about different aspects of weight loss, exercise, healthy living, and other forms of knowledge (and one day wisdom), that will provide value to me and the reader. Towards what end? Well, I have two new goals in mind to increase that helpful significance for this blog so a reader is more likely to find something of merit or consequence. The first point of significance is to be of value beyond the description of the trials and travails, rewards and successes, and knowledge and wisdom of one person. This blog may have such value already when an entry speaks to a reader, but I can plan to build such value into an entry. When this blog has such value, then I will have a readership motivated to return. This is nothing short of a daunting task.
And while bringing such incredible value to a reader as a single author is an exceptionally daunting task, the second one bring the level of daunt to new, overwhelming heights. The second point of significance is somewhat selfish: I cannot begin to describe how much I enjoy the idea of being a stay-at-home Dad working as an author to be able to bring home the bacon. Yes, the high-fat, high-sodium, so absolutely delicious bacon that it belongs on burgers, covering chicken, embracing beef, sprinkled in salads, and adorning maple donuts. Yeah! You heard me, the almighty king of great taste and bad health that calls many a person to stray from their diet. I want to bring home the bacon. I want to be an author.
Suddenly, all of the recreational writing I have done has bubbled up from the depths to push as a geyser into the air. I know most of the geyser is swept away by the wind, but for those watching in awe, it has a moment of existence that will inspire for years to come. I want to have those moments that inspire recorded and published. I want my words to have enough meaning to push others into putting a little money into the family coffers. Writing is not difficult for me. Look at how many blog entries went on and on and on (say it with me) and on and on and on and on and ooooooon. Length does not constitute valuable writing (as anyone in a literature class can attest to). But, from that length, the passage of pleasure, the nuggets of knowledge, and the whispers of wisdom have the chance to create the oceans of opportunity for me.
So, to you the reader, I have four invitations:
Let me expand on these points briefly. Or at least, as briefly as I know how. In my authoring, I edit to bring value to the fictional story or the non-fiction topic. In blogging, I rarely edit, as you can tell. The thoughts flow from my brain, down my arms, into my fingers, and flying on to the screen to be plastered into an entry that helps me feel that I have done something useful in my weight loss at the start of my day. Maybe that is the lesson from the top of this entry I need to pay attention to. I need to put value into my weight loss near the end of the day to make it easier to resist temptation. But that is a thought will have to be pursued another day.
The thought of the moment is to expand a little on each point above -
Blog Significance: I want to bring you, the reader, value. I know I have put nuggets of knowledge and pearls of wisdom here and there in my blog. They are scattered like a single can of bread crumbs strewn across the Super Bowl stadium, field, stands, bleachers, parking lot, and all. But that makes this site all the more unnerving in my mind. You have to hunt, search, and peck through the material that is interesting and forgotten or boring and never remembered to locate the valuable and memorable. What topics would bring more value to you? What do you want to know more about? I am an experienced researcher with a background in chemistry. Put me to work. I want to upgrade these entries from a journal to a blog.
Readership to Authorship: I enjoy writing. My recreational writing is almost exclusively fiction. I have a Batman story I am working on, a dragon story I am working on, a story of knights I am working on, a wizard rebelling again a technological environment that has him trapped, and several others. Two Tuesdays ago, I spent the day entirely encased in my escapism, authoring so as not have to face the supernova of selfishness head on. This worked well as writing flow easily for me. I want to know what has value to you so that the flow has a direction that inspires me to bring some of value to the reader. This will evolve the flow from length to quality in the editing process. I need topic ideas that you would like to read, possible even pay a buck or two for an electronic copy to read.
Invite: I am sure a few of you have already invited others to read this blog. After all, look at all of the page views I have! In this modern day and age, no publishing house accepts unsolicited manuscripts. I must have an agent. An agent needs to see two things: quality in the writing (which falls squarely upon my shoulders) and an audience (which is where you come in). A blog with 100's, possibly 1000's of followers leads to ease in joining the ranks of the published. And to have those 1000's of people following my blog, I need to have value to the reader, which brings to mind the first point. Why should you invite someone to read something that isn't bringing you back once or twice a week because of its significance?
The Voyage of the Authorship: I had hoped, one day all too long ago, to pursue the dream of Authorship. I'm not sure what happened. The blog I was keeping for that is somewhat lacking in details. But like the weight loss details, the Authorship needs to set sail with focus, drive, attention, and effort filling her sails. And towards that end, I refer you to my other blog:
This other blog, while meant to record thoughts along the voyage to becoming a published author, was never meant to be a detailed journal of everything I am working on. Still, there are only ten entries from Thursday, April 19, 2012 to Wednesday, December 18, 2013. That works out to one entry every 67.5 days. That's just plain wrong. And that ends now. I am not saying I will be placing anywhere near as many entries into that blog as I do in this one. But I think there should be two types of a weekly updates. A weekly description of what I have accomplished. And a weekly posting of something I have authored. One of the first entries, I do believe, should be the copy of my critique request that I hand out with my manuscript.
I will remember this day, Thursday, 19 December 2013. This is the day I launched my new found freedom of expression in employment. I know, like weight loss, that becoming a financially secure author is going to be both a marathon and a sprint. That I need to put in titan amounts of long-term strain as I recreate the universe to appeal to readers. And there will be sprints, where I will need to have the speed of a bullet in order to complete tasks that require more immediacy. But something must be done. I have spent years as a chemist, never to be fully employed. I have spent decades as a teacher, only to be fully employed for three years. Is authoring to be my new calling, the one that finally bears fruit? I don't know. Follow me across the sea, if you dare. Adventure awaits that is not for the faint of heart.
Yours excitedly in the hope a new adventure brings,
Eliot
P.S.: Creativity is intelligence having fun - Albert Einstein
The lesson of this week so far that I am hoping to apply for the last two days before weigh in is this: Evenings are rough times for me. I would say I was at very nearly the same level of hunger several times throughout the day immediately prior to eating. Breakfast and lunch were small, simple, and did the job of lowering the hunger level while nourishing the body. But when dinner came along, I started out at the same level of eating and stopped temporarily. That is the point in time I need to get up from the table and head elsewhere. Otherwise, I am prone to use excuses to eat just a little more. If I am at home, there are endless amusements available upstairs to distract me away from the whatever it is that is motivates me away from the best choices.
The evening food choices is the process of learning to make the best choices in a situation. This is one example of a lesson I am working on making ingrained into my thoughts. Another example of a lesson I need to complete is following through after making the best choices in planning. I was late to just about everything I scheduled yesterday. Part of that was me scheduling a few things a little too close together. Then there was getting a late start out of the gate. I am good at planning. And I have an exceptional sense of time that allows me to know when I am going to be running late long before I actually am.
And once I am running late, other external impediments tend to get me riled. Which is the third lesson I need to ingrain: Letting go of the anger when I am frustrated. I made it through the day. I accomplished everything I needed to and even a couple I wanted to. And since I know that the kids will cause hiccoughs, I need to put them into motion with time available to waste.
The hard part in these lesson is not the learning of them. I see them. I recognize them. The hard part is being in the moment and then recognizing the failure after the event instead of preventing the failure during the event. Which is why I am grateful for this blog. It allows me to think things through. See what works. Review the thoughts of the past.
But more than those powerful forces available to this individual, this blog needs to be something more. While I have been reviewing what I get out of this blog, lately I have been evaluating what a reader might get out of this blog. Most of the popular blogs (not that I am seeking popular) have something in common. They are trying to teach their audience. While I am learning about me and posting about me (and this is a good things), I need to be providing value along the lines of some of the things I have learned about different aspects of weight loss, exercise, healthy living, and other forms of knowledge (and one day wisdom), that will provide value to me and the reader. Towards what end? Well, I have two new goals in mind to increase that helpful significance for this blog so a reader is more likely to find something of merit or consequence. The first point of significance is to be of value beyond the description of the trials and travails, rewards and successes, and knowledge and wisdom of one person. This blog may have such value already when an entry speaks to a reader, but I can plan to build such value into an entry. When this blog has such value, then I will have a readership motivated to return. This is nothing short of a daunting task.
And while bringing such incredible value to a reader as a single author is an exceptionally daunting task, the second one bring the level of daunt to new, overwhelming heights. The second point of significance is somewhat selfish: I cannot begin to describe how much I enjoy the idea of being a stay-at-home Dad working as an author to be able to bring home the bacon. Yes, the high-fat, high-sodium, so absolutely delicious bacon that it belongs on burgers, covering chicken, embracing beef, sprinkled in salads, and adorning maple donuts. Yeah! You heard me, the almighty king of great taste and bad health that calls many a person to stray from their diet. I want to bring home the bacon. I want to be an author.
Suddenly, all of the recreational writing I have done has bubbled up from the depths to push as a geyser into the air. I know most of the geyser is swept away by the wind, but for those watching in awe, it has a moment of existence that will inspire for years to come. I want to have those moments that inspire recorded and published. I want my words to have enough meaning to push others into putting a little money into the family coffers. Writing is not difficult for me. Look at how many blog entries went on and on and on (say it with me) and on and on and on and on and ooooooon. Length does not constitute valuable writing (as anyone in a literature class can attest to). But, from that length, the passage of pleasure, the nuggets of knowledge, and the whispers of wisdom have the chance to create the oceans of opportunity for me.
So, to you the reader, I have four invitations:
- What topic can I elucidate that would bring value to you from reading this blog?
- What topics, non-fiction and fiction, would you like to see rendered into a short story, book, or novel?
- Ask others to inspect this blog.
- Check out my long-suffering Authorship
Let me expand on these points briefly. Or at least, as briefly as I know how. In my authoring, I edit to bring value to the fictional story or the non-fiction topic. In blogging, I rarely edit, as you can tell. The thoughts flow from my brain, down my arms, into my fingers, and flying on to the screen to be plastered into an entry that helps me feel that I have done something useful in my weight loss at the start of my day. Maybe that is the lesson from the top of this entry I need to pay attention to. I need to put value into my weight loss near the end of the day to make it easier to resist temptation. But that is a thought will have to be pursued another day.
The thought of the moment is to expand a little on each point above -
Blog Significance: I want to bring you, the reader, value. I know I have put nuggets of knowledge and pearls of wisdom here and there in my blog. They are scattered like a single can of bread crumbs strewn across the Super Bowl stadium, field, stands, bleachers, parking lot, and all. But that makes this site all the more unnerving in my mind. You have to hunt, search, and peck through the material that is interesting and forgotten or boring and never remembered to locate the valuable and memorable. What topics would bring more value to you? What do you want to know more about? I am an experienced researcher with a background in chemistry. Put me to work. I want to upgrade these entries from a journal to a blog.
Readership to Authorship: I enjoy writing. My recreational writing is almost exclusively fiction. I have a Batman story I am working on, a dragon story I am working on, a story of knights I am working on, a wizard rebelling again a technological environment that has him trapped, and several others. Two Tuesdays ago, I spent the day entirely encased in my escapism, authoring so as not have to face the supernova of selfishness head on. This worked well as writing flow easily for me. I want to know what has value to you so that the flow has a direction that inspires me to bring some of value to the reader. This will evolve the flow from length to quality in the editing process. I need topic ideas that you would like to read, possible even pay a buck or two for an electronic copy to read.
Invite: I am sure a few of you have already invited others to read this blog. After all, look at all of the page views I have! In this modern day and age, no publishing house accepts unsolicited manuscripts. I must have an agent. An agent needs to see two things: quality in the writing (which falls squarely upon my shoulders) and an audience (which is where you come in). A blog with 100's, possibly 1000's of followers leads to ease in joining the ranks of the published. And to have those 1000's of people following my blog, I need to have value to the reader, which brings to mind the first point. Why should you invite someone to read something that isn't bringing you back once or twice a week because of its significance?
The Voyage of the Authorship: I had hoped, one day all too long ago, to pursue the dream of Authorship. I'm not sure what happened. The blog I was keeping for that is somewhat lacking in details. But like the weight loss details, the Authorship needs to set sail with focus, drive, attention, and effort filling her sails. And towards that end, I refer you to my other blog:
This other blog, while meant to record thoughts along the voyage to becoming a published author, was never meant to be a detailed journal of everything I am working on. Still, there are only ten entries from Thursday, April 19, 2012 to Wednesday, December 18, 2013. That works out to one entry every 67.5 days. That's just plain wrong. And that ends now. I am not saying I will be placing anywhere near as many entries into that blog as I do in this one. But I think there should be two types of a weekly updates. A weekly description of what I have accomplished. And a weekly posting of something I have authored. One of the first entries, I do believe, should be the copy of my critique request that I hand out with my manuscript.
I will remember this day, Thursday, 19 December 2013. This is the day I launched my new found freedom of expression in employment. I know, like weight loss, that becoming a financially secure author is going to be both a marathon and a sprint. That I need to put in titan amounts of long-term strain as I recreate the universe to appeal to readers. And there will be sprints, where I will need to have the speed of a bullet in order to complete tasks that require more immediacy. But something must be done. I have spent years as a chemist, never to be fully employed. I have spent decades as a teacher, only to be fully employed for three years. Is authoring to be my new calling, the one that finally bears fruit? I don't know. Follow me across the sea, if you dare. Adventure awaits that is not for the faint of heart.
Yours excitedly in the hope a new adventure brings,
Eliot
P.S.: Creativity is intelligence having fun - Albert Einstein
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