A quick word if I may..

I hope to have more time today to speak to you all, but in the mean time here is something I thought about while beginning work this morning.

I can't explain the exact circumstances that have led me to my state of mind, their could be many (a good nights rest, a good coffee in the morning, a good ride on the trainer, a good listen to the art of war)... but today I just feel good.

I know that there is a lot expected of me today and I have a lot of work to accomplish but I know that if I attack each task individually that in the many things will be completed. Here is my attempt at zen for the day. Coming straight from my head, this is original MJC:

"Each new day is like a snowflake, individually unique and beautiful, so stick out your tongue and swallow life up one flake at a time."


I hope you enjoy my thought for the day, I'd love to hear what you all think. I have lots of these kinds of zany things floating in my head. Additionally, if anyone knows someone that can get me into the journalism world drop me a line. :)

The Marathon of Life

Regardless of the journey that we have all taken this past week we are finally at the end of it, or at the beginning of a new one, however you want to look at it. And isn't that the beauty of life, everything can always be turned upside down and seen a different way. A bad situation to one person is a learning experience to another. All to many times I find myself worrying and stressing about something when really there is no need. Taking a moment to step back and see the big picture can calm nerves and clear minds. Along my life journey that I am on right now, I am in a career that constantly challenges my mental toughness. Whether this is good or bad really cannot be known yet, but either way I am developing skills that are not only industry applicable but skills that will prepare me to take on the future endeavors that I undertake. It seems to me that often the real meaning behind a task is not what it seems on the outside. For example, yes I am an auditor and I audit the financial records of companies. However, the real takeaway of this job is not to truly learn how to test a certain area within a Company but to learn about that company, about its people. People are in business to stay in business and if you aren't working to build and sustain relationships than you might as well kiss your contract with those people goodbye. This leads me to my personal dilemma. I am but small, very young fish in a big sea dominated by old fish. These old fish have been there a long time, they are set in their ways and have developed their own routines. Even though they have been through what I am going through, most of them either have forgotten or do not really care to remember because they have other things to worry about. I guess this leads me my original point that for me personally I need to remind myself that everyone goes through the same things, the same challenges. Its the people who can find ways to deal with them and turn the challenges into opportunities. So often in my own experience this is a hard task when your not really 100% on board with what your doing. None the less I am in a good place that has exponential opportunities if I am to seek them out. I am very close to a turn in the road. I still have many miles left in the marathon that is my life but I am about to hit a point where I will either pick up the pace or settle in for the long haul. My bet is that I will step it up and start churning those legs a bit faster. Time will tell. One thing I know for sure is that 2010 is going to be big year for me. Beyond work, I have so many great things happenings. It's going to be very, very interesting.



and whose to say that I can't reach my goals, no matter how Big they are.

Ahhh...

Great day, absolutely great. Since I cannot sleep in like a normal person I was up and around at 7:30 even after I stayed up until 11 last night finishing Twilight (Looks like I will be making a trip to good ole B&N to get book #2..plus I know have another movie I can watch while on the trainer). I really did try to keep sleeping but it just wasn't happening. Thus, the coffee was made (and drank), Starbucks Via of course, I had a nice breakfast of a banana/honey/peanut butter/and yogurt. This is a really tasty pre-workout meal which I highly recommend based on its tastiness (i think it has some good nutrient ratios as well..but hey, whatever works!) After letting the food settle while watching some more Arrested Development (Hulu has the entire Season 1 up on their website until the first of the year, then its season 2 on 1/1/10..so I have about 6 episodes to catch up on by then. They are short so I should have no problem wrapping them up..great show by the way, I advise all to give it a shot. Absolutely brilliant writing and acting). Keeping with the Jason Bateman theme (Arrested Development, Up in the Air) that I seem to be following lately I started up the movie Juno which I rented on iTunes using my Christmas gift card from my Aunt Deb (THANKS!). As I spun my way through an endurance workout on the trainer I really must say that I enjoyed Juno very much. I have heard a lot about this movie and was pleased it didn't disappoint. It wasn't like a awe-inspiring movie that I can't stop talking about but it was funny and had a nice "warm" feeling to it. Anyway, as planned my spin was only supposed to be 1 hr but since the movie was about one and a half I decided to just ride it out. I basically rode at a moderate level for the hour and then backed off a little for the rest. My Coach will probably "hate" me since in addition to this extra spin session I decided to throw in a little extra cycling. Instead of heading to the gym to doa little core strength training (I'll do that tomorrow instead) I decided to hit the great outdoors on my Mountain Bike. The bike has been taunting me as it has been sitting in my garage for the past couple of months. With the weather cold and the daylight short I have just not had the time to get in any "extra" little rides. Well since I am not one to waste a day off from work I suited up in my winter apparel and started making my way to my favorite bike shop in the world, Towpath Bike Shop! My journey took me through residential streets covered in ice and snow, main roads with fast cars, snow laiden sidewalks that almost took me down, and an old train track path behind the shops on Monroe Ave. I finally made it to downtown Pittsford and coasted on into the bike shop. After checking in with the guys and seeing that my wheel was being worked on (I'm getting a Powertap! Booo yah) I saddled up and headed back to the apartment for some warmth and food. On the way back I stayed on East Ave. (and avoided being hit) and made it back relatively quickly. All in all it was really nice to get out on the Mountain Bike and truly "just ride". Cycling has been the one discipline that I have truly fallen in love with, so anytime I can ride outside with no time or exertion level in mind...its just well...exhilarating and being on the mountain bike is pretty cool because its just so different from being on a Tri or Road bike (With that said, I really can't wait to start hitting the roads on my awesome Madone in the Spring, I really miss the Sunday morning rides that I started going on with a GREAT group of guys this summer, our schedules are very different, especially in the winter so we see very little of each other but over the Christmas weekend an email did get circulated between all of us and it was really nice to at least touch base with these guys, I feel really bad that we've lost touch over the last few months but I know that once the weather gets better that we will find each other again)... Not to say that training rides are not exhilarating for me, because they are..I love training, I mean anyone who is in Triathlon has to at least like training...and I am no exception..I LOVE IT, which is probably why the Ironman appeals to me since it requires so much training if you really want to be prepare correctly. So...that brought me back to my apartment where I grabbed some food (Big apple, left over Ham from Christmas Eve (still very good), and some almonds...if you cared to know. Now here I am sitting in my favorite spot at Starbucks (Right at the bar area, typing away in my own little world). I find it interesting that of all the places I could "hide" away in, I pick places like Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, Wegmans. I picked these places last year when I was studying like crazy. I could have chosen many other quiet places like my apartment, or the Fisher Library, or the Brighton Library, or the Office, or many other places that would have allowed me solitary silence. But that's not me, I thrive on being amid the crowds, "being anonymous in a crowd", I get a "high" off of being around people...I guess I really gain energy from other people. I don't require conversation or anything from these people, all I require is their presence, the liveliness....whatever it is I enjoy being in these populated places, I am able to concentrate more easily. I guess this is a testament to how when people are in "their element" or their comfort zone that everything is clearer..more easily accomplished.

I am also very excited because tonight I am finally going to "Next Door", Wegmans new restaurant that opened right across from their flagship store in Pittsford. A good friend from home who moved into my apartment complex is going to go with me, which is very very cool since the amount of people who I can comfortably go to dinner with is still few and far between up here in Rochester. I don't know how to explain that, I guess I am one of those people who has trouble reaching out to new people, I'm very shy in that respect...nervous of disappointment, I need to work on that. Enough of that...I'm super stoked to be going out to dinner and a movie. There is something to be said about bunking up and staying in but getting out amongst the crowds of people is truly a treat. I don't have a bar scene, or a club scene so I don't really associate with people of my age that much. I guess I just don't really know to many people who are into the same things as me right now. I mean I like to get my sleep..so I go to bed early and get up early to train. On New Years Eve I will be in bed before the ball drops since I am going to do a running race on New Years day. This does not depress me or bother me at all...its what I want to do! I want to run in a race more that I want to get drunk in the middle of the night, weird? I don't think so...That reminds me of something funny, as I was leaving swim practice last night some of the older guys joked with me about how New Years was coming up and one of them made a comment that inferred that I would be out partying because I was the "young-guy". I didn't say anything about this but inside my head I was just thinking about how funny that is to me. I mean honestly the last time I was out partying was during Senior Week of my Senior Year in College...and before that there really wasn't much "partying" going on. I guess once I hit a certain point in my life, sometime around the beginning of my Jr year in college I decided I was going to do what I wanted to do, be who I wanted to be instead of trying to fit in with certain crowds. I feel I have a natural gift of being able to fit in with many types of "clicks" for the lack of a better word. Thus, throughout my youth I really felt like I was always trying to fit in to be accepted, not really being who I truly was. So anyway to make a really long story short I changed...for the better. I know I have drifted from people, but that's life...the people that really matter will still be there no matter what. Life is very complex and difficult but I'm on my own path and no matter what, that's on the right track, wherever it is taking me.

Alright, getting back on track...I'll wrap up today's post by saying that today has been great. I wish I could do this everyday...someday...someday....You've got to at least try in order to succeed. What's the worst that could happen, failures? Ehh failures are just like growing pains. Hurts when they happen but you end up growing bigger and stronger from them.

Until tomorrow...

-Matt

Yesterday's Points (12/27/09)
Vege's - 1
Fruit's - 1
Water - 1
Not Overeating - 1
Wegmans - 0 (But I used a gift card that I got for Christmas so it wasn't like I was depleting my own bank account...which is nice)

Random Thoughts on a Wednesday at Starbucks

Lately I've been thinking a lot about Zen. I really don't know much about the practice of Zen but the few concepts which I have heard have really struck a cord with me. In particular the notion of living "every moment in practice" is amazing. This concept keeps a person on track, keeps a person from being overwhelmed. We as human beings are amazing creatures. Our ability to rationalize and reason is what separates us from the animals. Yet these abilities are also our main limiters in my opinion. As humans our ability to get inside our own heads and the heads of others is what can lead to our downfalls. There is some point in every persons life when someone tells them that they can't do something. Maybe its something small like in grade school when you have to ask to go the bathroom or maybe its something big like "you're short and small without exceptional stength, you are from a small little town in the middle of nowhere...there's no way you could every play professional (insert a sport of choice here)...or "you could never be president". This makes me wonder, when President Obama was growing up I wonder what his family and friends were telling him? I must imagine that his grandmother (bc I believe that is who brought him up) fed his imagination. Allowed him to dream big. I've got to believe that he had an immense support system which allowed for this young black kid to actually believe and act on a goal as big as becoming president. With that said its not just the people around you who alter your life although it is a HUGE factor. I also feel that the people who achieve amazing things in life have an enormous belief in their own selves. This brings me to my main point. Individually we are capable of AMAZING THINGS. In reality, as cliche as it sounds "an individual alone determines their destiny". The people that succeed in life have an ability to filter out negativity. The phrases you can't, I can't, its to hard, I'll never make it do not exist in these peoples vocabulary. People that succeed in their endeavors dive in to them and do whatever it takes realize their goals. I mean would anyone in their right mind have ever thought that Lance Armstrong would win 7 Tour's IN A ROW after battling a cancer that nearly left him dead. How many people would have thrown in the towel and just been glad their survived? Not Lance, he wanted more and there was something in him that made the impossible...possible. Who know's what this something is. I believe that this something is different in every person. Each individual was created uniquely. We are each our own person, we have a unique code embedded in us. The lucky people are the people who find their passcode, who find it in themselves to unlock their true potential. And here is the kicker..I think that it just happens. People who unlock their true potential don't really know its happening because their are living in the moment, they are as the saying goes living "every moment in practice".

So who is to tell someone that they cannot achieve their goal? Why bring someone down by telling them they cannot do something? Does this makes that person feel better?..is it making up for their own lack of self-believe and internal drive? We are so quick to judge and make excuses. Instead of reasoning why we cannot...reason why we CAN! I honestly do not know where I am on my life's journey right now. I am along for the ride. When something perks up my interest I go after it..eventually things will sort themselves out, that I am confident of. Everything in my life is happening because I am living it...I do not have a set destination for my journey, my journey is constantly changing..and why shouldn't it! All I know is that yesterday when I was out for my morning run I felt different. The running was natural, I was just along for the ride. I was thinking about life, thinking about how the only way I will ever know if I can do something is if I try it. I have many goals, many dreams in my head. People that know me probably have a grasp on what they are. I am not shy about what I want in life. Why hide it? Why be ashamed of it? I want to be a triathlete, I want to make it my life, I want it to take me places far away from Rochester! I am going to strive to make this happen, yet I do not know what will actually happen down the road and nor do I care. I can tell you one thing though...I am learning all sorts of things about myself, about what I care about...I cannot be stopped because I won't let myself stop. And that's the bottom line. Each of us is unique, each of us has different talents. It's when we get caught up in "What we SHOULD be" that we get into trouble. Children don't know what they look like when their running around during Recess..they just run full bore at their maximum speed...and we as adults tell them to SLOW DOWN!...WHY? maybe we are just trying to protect them, that is a natural instinct..but that's not what I am getting at here. I am getting at the point that we need to learn from Children who run without care, who do things without thinking..they just do it..maybe its not the safest decision but heck..it makes sense to them. These children are just living their lives and letting their own emotions deviate what they do. They do not try and be someone else. Maybe the whole thing occurs when a kid starts to realize the clothing he/she is wearing. When a child begins to questions the clothing they wear..maybe that is the time that they have lost their innocence. I know that I don't remember when this occurred in my life. I just know that in all the pictures that my parents have of me when I was little I was dressed in clothing of their choice...I could care less what I was wearing. I just wanted to be able to go outside..whether that be naked or in shorts, well that was my parents decision. Ok so that was a bit of a rant but really..what I want to get out of this last thought is that when we as people let someone else dictate what we think we should do, what we look like, what we enjoy..that's when we lose our uniqueness and its that uniqueness that allows certain people to achieve amazing things! I just like many people am influenced by people and things all the time. However, in my life their have been certain milestones that have lead me to a couple key beliefs that I believe are putting me on the right track..I may not be the ipitamy of "practice what you preach"...yet and I mean YET! But one thing I will leave you with is that you should always do what you feel is right for you. Now this doesn't necessarily mean doing what you want to do all the time because their are indeed times when you would rather keep pedaling past the guy who just blew a tire..but the right thing to do is to stop and help...karma is a bitch and don't think it won't come back to bite you in the butt..So in each of your own lives strive to accomplish the things that interest you, if your friends are into it thats ok...still do what you want to do..and you'll make new friends. Don't fall into the trap of doing something just because its the norm..it everyone did this how would we grow, how would their be innovation? What if Craig Alexander (2x Ironman World Champion) believed what everyone said about him at age 30..that he was never going to be a world champion..never going to win the big one..well shoot he's over 35 years old now and has 2 titles (back to back I may add ) to his name. TRY THAT ONE on for size.

If you put thought and effort into your actions and you do what you determine is the right choice YOU WILL NEVER BE WRONG! its only that other people may see that action as wrong..but you know what WHO CARES, live your life..be happy...to my knowledge we only have a certain amount of time on earth and who knows when your times up..CARPE Diem!..(now that's cliche!)

-Matt

Your Body is A Temple

Call me conceded, call me a narcissist, but I love my body. By body I am not referring to the outside physical appearance. Instead to me my body represents an engine. An engine that I am constantly tweaking and working to improve. I can say this was always the case. I must confess that for a time I was indeed consumed with the quest towards outwards physical appearance. As with anything that intrigues me, I throw my whole self into that world. As such I developed a love for weightlifting in College. I lifted all the time, and loved it. I loved how I held the proverbial sculptors chisel. I alone determined my size, my shape, my weight, etc..etc...This was all and good but it's just not me. It took me away from my friends, my family..it made me someone who I didn't like. Not that I was doing anything bad...quite the contrary, it has led me to a healthy diet and even led to some new friendships. It's just that that sort of thing isn't what I am about. What I truly love is being outdoors..engaging in all kinds of athletic endeavors. I was not created for short bursts of insane speed, instead I was built to endure. I was built, both in body and mind to outlast. That is why Triathlon appeals to me. It's not really about how fast you can swim a lap..its about how fast you can swim 100 laps...many things in both sport and life equalize over time...think about that the next time you feel your world crashing in upon you. Sure at the moment things go wrong it can look REALLY BAD, but give it some time, an overwhelming majority of the time, balance will be achieved. I believe that I am living proof of this. I was neither a saint nor a devil during my teenage years. I never went insanely nuts and I never was Mr perfect. However, this ended up providing balance in my life. I truly believe that if I had been on either spectrum of good vs bad that I would not be where I am today...at 23. At 23 I feel that I have achieved a level of knowledge that is allowing me to see my path much more clearly. By no means do I have 20/20 but I know can understand how I can someday get there. Life has taught me a few really important things..I am going to try and list them..(this is a working draft..as it always should be )
1. Do What you want to do!
If your not doing what makes you happy then you need to re-asses your decision making. Life is way to short to be unhappy. There are just to many options out there, don't box yourself in.
2. Be your own person!
Don't just try to fill in the box in regards to your personality. Be you and no one can hold that against you. Eventually you will fall into line with people that you mesh with..then you won't even feel weird..because you'll realize that your not weird, your just you. You were born a certain way and no one can take that away from you. For better or worse. Use the skill sets that you were build with. It's when someone finally discovers what they were made for when BIG THINGS can happen. I mean not every car is build for the same purpose..their mini-vans, sub compacts, sports cars, SUV's, dump trucks. Each serves their own purpose. Within each excellence can be found. Some people are lucky and they find out what they were built for at a young age. Some people find out later in life. In my opinion it doesnt really matter. You might say that well Matt..it would be better to start out young. But I would say to you..but even if your older and you discover your calling you are going to be just as driven, possibly even fresher than someone who has been on their path all along..so who knows maybe this could be a good thing

3. Remain tight with your family!
These are the people who will stand by your side no matter what. They love you for you and will do anything for you. Treat your family like gold. No matter what I know that when I see my family, I am going to feel welcomed. It does not matter how much time has passed since we last saw each other. Whenever we re-connect we go on as if we have seen each other every day. I did not have the opportunity to grow up with my brothers and sister since they were from my moms first marriage and are a lot older than me. However, growing up I was lucky enough to travel with my mom and see them wherever they were...I have had the opportunity to visit may countries and many places in the US because of this. I am extremely lucky! Its also must be said that whenever I have spent time with these half siblings I have been treated as if we grew up together. They truly love and care for me. They did not need to grow up with me to feel these things. They feel these things because we share a common bond...were blood..my mom is there mom, and my dad helped raise them. Idk, I just feel lucky that I know my family cares about me, they care about what I am doing. My parents constantly are making the trip to Rochester just to have dinner, or bring me something I left at home, or bring me medicine, or stopping to see me if I am sick, or coming to some race I am doing...My family is unconditional..I hope that everyone reading this feels the same way about their family. If you don't then I really would suggest making it a point to connect with your mom, dad, sisters, brothers..cousins...might just be me..but FAMILY is huge! Don't take them for granted.
4. Keep in touch with your close friends!
Friends make everyday life easier. Friends are my favorite drug. No matter how crappy or how tired I am, whenever I am around people who I consider my friends I get a high. I love being around my friends. I have developed some great friendships over the last 6 months. Friendships that I can honestly say are mutual. It couldn't be more exciting. With each passing day I am finding more and more things to do. I am seeing more and more paths opening up to me. I may not have a million friends, thats just not me..but the friends I do have really mean something to me. I would do anything for my friends. That's how much friendship means to me. It can be lonely living alone, I can attest to that. I work all day and workout and all this stuff and then I don't really have people to share that with. But that's begun to change, I know have developed friends who are into the same thing as I am. I know how a circle of people that I can talk with, hang out with, go mountain biking with, go road riding with, go running with...its amazing! I wouldn't trade them for all the tea in China. (Idk if China still has a lot of tea but back Im guessing they used to because thats a pretty old saying)

5. Find what makes you comfortable and strive to live in the comfort zone.
This goes along with the post I wrote earlier this week. If your living within your comfort zone...your inner circle if you will, you will not only achieve your own true potential but you will be helping those around you achieve your own true potential. Why? Because, if hang around people that make you feel good, that make you better, and those people keep coming back to hang out with you...then something has clicked...some universal connection has been made! Do not let this go! Together people achieve more. 2 is greater than 1. I will not guarantee that if you find a training partner in your discipline of choice that you will become faster just because. However at the same time I do believe that finding a training partner will makes you faster. Wait MATT! Didn't you just contradict yourself? Yep, I sure did. I say this because just by training with someone you might not get faster...I think that by training with someone you will develop a bond, something that makes you want to ride a little longer, a little harder. You may get up in the morning and get that extra workout in when you don't feel like it because you want to be accountable to your partner. Even when your not training with your partner on a certain day, you still want to hit your training goals so that they don't jump ahead of you. Thus, running with another person might not make you faster just because, it might make you faster because of the happiness you develop, the accountability you feel...those sort of things. So in a round about way..2 is greater than 1. Together everyone certainly achieves more. It's just finding the right people that's the hard part. Its like finding the damn center puzzle pieces that fit together...that's why you start on the edges...build your foundation, discover what drives you, what makes you, YOU!...then you can customize..then you deck yourself out.

With that said I also would like to note that going out of your comfort zone every once and a while is important too! As person we grow through adversity. We learn from mistakes. Trying new things can open up whole new worlds, whole new perspectives. So even though the ultimate goal is to be comfortable in your own skin, you need to make yourself uncomfortable every once in a while in order to maintain some type of balance..the yin and yang if you will...because I guess overall....How would you know if your truly comfortable if you never make yourself uncomfortable? Try that one on for size!

Getting back to why I love my engine. Because even though I or anyone else can buy all the gadgets, and latest technology there is...there is still no substitute for getting yourself into shape. Its the person on the bike that makes the bike fast...NEVER the other way around, unless you have an actual engine on the bike that is run by either battery or gasoline..but that doesn't count. Plus how cool is it to look unassuming at a race..not mr ripped or anything..but just kinda avg...and then go out in the race and kick ass! Flying under the radar...but flying a light speed...This has stopped me from wanting all the newest and coolest all the time. Obviously I am not a walking billboard for that statement since I have a couple top notch bikes IMO...but like do I really need a carbon fiber aero bar set? No..and how much more kick ass is it going to be if I pass someone that does...ok that's conceded but whatever its getting me out the door to ride again this afternoon.

Later peeps....

MjC