In designing your awesome lifestyle, it is extremely important to live through gratitude - and to be thankful for what you have (and I'm not just talking possessions). Personally, I attempt to live with gratitude every day. Even when working in some strange city where I know nobody, I very often (daily) tell people that "I am doing GREAT! Every day I wake up is a GREAT day."
The title of this post was going to be 10 Things I Am Thankful For, but since I "Live Large and In Charge", I do things a bit better, so I'm making it 11 Things I Am Thankful For. This list is not all-inclusive, is not in any particular order - and really not just 'things' or possessions.
1. Freedom to Choose. I am very thankful for the freedom
to choose how I live my life, my habits, the people I spend time around and generally how I spend (or invest) my time.
2. My Beautiful Young and Hot Wife, Stacia Kennedy. Even when it seems everyone close to me has given up or abandoned me, Stacia has just loved and accepted me as I am. It doesn't matter if I get up at strange hours to go to the gym or write - or if I choose to sleep away my depression all day - Stacia loves me any way. She is constantly working hard to improve herself (had stellar DEXA results the other day) and even more important, almost always has a smile for me - and anyone else in her path.
3. Jacqueline Kennedy is safe, happy and healthy. Even though I have not been able to talk to her in nearly 100 days, we did exchange emails last week on her 12th birthday. She seemed thankful for the gifts we got her and said that she had a special day with friends and family. I miss her so much it makes me want to cry when I think about her, but I am just very thankful that she has a good mom and a step-father who helps care for her. (Thank you Sasha).
4. Makaya Loo is a good kid and an excellent student. Often I can be a real judgmental dick-head. I have been known to poke fun at people who are different than myself. I was not raised on video games. I was raised on pinball - but we usually had to go somewhere else to play that (so we spent a lot of time in unsavory places like bowling alleys). I was not raised with the ability to play games or spend time with my friends online - nobody had computers or the internet when I was a teenager. Besides being raised on pinball, my friends and I were raised on green bud and Rainier Beer. Not really great things to base friendships on - and as time has told, not great basis for long-term, lasting and meaningful relationships.
Often I give Makaya (and his mom), a hard time about spending so much time online, playing games and never going anywhere. Who knows how I would be as a teenager in this day and age? I am just really thankful that he is a good kid, a smart kid, who thinks things through and is a great student.
Life's changes over the last few years have been hard for all of us to adapt to, but overall, it appears that we've all done a decent job.
5. Knowing that I can control my thoughts and actions. Throughout my life I have learned that I alone have control over my thoughts and actions - what I think and what I do. Nobody else has control over that. At the same time, it is extremely important to remember that I do not have the ability (and should not have the desire) to control the thoughts or actions of others - no matter how much I care about them. I am thankful I have the ability to think for myself - and that others can think for themselves too.
6. Ski and snowboard season is here. Not every ski area is open yet - in fact we are still waiting for more snow for most of the Washington state resorts to open up. BUT - there are ski resorts that are open - and I was able to get my first turns in at Mount Baker last week.
7. Season passes at Mission Ridge. Even though I have never skied or boarded there before, I am extremely thankful that Stacia and I have season passes to Mission Ridge. Although Mission Ridge still does not have a lot of snow, they have been making snow like crazy and open their season tomorrow.
8. An AWD (all wheel drive) vehicle to get us to the mountains to ski and snowboard. It's not new, luxurious or without it's idiosyncrasies, but our Ford Exploder seems reliable and like it's looking forward to lots of mountain trips.
9. An improved DEXA score. Both times I have done a DEXA body composition scan, I have walked away being unhappy and unsatisfied with my body fat percentage. Despite being in the top 1% of body comp for guys my age and top 3% for guys that are 25 years old, I was not exactly excited about my 14.4% total body fat percentage. I thought that I worked extremely hard for it and really wanted to improve from my last score of 16.7% two years ago.
What I need to focus on is 1) I did make a good improvement of over 2% less bodyfat, 2) I was able to make that improvement despite the challenges of being on the road traveling for work most of the last 4 months and 3) I have a great opportunity to get even better - with new goals, as well as workout and nutrition protocols.
10. Weaning myself off television. Because ConCast is such a terrible company to be used and abused by, we have chosen to get rid of cable television. I should be thankful that Comcast loves to screw their customers, because I really do not want tv in my life anyway. TV is a total time killer and life waster. I choose to live life - not just observe un-reality that I used to watch on television.
Side note: watching tv seems like it is a more difficult habit to kick than most - even worse than the worst of substances. It's hard work, as over many years, I have gotten used to the outside 'stimuli' that television seems to bring. It is more effort to actually do and think, rather than have a dulled brain (and life), like most who are constantly seduced by what some call 'entertainment' on the boob-tube.
11. Goals. Although I have not always been prolific on goal setting - or goal achievement, I do very much consider myself a goal oriented person. I set goals and achieve goals. Once my goals are set, I make plans to achieve them. Often my subconscious goes to work on these goals without me - that's just one of the magic things about actually having goals.
I am very thankful to have goals, dreams and desires - as well as the ability to set them, review them and achieve them.
Those are just 11 of the things that I am thankful for today, this day of giving thanks. What are YOU thankful for today?
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