Older Bolder Life

Stronger | Leaner | Sharper | Longer - From Older Bolder Fitness

gratitude

Attaboy Monday, HEB, and the Power of Thanks

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Attaboy Monday

Very thankfully one of my mentors demonstrated by example and drilled into me the vital importance of catching people doing something good, recognizing their effort, and offering often what was simple but direct praise and a “thank you”. Down the road he, using the down-home vernacular that belied and understated his impressive intellect, began to refer to these as “attaboys”.

I’m personally convinced under normal circumstances we as a society in North America (and probably the world) would benefit from telling those around us attaboy much more often, even more so in these days of perceived mayhem and madness we find before us.

Today’s Attaboy: HEB

Texas Monthly recently posted this article praising the efforts of a regional grocery chain down here in Texas called HEB; that’s a screen shot of their article above. The authors did a worthy job of digging into the preparations HEB made early in the game, seemingly far ahead of the curve, to serve their customers. During the years we’ve lived in Texas and had HEB’s available they’ve been our grocer of choice, and we’re currently huge fans of their Central Markets (CM) here in the DFW metroplex.

It has been nothing short of stunning to see how HEB and CM have, for the most part, maintained order and have been damned near fully stocked while other grocers around them, at least those I’ve visited over the past few weeks, have fallen in disarray, with shelves picked clean and left empty for days. They’ve truly been serving their community, almost always with a smile and words of encouragement and commiseration.

Attaboy, and thanks.

The Power of Thanks

Talking with friends, family, and clients over the past few weeks, understandably not many feel thankful these days, though I’d encourage you to find someone to thank today, and every day from this point forward. These are trying days, though they will pass, even if they do leave a mark on many a family, society as a whole, and regional, national, and world economies for some time to come.

Thanking someone is a very powerful expression of gratitude and appreciation, and the more you exercise your thankfulness muscles, the more opportunity to do so will present itself.

Stay healthy, mind your risks, wash your hands, stop touching your face, exercise, eat well, and thank someone today.

Giving Back: Our 3% for 3 Pledge

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One more bit of ‘housekeeping’ before we get back to regularly scheduled programming here on the blog -please indulge me a moment to share about our 3% for 3 pledge.

To regularly partake of any form of news these days, even if briefly, will expose you to an avalanche of voices working very hard to convince you the world is going to hell in a hand-basket. To be fair, in many respects it probably is, and we all need to be very intentional and thoughtful about how we consume the news of the day, and more importantly, how we let it impact our daily lives.

Virtually absent from the news feeds of the day are stories of people and organizations quietly going about their missions of helping their fellow man, often at great sacrifice and with profound impact. And when’s the last time you heard or read a story from one of the big ‘news brokers’ about the powerful influences and even health benefits that gratitude, service, and thankfulness can have on your life?

Our Older Bolder 3% for 3 Pledge

We decided from the very beginning to donate 3% of our gross (pre-tax) business income here at Older Bolder Fitness to three different organizations a year who are working to do great things for people.

There are dozens and dozens of wonderful organizations working often in relative obscurity out there today, though I must admit our three organizations this year all have to do with something we’re crazy about – fly fishing.

Reel Recovery and Casting for Recovery help men and women battling cancer reconnect with the natural world through the healing power of fly fishing and the natural world, offering no-cost, immersive experiences with volunteers who teach, guide, and encourage along the way. Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing has a similar mission, though serves men and women veterans of all ages.

We’d encourage you to give a bit of yourself, and your resources, to a group (or groups) you’re inspired by. Gratitude is good for you.

the Older Bolder Plan to PreGame Your Holidays: Seven Essentials

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Now’s the time to proactively take some simple, readily attainable steps to make the upcoming holiday weeks something to savor and enjoy instead of “simple surviving”.

There’s nothing to follow that falls into the rocket-science level of thought, and while no doubt some of our readers are holiday season ninjas, handling the stress and frenzy of the holidays without batting an eye or breaking a sweat, there’s a useful pearl or two below for the rest of us.

Simplify (Everything)

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
– Albert Einstein

A trusted mentor years ago sat back in his chair as we sipped coffee after an early morning breakfast, and said something close to this, “…if there’s one thing I could impart to you from all the time we’ve spent working together, it would be to simplify your life. Simplify, simplify, simplify…”

My friend was also a physician, and we’d recently left busy, successful practices to together start a new practice model, the first of its kind for our specialty in the entire state (Utah) at the time. I don’t remember all the precise details of our conversation, but I’d been complaining about all the seemingly endless onslaught of ‘must do’ tasks that our new startup engendered, and how it was impacting time with my young children and my other love, fly fishing.

The call to simplify of course fits perfectly with the tsunami of activities we all face during the holiday window at year’s close. I personally find the call to simplification quite liberating, opening the door to not pursue perceived perfection (events, food, gifting, and so on) but think out of the box, uncouple from (at least some) burdensome traditions, and engage with friends and family in the moment.

One easy way to simplify? Put down your damned phone, and take a several week hiatus from social media. Watch out, you’ll probably find that social media isn’t doing anything useful for you, and never go back…

Creatively Meal Plan and Cook Ahead

For many aspiring primal and ancestral eaters, the holidays present a particular challenge when it comes to making optimal choices to fuel their bodies for the activities of the day. Carb bingeworthy, insulin-spiking treats seem to pop up everywhere, and many feel undue peer or family pressure to participate.

One simple practice that’s revolutionized the way my wife and approach our meals is to plan out our menu a week or ten days at a time. I like to do this at a time during the day when my creative and planning processes are firing on all cylinders (somewhat ironically, that’s almost always in a fasted state for me). Thinking through our favorite meals in the rotation and planning their timing according to our schedules (and even the weather forecast) shuffles all the “what should we eat decision making” into one convenient window, and saves significant time (and stress) during the week.

Our adult daughter from Montana is joining us for the week around Christmas; she’s been keto now for several weeks, and we’ve already planned out a deliciously tasty and largely keto compliant menu for her stay. Yep, there’s one not-quite-keto dessert planned, but we’ll be 97% on target (give or take a percent) otherwise.

Easy peasy, and I’ll even cook Christmas Eve’s Boeuf Bourguignon a few days ahead (it only gets better).

Cling to Your Wellness Routines, Especially Exercise and Sleep

I know, I know, this one is easier said than done, particularly if you’re in a part of the country where winter has already locked the countryside in its icy grip. Be uncompromising about your regular workouts, and perhaps it’s now time this month to treat yourself to that extra yoga class or extended hour or two in the gym/on the slopes/on the road.

Most of us, given the drastically shortened day length in December (solstice on the 21st!), feel the circadian tug to sleep longer this time of year. Don’t fight it, and there will be an event or two this month that you need to forgo to recharge your own sleep batteries.

Just do it.

Shift Mental Gears on Gifting

Probably the most cherished Christmases we experienced with both of our children at home were the years we decided as a family to hand-make all gifts. The first time we did this our kids were late-elementary school age, and we were amazed at how creative they were, and how invested they became in the process.

It’s purely my opinion, but I’d argue anywhere, anytime that the best gifts we can give are gifts from the heart, markedly personal, and (keeping with my theme) often beautifully simple. Don’t shop just to “shop and find the perfect gift”. This might just be the year when you buy/make gifts in batches (ornaments, a primal/paleo/ancestral food treat – get creative here, candles, and so on…).

Be a Crafty Scheduler: Who, When, and Where

For many, time demands escalate dramatically during the holiday season, sometimes to the point of being ludicrous. We try to approach social demands during the holiday pragmatically; there are events that are ‘must do’, we try and make those as fun as possible and invest time wisely.

There are, however, always a flock of event invitations, some no doubt by winsome folks and worthy organizations, that for what ever reason, that don’t resonate with you or present a conflict or unnecessary drain of time, effort, or holiday cheer. Don’t hesitate to say ‘no thanks’; saying no can be very empowering, gets easier the more you do it, and you need to be making the best choices with your time you possibly can. Choose the best (over the good and not so good) for you and yours this season.

Make This Month Fun

It’s amazing to me how many people look and feel stressed and harried this time of year. Seeing someone, a couple, or a group of friends, talking, laughing – obviously having real fun – is something of rarity it seems.

Have a friend or family member who always make you smile and laugh? Make a special effort to spend time with them in the next few weeks. Carve out time every week to do something you really enjoy, crank up your favorite music, and invest time with people you care about and love.

Cultivate a Sense of Gratitude

There’s a remarkable body of scientific work that’s been collected detailing the health benefits related to perceiving a sense of gratitude. We’ll delve into the science of gratitude, and its impacts on human physiology and the human psyche in detail in coming months; here’s a decent recent summary with links to pertinent research if you’re skeptical.

For many this time of year invokes a spiritual connection; if you’re one of those, embrace it, and revel in the time of celebration and fellowship. (We’ll spend some time this next year looking at the impressive health benefits of spiritual practice…)

For some, looking at life through a lens of gratitude and appreciation isn’t one that they understand well, nor is it one they’ve practiced often. It doesn’t matter, your gratitude capacity grows markedly with repeated use; start flexing those gratitude muscles today, and keep it up through the busy holidays (and beyond).