Author Archives: Rick

My Loose Pants

Something fun happened yesterday (‘yesterday’ was the 17^th of March). It may seem odd to you that I call this ‘fun’, but it’s my blog so I can call it whatever I want.

The fun thing? I realized my pants were too loose. My belt is also too big. This is a first for me. I’m accustomed to having the opposite problem. Pants too small? Yep. I have a familiarity with that particular issue. Pants too big?? Well this is something altogether new.

Over the course of the last few months, I’ve lost more than 15 pounds.

I need new dress pants. I need new jeans. It scares me to buy them. I may wait a while longer. What if I begin going up again?

I’m not participating in a diet plan. I’m not ‘juicing’. I’m eating less. By eating smaller portions, cutting out snacks, drinking more water and generally paying attention to what I’m shoving in my mouth, I’ve been able to slowly lose some weight.

I do have someone helping me. Friends of mine who live in Florida have a passion for helping people become healthy. They helped me start down this path by introducing me to a way to change my eating habits. It is working.

15 pounds sounds good. It makes me sound successful. But I’ve only just begun. My goal is to lose another 25 pounds. I’m not setting a date. I’m not signing up for a 5K. I’m not training for a Triathlon. I’m changing my lifestyle. One small step at a time.

One year ago tomorrow, March 28, 2013, I began this journey.

It was the first day of Spring Break for my sons. We were on our way to a week of vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama. For whatever reason, this day was DAY ONE.

I’m not sure as to why the journey began. Sure, I knew I needed to lose weight. But I began the journey on the 1^st day of a VACATION! Who does that? Most of us use a vacation as a way to excuse ourselves from eating healthy. We drop the idea of trying to “diet”. No salads on vacation. I did something different this time. I stopped drinking pop (or, soda for those of you not living in the Midwest).

How much pop did I typically drink in a day? Did you see the picture at the top of this post? Depending on the day, I might down one can, or two, or quite a bit more. I had a Coke addiction. I used to joke with co-workers about it as I made my way to the machine. Unfortunately, it was an addiction. How bad could it be you say? Bad. Real bad.

Even now, one year later, I would love to have an ice-cold Coke. In a glass with ice. In an ice-cold can. If I’m thirsty and I see an ad for Coke on a billboard, or on TV, I want one. Even as I type these words my mouth is watering and my desire for the sweet delicious liquid is heightened. One year later. Amazing.

No pop on a trip was the start of my weight loss journey. What began as a game in my head to see how long I could hold-out has turned into a lifestyle change. A good one. (Full disclosure: Every so often I have been known to drink a little root beer, and Sprite has shown up too. But, no cola. Not one.)

I’ve also been cutting WAY back on my consumption of fast food. I’m not perfect on this one. I love a Wendy’s hamburger for lunch on Thursday or Friday. Strangely, it never satisfies me. A couple of hours later I’m hungry again. This is where I would have gone for the Coke in the past. Now I need to figure out a different solution. Coffee and water have been the solution for me. Water, water, water and more water. It is amazing to me how this simple liquid can satisfy many of my hunger and thirst needs.

I’ll write more about my journey to a healthy lifestyle. I’m sure it won’t be a frequent topic, but the whole loose pants issue was begging to be written.

In the comments below, I’d love to know your answers to the following questions. Join the conversation!
What small changes have you made to improve your life? What changes could you make?

Change My Whole Life

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“What would it look like to change my WHOLE LIFE?”

A few months ago I jotted those words in my journal.

A few weeks later, during a counseling session, I was told to throw that idea out the window. My whole life didn’t need a change. Many times we get hung up on the BIG HUGE changes we think are necessary to be successful in life. The problem with this thinking is we forget to take into account all the parts of our life that are good. Our fallen, simple, minds tend to dwell on the problems and conflicts we experience. We forget about the good.

Two percent. That’s all we need. That’s all I need. 2% can be HUGE. 2% can be significant.

Do I need to change EVERYTHING in my life? No. If I set out to change everything about my life I would lose and discard so many good things. Changing everything doesn’t look too good when I take the time to ponder what it would look like. I would need to leave my family. Well that settles it pretty quickly. I’m not going to change everything. I like my family. I want to keep them in my life.

What else does ‘everything’ encompass?

Do I want to change my job? Yes. No. Maybe. In the now legendary words of Jenny Acuff, “income helps”.

Do I want to live elsewhere? No. I enjoy living in West Michigan. My boys like their schools.

How about hobbies? I like to play golf. Should I give that up? NO WAY! Food, vehicles, clothing, hair style, etc.

Some of you may want to change everything I’ve mentioned above, but I’m sure if you took the time to look at your life, you would find numerous aspects to deem off-limits to change.

2%. Let’s get back to this small number.

Would changing 2% of your life make an impact on, well, everything? I say yes. Here’s why.

Apollo 13. April, 1970. 2%. The Apollo 13 astronauts had a miniscule window to hit in order to successfully re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. If they weren’t within the window, they would burn up or skip off the atmosphere and out into space with no hope of return. 2%. How could such a small number make such a HUGE difference? Earth’s pretty big. How difficult could it be to splash that capsule down in the ocean? Pretty darn difficult for a regular person. Thankfully, Jim Lovell, his crew mates Fred Haise and John Swigert, and the man left behind, Jim Mattingly, were not regular people. Training matters. These gentlemen and the dozens of people helping, knew what needed to be done. And, they knew how small the window was for success.

Small changes in direction have potential for causing significant change.

Small changes to multiple areas of life, implemented over months and years, can have a significant impact on the trajectory of your life and the lives of those around you. Taking the initiative to make a small change in direction is important for growth and improvement. I’ve been working toward significant change in the direction of my life. I experienced a huge change in the spring of 2013. Since then, I’ve worked on many small areas of my life. Small, seemingly insignificant changes you may or may not see in me if you know me well. Trust me. Small can be big. Ask my family. They’ll tell you.

More and more small changes are in store for me.

What changes are in store for you? Where is the 2% in your life?

Let me know in the comments below. Join the conversation!

#Next3Decades

Something, something, about something

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A few weeks ago I posted about being STUCK. I experienced a release of words. The words had been accumulating in my mind for weeks. I spit them out.

Now what?

Keep going? You bet.

One lesson I learned through the brief period of no words is the need to continue. Writing begets writing. A body in motion stays in motion. So I continue to write. The writing does not need to be brilliant (even if I want it to be). My words need to leave my head. Create, create, create. Keep moving and exercising the brain muscle.

I read quite a few blogs published by professional writers. They blog on a variety of topics, but one thing they have in common is they post on “how” to write. They are very generous with the supposed secrets of their craft. There really aren’t any secrets. Most of the information shared by them has been shared with them at one time or another. Now I’m going to lean on them, use them, learn from them, and write. Sooner or later my writing will improve. My writing “voice” will be refined. My message will come into focus. Jon, Jeff, Andy, Michele,…………..thank you!

What am I writing about?

I’m glad you asked.

You name it. I’ll write about it. For me, right now, the topic doesn’t necessarily matter so much as the actual practice of writing. A few topics rolling around in my head, and scribbled in way too many places (yes, I need to learn to use one system) include Baseball, Communion (The Lord’s Supper), Masculinity, Selling, Family, Community, Depression (specifically as it relates to men), etc.

There are plenty of topics available to me. Now is the time for me to be bold, create something, and hit the pesky “Publish” button.

As I post more often, I’d love for you to participate. Leave comments. Ask questions. Help me define my message and find my voice. Go back through my small collection of posts and ask me questions about what I’ve written. Please.

As I sit here writing this morning, I’m also have a text conversation with one of you. I’ve been given one more great prompt for writing. “Who” As in, “Who am I writing for?” What a great question!

So there you have it friends.

Thanks so much for your continual encouragement.

Thank you for your honest opinions.

I’m excited for the #Next3Decades!