Eric and Joe have decided to hit the pause button on this podcast to evaluate what we've learned over this past year. We captured the good, bad, and ugly and now we want to take a look and see where we can tweak things to make this podcast a little better and provide more value to your lives.  We thank you all for taking the ride with us so far and we look forward to coming back to you with a new and improved feel. Peace & Love!

This week, along with Coach Debbie Larson, we frame our coaching conversation around the topic of endurance. While you may never want to run a marathon anytime soon, sometimes life’s journey can begin to feel like one. Maybe you’re someone who’s struggling to lose weight and that in itself is starting to feel like a never-ending loop. 

So here are FIVE THINGS that we feel will help you along the way:

1. Proper planning. Inspect what you expect at the beginning and make sure you plan accordingly. When do you expect to lose the next five pounds? Are you hoping it’ll come off, or are you actively preparing for it too? If you’re in an endurance sport, proper planning includes having the right gear, and having the right equipment, it ensures you have what you need when you need it along the way. Now, it's an experience that we’ll need in order to see if our planning was correct and from experience, we’ll be able to make the proper adjustments. 
2. Begin with the end in mind and expect to win. Mindset matters, and taking on an endurance challenge with a “wait and see” attitude won’t serve you well during the tougher moments of the journey. At the beginning of any journey, or long-distance event, it’s important to be aware of the course you’re traveling. Don’t know the course? That’s okay because we planned for the distance, right? Expect to win. Set out with the intention of losing that weight, join that program EXPECTING success, why would you think anything less? 
3. Train, and, train specifically for the event you’re undertaking. The “event” and “training” are two separate events but oftentimes we’ll act as if the training is the event. Do you train to eat healthily or do you “wing it” only to find yourself ordering food you regret before you even get home? Food prep is training for the person who is looking to eat healthier. Training for a marathon? Better get running. 
4. Get coaches and get coaches that have done what you’re doing or looking to do. The coaches you select should have been where you’re looking to be running a marathon? Hire a running coach. Looking to get stronger? Hire a strength and conditioning coach. Struggling to get healthy? Get a health coach. It sounds practical because it is. 
5. Celebrate your wins. Endurance training can, and will, have moments of monotony, so celebrating the micro wins along the way is a strategy that will help keep your energy and enthusiasm up. It’s the energy you can use to sustain the length of the race or event. Plus it’ll take your mind off some of the pain points that we know are coming. 

So if you’re someone who’s in the middle of your journey, find your tempo and keep chipping. Towards the end of yours? Make sure you stay focused on the steps because the end always presents one final challenge. 

And for those of us our first metaphorical or literal mile, you got it, you trained for it, now go EXPERIENCE it! Isn’t that what life’s all about? 

Outside of sounding like a bad rock band, this week’s title is a combination of metaphors about making our health a priority, we hope simply having the discussion will paint a different picture this time around. Most people are well intended and most people don’t intend on one day waking up and finding themselves overwhelmed with little to no wiggle room for error. 

As the responsibilities begin to pile on, as we continue to say “yes” to events, tasks, and projects for ourselves and our families, the tendency is to let some of the important variables of our lives go. We all know life gets more challenging without our health, and yet, many go days, weeks, months, and years without a second thought. 

After all, we’re busy, who has time to go to the gym?

The danger in that thinking, the thinking that “going to the gym” is an expense, either in the form of our time or in our resources, is we’re reducing our health to a trip to a gym when we know it’s much more, it’s one of our life’s “glass balls.” 

What happens if you’re juggling a glass ball and drop it? Odds are, it would crack or worse yet break, knowing that, perhaps that’s the ball we should be keeping an eye on and let one of those “rubber ones” drop instead. The rubber balls represent things that, while they may seem important, they’re not urgent. The happy hours with the friends will still be there. Our favorite shows will still be there. But will our heath? 

Another example depicts these “glass balls” as “Big Rocks.” 

Imagine an empty box, now imagine we have 4 big rocks and a whole bunch of little rocks surrounding it. The task is to fill the box with all the rocks. Now if you begin the process by filling it up with nothing but smaller rocks, over time what you’ll notice is less and less room overall. Once you see this “issue” you’d no doubt begin to fill the remaining space with the big ones, only to find out there’s no room. 

So, maybe the box is too small. Maybe the box isn’t special enough and we need a new one. Or perhaps we should begin with the big rocks first when the box has more room THEN begin pouring in the smaller ones. Again, the “Big Rocks” represent our health, our wellness, our family, and all the really important aspects of our lives. The smaller ones are of course all the other “stuff.” 

So where should you start? A good first place to start is by identifying what the “big rocks” or “glass balls” of your life are? Once we know that, that’s where our attention needs to be. 

Podcast #52! THANK YOU for a great year of coaching conversations with the Cross-eyed Bear Podcast! Our intention from the start was to bring weekly inspiration, conversation, and hopefully, some tried and true strategies to not only enhance your life but those around you. 

The first step to any process is understanding. Without understanding, even the most well-intended person will lose some steam, and over time what was once a really good strategy begins to feel like a chore.

So, ask yourself, and maybe anyone sitting near you, why it would actually be beneficial to practice “gratitude” in the first place? You’d most likely get a different answer from each person you ask because we all have our reasons, and when we’re speaking in terms of gratitude, most of them if not all of them, would be right. 

Once you have an understanding as to “why” it would be a good idea to practice, then it’s more about the “how” and “when.” The “how” may be more individualized to the person based on preference and life experiences, remember this is YOUR practice. What works for me, or us, may not work for you, which is why it’s important to get as many practice reps as you can. 

Some prefer to journal, writing down your thoughts can take on an inspirational intention (vision board style), there’s the documentation format (what IS happening in real-time), and sometimes journaling is an incredibly effective tool to get all those swirling thoughts out of our heads and onto paper in more of a brain dumping fashion. 

If you’re more of a visual person, recording a snippet of each day's wins or points of gratitude can turn into a project in the best of ways. Could you imagine watching it back years later? Talk about the best way to relive life, through the eyes of gratitude.

Maybe you’re someone who doesn’t want a project, even a happy one, and the last thing you want to do is journal, that’s okay! What’s important is the practice of it. So, even simply speaking it verbally is an effective means to bring attention to all the amazing things going on around you. 

When is the “best time?” Every single day. 

While there are some strategies we can work with, again what matters most, is the consistent practice of bringing attention to what you’re grateful for. 

A.M. = Helps pre-frame your day. It’ll have you STARTING the day bringing energy and light into your individual world, while positively impacting those around you in the process. 

THROUGHOUT = Full days require focus and bringing consistent attention to your points of gratitude throughout your day will have you cruising through the day “faster” than if you brought attention to all the pain points and irritants. 

P.M. = Practicing gratitude at night not only acts as a therapeutic tool for overactive thinkers but it can also act as an evening reframing process. It can be easy to get sucked into the fears, doubts, and anxieties of those around us, journaling at night will not only help you sleep better but more soundly as well. 

Regardless of “when”, you decide to practice your points of gratitude, what you will begin to notice is a shift, it won’t be as drastic as you think. You’ll simply feel lighter, more optimistic, your enthusiasm will increase, and if you practice enough, and long enough, you’ll most likely find yourself with a pretty amazing life when all is said and done!

This week we center our discussion on the topic of recovery, its need, and when we should actually be looking to take it. In a culture where “hard work” is glorified, “beast mode” is amplified, and the notion that harder will get you there faster is something worth having a conversation around. 

While most people bristle at answering a question with another question, there is one that we MUST answer before we can get to work, what are we actually recovering from? 

It’s important to note because different pain points will require something different. The true problem arises when we begin to generalize “recovery” without any true intention. Don’t take recovery and you might just find yourself burnt out and not where you want to be. Take too much recovery and you’ll never reach your destination, metaphorically or otherwise. 

#1. You should rest and recover if you begin to feel nothing but soreness. 

While being sore after a training session isn’t all that uncommon, perpetual soreness is something we want to watch out for. Causes can stem from the style of training you’re choosing to participate in, too much inflammation, dehydration, or even the excessive time you spend in certain positions. 

Solution: Drink more water, seriously, most of us are dehydrated and when we get tired, are we reaching for the next coffee or some water? Most will choose the coffee. Another solution is to increase the frequency of your stretching (daily) and mobility, as well as, understanding when adding load or choosing body-weighted exercises. 

#2. You should rest and recover if you notice an overall decrease in energy. 

There's a difference between being tired and being chronically fatigued. Another dead giveaway that some recovery is needed is when activities that you once enjoyed become something you no longer do, some people experience “burnout” simply because they don’t know when to push, and when not to. 

Solution: Dive into your training. Is it balanced? A balanced training system will (should) include the conversation about recovery. Why? Because recovery is where we get better. When we understand the “how” the “why” is easier to do. 

#3. What are you actually doing on your “recovery day,” and does it actually lead you towards feeling better? Taking a rest day from your training so you can “rest” shouldn’t lead you to the local Happy Hour. Why? Because alcohol is notorious for stripping people of rest and recovery, not enhancing it. 

Solution: While taking a rest day, are you mobilizing for the next session? Instead of “nothing” what CAN we do that will lead us to the next objective. Truly doing nothing is rarely the answer. 

So if you are someone who is feeling like you need to take some rest, take it, but first ask yourself, does this (fill in the blank) subtract from your overall goals and objectives? Self-awareness is everything. 

Training and investments have a lot of similarities, and this week we have a chat about the changing landscape of investing, and the parallels to our overall health and fitness. 

Depending on what you believe in, how you were raised, and the experiences we collect along the way, putting money away is either an expense (can’t take it with you) or an investment (security) for down the line. 

This is also true about managing your health, making mindful nutritional decisions, and training. We set aside time, we allocate resources, and we do it because we want our health for as long as possible. 

So, here are 3 steps to managing your ‘fitness portfolio’: 

Step 1: Build a balanced portfolio. We want balance. In the financial sector having all your resources in one ‘basket’ is considered a risky move. But, have too much diversification and you may lose out on building a solid foundation.  The same is true in training, we want the foundation of our training to be built on the necessary movement patterns, and then sprinkle in the rest with ‘fun’ and ‘exciting.’  

Step 2: Go ‘all in” on the objective, focus on the end goal, not the singular event or investment. If the goal is wealth, then knowing when to hold onto a stock and when to sell a stock is important. Sometimes we hold on for too long and miss out on opportunities along the way. In training, going “all in” means you understand the need for balance. Going too fast may get you hurt and you don’t always need to lift heavy weights to be strong. Being too focused on only one aspect of your training leaves room for imbalance. 

Step 3: Invest (the most) in ‘top’ assets, start there, build your foundation, then move on to the ‘fun’ stuff. What companies have you seen sustain the test of time? Those may be good investments for the long haul.  In training, it’s like allocating 50% of the time towards strength training, 30% towards getting your heart rate up, and 20% to mobility and flexibility. 

While the future may seem uncertain and unknown, what we do know is our health, our enthusiasm, our focus, and our energy will be needed. 

And just like investing, little upon a little (can) add up to a lot. 

For so many people the idea of health and wellness gets lost in the conversation of “weight loss,” and in a country where so many people are struggling to find balance with their weight, it’s almost as if the concept of losing weight becomes the “event.” 

So what happens after? After what? After you achieve your weight loss goal, what happens next? Most people struggle with transitioning from the idea of losing weight to finding their ideal livable range, one that accounts for life in its imperfection, not one that has you counting calories until you’re 83. 

So who better to bring back in for this discussion than Coach Debbie Larson, who through the past six plus years has managed to lose over 200 pounds AND has effectively kept it off, which puts her in the 15-20% of the population who will. So if you’re someone who needs to lose weight, or wants to lose weight, or who has lost weight, this week’s episode is for you. 

It’s in the transitions that most people struggle, we think of the vacation pictures, we think of how nice we’ll look in those clothes, we think of the affirmation we’ll see, and the new identity we’ll create. And to some degree we’re not “wrong,” we just perhaps haven’t thought it out, you know in the excitement of the event. 

What is true, is a new identity will need to be formed, but it’s within the mindset we’re currently operating from, not necessarily this image of the crazed fitness person eating nothing but chicken and broccoli, never to enjoy life once again. 

3 Ways to Transition from Weight loss to Life:  

1. Get a coach, get a mentor, get someone who is currently doing, who is successful, at what it is you’re looking to improve upon. Key words: currently doing. Your coach or mentor should actively be living the steps you’re currently working on and they should model the behavior needed for you to take that next step. Hiring a coach is one of the fastest ways to closing the gaps from where you are to where you want to be. 

2. Get clarity on where you want to go. The fear of losing success is also why so many people stay stagnant and stay in the patterns they last found, even as the world and data changes around them. It’s okay to change. It’s okay to course correct and pivot as your journey unfolds. People struggle with transitions because they fear losing their success. When you’re clear on the direction you want to go you position yourself for MORE change. 

3. Surround yourself in the lifestyle you want. Find your Tribe, find a way to “live it” within your life, instead of struggling with the contrast of your life. Be okay being you, be unapologetically selfish with what you want, it’s much easier to do when you are surrounded by support. It just is. The “transition” from weight loss to everyday life doesn’t have to be hard but it will take some intention. Finding your Tribe is a great way to find personal empowerment for the moments you’re alone (in your ideology). 

Life will bring us challenges, that is a guarantee, and how we transition through these moments will be a key to our overall “success,” of not only losing weight, but keeping our health as optimal as possible throughout our life. 

“A wolf who chases two rabbits goes hungry.”

It’s a pretty visual quote, isn’t it? The point, if you want to get “fed” you need to pick a “rabbit.” Oh, and yes, you’re the wolf. The rabbits represent our goals and objectives, and even with opportunities available, many of us can struggle because by the middle of the week we find ourselves off-path chasing something else. Habit hopping is the perfect way to stay active, but not necessarily a productive way to achieve objectives.  

This week we discuss three possible roadblocks to your success: 

1. Too many influences and so many options. Having so many options and too many influences will actually begin to impede the process instead of helping it. Simply put, while having a bunch of options may seem like a great idea, they can also begin to take on the role of a distraction. The next “big idea” is usually the next big distraction. Stay focused. 

2. Not enough belief and too much hope. Until we believe that something is holding us back, there really isn’t anything anyone can do to help. This oftentimes shows up in the form of “hope.” The kind of hope we’re referencing shows up in the little spaces like the glass of wine that couldn’t possibly be the reason we gained those seven pounds, or, the mindless drifting we do on social media, that couldn’t possibly be a reason we seem to “run out of” time in a day. Hope without action can allow someone to mentally participate without actually having to do the work. 

3. The “gaps” are too wide; from where you are (currently), to where you want to go, there is a divide. There are a lot of well-deserving and motivated people who fail to achieve, simply because they didn’t account for gaps. It’s beginning the drastic diet plan without any thought or understanding of nutrition and wondering why you always seem to “fail.” It’s jumping into the hardest class we can find on the first day because we think it’ll get us “there” faster. 

One of the many benefits of taking daily action is that it closes the gaps little by little. That alone will ease some of the urgency and then, if and when the opportunity represents itself, it’s there for the taking. 

Proof that inspiration can come from anywhere. This week's topic and question was inspired after hearing of a tradition that included topping graham crackers with butter. Yes, you read that correctly, and when asked where they learned that from, they responded that they’re just always grown up with it. 

Traditions, experiences, our stories, our thoughts, and beliefs are often passed down from anyone in our proximity of influence. This is also one of the primary reasons we suggest daily management of those very things. 

What are you passing down to those you influence? Confidence, or, unprocessed insecurities? Are we cultivating a culture of empowerment or one of overwhelm? 

Just like recipes, our patterns and habits, can also be transferred down through generations without much thought because it’s just ‘always been that way.’ 

And for some, that’s where the story started, and that's where the story stays. 

For others, awareness and the desire to change the narrative of, what “always has been” into “this is what we do now,” is why we look for the opportunities to share the nuggets that come FROM the experience instead of fixating on the experience itself. 

We can pass along our strength. 

We can pass along our resiliency. 

We can also pass along our favorite snack or dessert, because let’s be real, some of them are too good to let drift away.