STARTING SMALL, THINKING BIG

Not too long ago, I finished reading the book, The Power of Habit, a book which looks at research as to why do we the things we do, both on an individual level and on a business/global level. Itandrsquo;s a terribly interesting read and I highly recommend the book. While not necessarily a how-to guide when it comes to habits, there are some practical applications to the research. I, however, didnandrsquo;t necessarily think about the practical implications. Instead, I jumped on one theme in the book which dealt with keystone habits. Keystone habits are those which unlock a entire series of habits and provide lots of change. They may seem small and unrelated, but they make a huge difference. While there were plenty of examples on a larger scale, the one that struck me was making your bed every morning. For many people, making the bed is a keystone habit. Other things happen because youandrsquo;ve made the bed. So I started making my bed every morning. My life hasnandrsquo;t dramatically changed [Read More]

published January 8, 2013 at 10:33am EST

CANADIAN CHRISTMAS VACATION

Photo taken byandnbsp;Roland Roeslerandnbsp;near Athabasca, Alberta. View original hereEvery clock in my mother's house is wrong. Some are off by an hour, others by an odd amount, like the one in the kitchen is off by 1hr, 19 minutes.I chuckle at this because I completely understand my Mom's issue with the clocks. She lives 15 miles out of town, and 4 miles down a dirty road. It's "country living" at its best and its were I grew up. My mom operates on her own schedule, up before the sun comes up most morning anyway, she knows pretty much what time it is judging by the light of the day. Operating her own business for over 25 years, during the spring and summer she works around the clock, making the time of day pretty irrelevant. The winter is when her schedule is the lightest. At one point during our visit she asked me, "what day is it, anyway?" This is typical Mom.Alberta winter's were always hard for me. The days are short and cold, temperatures are commonly -20C or worse, the sun rises a [Read More]

published January 3, 2013 at 3:36pm EST

A LOOK BACK ON 2012 (FAST AT FORTY BLOG)

I have written in the past that I am not a fan of New Yearandrsquo;s resolutions. I do, however, like to use the New Year as a time to map out tangible goals for the following year and determining whether I accomplished the goals I set out for myself the previous year. These goals are often related, in no particular order, to sports, family, coaching and science. I need a barometer to measure whether I have moved in a positive, forward direction with various facets of my life. The end of a year marks a crossroads between reflecting on the year just gone by and the year spanning in front of me. My perspective this year is different, though; 2012 will always be my year of gratitude and not judged on any singular accomplishment. That is because there is no achievement that can possible outweigh the kindness that others showed me at a time when I reached my lowest low. This past year took twists and turns I never could have imagined. The year began like any other but by the mid-point I had a [Read More]

published December 31, 2012 at 12:32pm EST

A 2013 THAT DOESN’T SUCK (AT ALL!)

Itandrsquo;s that time of year. The gym is jam-packed and your Facebook stream is clogged with manic resolution-making fiends. Thatandrsquo;s fiends, not friends. Although theyandrsquo;re probably your friends, too, and otherwise normal. I resist the resolution-making frenzy, probably in the same way I unplug from Thanksgiving and#40;andldquo;traditionally,andrdquo; we do a day hike, and eat PBandamp;J or Vienna Sausages from a mountaintopand#41;, Christmas and birthdays and#40;we do parties but not giftsand#41;, and other shit. Oh, and we donandrsquo;t have a television, of course. Go ahead, call me a Luddite and a grinch. But Iandrsquo;m a pretty damn happy one, as these things go. Srsly, getting untangled from all that stuff and#40;and it IS only stuffand#41; will liberate your soul, de-clutter your house, and renew your spirit. And with that in mind, hereandrsquo;s what I did this year andmdash; more how I try to live every year andmdash; and why it might just offer YOU a juicy, yummy, spinning-in-the-sunny an [Read More]

published December 29, 2012 at 11:04am EST

LET GO OF THE ROPE!

Wipeouts happen, right? But thereandrsquo;s a trick to getting through them that I just didnandrsquo;t learn in boxing. But I was recently reminded of that lesson in the facefull-of-water kind of way that only a real wipeout can teach. Learning to hang on to the rope My grandfatherandnbsp;had a cabin on Pickwick lake and a small, light boat called the Flutterby, perfect for towing skiiers. When I was about seven or eight years old, he showed me how to wedge my feet into the wet rubber shoes of an old slalom ski, handed me the tow rope, and helped me slip over the side of the boat. Several times he emphasized to me that I should hold on tightly to the rope, so I clutched the plastic handle in both hands with a death grip and anxiously tried to keep my balance in the water as the Flutterby drifted slowly away and the slack was pulled out of the towline. I got up on the very first try; I couldnandrsquo;t believe how easy it had been. and#40;Classic beginnerandrsquo;s luck; it didnandrsquo;t happ [Read More]

published December 3, 2012 at 2:57pm EST

WTS BLOGDERBY: BOOK EDITION

and#40;Ed. Note: Every few weeks, we andldquo;pass the torchandrdquo; to a different blogger in our community who is responsible for rounding up the best blog posts about womenandrsquo;sports. If youandrsquo;re interested in accepting the torch, contact us and weandrsquo;ll put you on the schedule. This weeks Blogderby - a special book edition - was contributed by author Keri Mikulski who rounds up the best sporty fiction for girls.and#41; Sports fiction for teens: As an athletic fanatic and sporty young adult author, Iandrsquo;m always on the hunt for an amazing book that features an athletic main character. And guess what? Some of the best teen and tween novels on bookshelves today feature a sporty protagonist. Born to run? Thereandrsquo;s a ton of great sporty books out there for cross-country and track lovers. Eileen Cookandrsquo;s and#40;http://www.eileencook.comand#41; What Would Eileen Do? follows Emma on her quest to snag a track scholarship with some major boy bumps along the way. Pheobe in Tera L [Read More]

published May 9, 2009 at 10:55am EDT

WOMEN TALK SPORTS BLOGDERBY: ROUND 3

Welcome to the Women Talk Sports and#40;WTSand#41; Blogderby, Round 3. Every few weeks, weandrsquo;ll andldquo;pass the torchandrdquo; to a different blogger in our community who will be responsible for rounding up the best blog posts about womenandrsquo;s sports. If youandrsquo;re interested in accepting the torch someday, contact us and weandrsquo;ll put you on the schedule. Keri will be posting Blogderby Round 4 in a few weeks. Archives of the Blogderby will be located at Women Talk Sports. Thanks, and go female athletes! Did you know World Cup andamp; Olympic Soccer Champion, Brandi Chastain, is also a golfer girl and only the second woman to participate at the Celebrity ATandamp;T to date? Read the interview in Soccer Star Brandi Chastain Lives Her Golf Dream from the Pink Diva Golf Blog. Nine-year-old snowboarding phenom Alexis andldquo;Lexisandrdquo; Roland from Bloomington, Minnesota was first discovered in a YouTube video showcasing her talent when she was just six years old. Pretty Tough gives [Read More]

published March 23, 2009 at 12:16am EDT

WOMEN TALK SPORTS BLOGDERBY: ROUND 2

Intro: Welcome to the Women Talk Sports and#40;WTSand#41; Blogderby, Round 2. Every few weeks, weandrsquo;ll andldquo;pass the torchandrdquo; to a different blogger in our community who will be responsible for rounding up the best blog posts about womenandrsquo;s sports. Megan from Because I Played Sports started us off a couple weeks ago. Archives of the Blogderby are located at Women Talk Sports. If youandrsquo;re interested in accepting the torch, contact us and weandrsquo;ll put you on the schedule. Thanks, and go female athletes! Thereandrsquo;s been lots of talk about the WPSandrsquo;s new uniforms and especially the skorts. A Left Wing has one of the more opinionated and entertaining posts on the subject: I Guess Puma Didnandrsquo;t Get the Skort Memo Itandrsquo;s Womenandrsquo;s History Month and AskPatty provides some background on International Womenandrsquo;s Day. And in honor of IWD, Women Riders Now writes about motorcyclingandrsquo;s female pioneers. The WNT, in Portugal for the Algarve C [Read More]

published March 7, 2009 at 4:11am EST

WOMEN TALK SPORTS BLOGDERBY: ROUND 1

Intro: Welcome to the very first Women Talk Sports and#40;WTSand#41; Blogderby, Round 1. Every few weeks, we will andldquo;pass the torchandrdquo; to a different blogger in our community who will be responsible for rounding up the best blog posts about womenandrsquo;s sports. If youandrsquo;re interested in accepting the torch someday, contact us and weandrsquo;ll put you on the schedule. Jane from Pretty Tough will be posting Round 2 of the Blogderby on Saturday, March 7. Archives of the Blogderby will be located at Women Talk Sports. Thanks, and go female athletes! In womenandrsquo;s basketball news, we learned that Lisa Leslie is now retiring form the WNBA. Lyndsey Dandrsquo;Arcangelo from B5 Mediaandrsquo;s Girls Dig Sports reports on the story. Certainly sad to see her go. ESPN columnist Mechelle Voepel discussed and#40;on her personal blogand#41; how Iowa Stateandrsquo;s andldquo;super fanandrdquo; Wild Bill Yungclas has decided to retire. Her perspective on super fans is quite unique - as she mentione [Read More]

published February 21, 2009 at 12:49pm EST