Set Higher Standards by YogiRavi

The past few days I have been absolutely buried at work. As I like to say, “Being busy is better than being bored,” so I won’t complain (too much). However, it has become startling clear how debilitating it can be to worry and stress about looming deadlines and projects. It’s a never-ending sense of dread.

Projects and deadlines become stressful for only one reason: fear that you will not live up to your own expectations.

Who creates these expectations? Like I said….You Do.

They could be expectations about what someone else will think of you. Of what you will look like in front of your peers. Of what you will think of yourself later on.

All of these expectations are based on a set of rules and laws that you alone create. Therefore, why not create a set of rules and laws that are motivating and not debilitating?

For example: if you are putting together a presentation for executive management in a few days (which I am doing right now in fact); which of the following inner-dialogs would you rather have running through your mind and body?

1. I need to have the presentation perfect. It needs to have all the right data. It needs to look perfect. I need to be prepared for each and every possible question they could have coming at me!

2. I will have an insightful and well-researched presentation. I will be prepared to discuss the issues with conviction and courage. I will educate others, and also be open to educating myself on other people’s points of view.

If you don’t train your mind to have a positive inner-dialog, chances are it will just run amok. Some people call this “motivation,” when all it really does is wear you down on many levels. Train you mind to have a more constructive and positive outlook. It will free up a lot more energy better tasks….like finishing your presentation!

Now…back I go to work

I’ve been in a good workout groove lately. Lifting and running (or doing some sort of cardio) on alternate days. Today it was time for a nice run. With sunshine in Seattle, I headed out to soak in some rays.

Jogging down the sidewalk two blocks from my house I was almost impaled by a giant 7-series. The guy was barrelling through the alley-ways trying to either:

1) make it to Starbucks before his buzz wore off
2) beat the traffic that was already 5 blocks ahead of him or
3) catch the last of happy hour at Joey’s.

Regardless, he literally grazed my kneecaps with his bumper. Good thing his beamer wasn’t hurt. Who knew running could be a contact sport! Be careful out there.

I love walking around downtown Seattle on a weekeday evening. Even at 9pm, the heart of the city seems asleep. It’s like your own private playground. Fresh air blowing in off The Sound. No traffic. Hardly any noise. Coffee shops on every corner in case you get thirsty. I love this city!

I was reading Yoga Journal at the grocery store the other day, and noticed an article titiled “Going the Distance.”

It highlights many of the points I wrote about a few weeks ago, citing John Douillard’s research, and the ancient Indian system of breathing, known as pranayama.

In a nutshell, breathing exclusively through your nose is good for you on many levels; even when exercising. Give it a try!

Note: It is impossible to navigate the Yoga Journal website (IMHO), if you want to read the article, your best bet is to look at the February 2007 edition of the magazine, in stores now.

I have many teachers. I’ve encountered them through many different means. Through travels. Through sports. Through retreats with my family. Through chance encounters. Through blogging. Through friends. Through seminars. Sometimes even through school .

Your teachers shape who you are. They are quite possibly the most important external factor in determining the quality of your life.

Teachers push you when you think you can go no further.

Teachers expand the scope of what you think is possible.

Teachers explain the most complex of subjects in the simplest of terms.

Teachers hold you to a higher standard than you hold yourself to.

Teachers don’t take no for an answer.

Teachers walk their talk.

Teachers don’t make assumptions.

Teachers are your friends, even when they are teaching you a “tough lesson.”

Teachers smile and laugh more than they yell and scream.

Teachers are more worried about contribution and growth than significance.

You can tell that by teachers, I don’t necessarily mean the schoolhouse-variety. They can come from all walks of life, and be any age. Teachers are many things.

Who are your teachers? How have they helped you get where you are today? Are there new teachers you would like to bring into your life? What steps will you take to find these people, and bring them into your life?

It took me 4 hours to get home today from work. It took me almost two hours to get to work (taking the bus). I live <15 miles from the office. This just isn't right!

Was writing a business email this morning and noticed something strange with the way I was writing it:

…..I was speaking with the Team X and there is concern about how our charter overlaps with their’s…

The reality was, there wasn’t really concern, there were just a few questions. Some education was in order. I was inadvetandlty setting off the fire alarm when there was not even any smoke, just some dry kindling! I rewrote the mail to focus on the positive:

….I was speaking with Team X and we think there is an opportunity to scope our roles and projects so we have the most cross-team synergy…

Subtle change in wording will convey a completely different set of emotions.

Too much time at the lab. Maybe I need one of these? Or maybe I should just move here! Thanks Ross for the pointer.

Here’s a quick run-down on how some of my life-change experiments are coming along. I’ve talked about most of these on the blog.

Raw Food Diet: I went raw for a while last year to see how my body would react. I am by no means a raw foodist now, but experienced enough profound benefits to see that there is something to it. The experience changed my diet forever. I would say my diet is now consistently 30% raw, and some days I go mostly raw just for the heck of it. The biggest lasting changes are 1) I eat a lot more fruit now, especially tropical fruits 2) I eat a lot more greens, especially wheatgrass and 3) I snack on raw nuts quite a bit.

Vegan Diet: I am sticking with my commitment to go Vegan. I went Vegan over 5 years ago, and after 2 years, switched back to eating some dairy and eggs. I recently decided to weane myself off the little bit of lacto and ovo that I was getting. I am not militant about it (like I was before) which takes the pressure off. I feel great and it is the right thing to do for the environment and my health. So I am sticking with it!

Weight Gain Goals: I have been on a mission for the past year to gain weight. Looking back over my logs, I actually have made negative progress! I started last spring in the low 150′s, and eventually got up to 155 or so during the summer. During this time my bodyfat also dropped quite a bit. Net gain was +10lbs of lean mass.

However, I eventually developed some issues with my neck/back that made me tone down my lifting. While I still trained consistently, I couldn’t lift heavy weights. I also got lax with my nutrition (i.e. not keeping my calories up!). Then, I took December off to travel and didn’t do any heavy resistance training. When I came back from India my weight was down to 148! While my strength was still decent, I wasn’t happy with the weight loss. I am now restarting my weight gain plan, with the goal to get to 165 by April Fools Day (4/1/07).

Photoreading: I starting the technique with a goal to read 30 books in 30 days. In retrospect, this goal was unattainable from the get-go, given that I knew I would be gone travelling without access to lots of books during a large part of the month. That said, I photoread a dozen books during the couple weeks before heading off to India. My experience was enough to convince me that the technique does work (at least to some degree). I am by no means proficient at it, but am very hopeful. I am going to restart my daily photoreading practice soon.

Nose Breathing: This is perhaps the most powerful and life-changing technique I have learned in the past several years. It is so simple yet so profound. I have consistently focused on nasal breathing throughout my entire day, including DURING EXERCISE. I am still not able to run as fast as when I mouth-breath, but am making steady progress.

Meditation: I am still keeping up with my meditation routine. I have modified it slightly, to include a bit more pranayama (yogic breathing) in addition to the meditation, but it is still a regular part of my morning routine.

Getting Up Early: For the past two weeks, I have gotten up between 4-5am every day including weekends….except for this morning! This morning I got up at 8:15am….why? Because I went to bed at 5am last night. I can thank Kapil, Paul and Lee for that. At any rate….I am now officially becoming a morning person, and amazing myself with how much I can actually get done before dawn; even with a fair amount of foot dragging and procrastination.

I wish I could say my Christmas Vacation was as sweet as this.