Day 12: Pick A Physical PR to Beat…and Re-Beat This Year
“The human soul degrades itself…when it allows its action and impulse to be without a purpose, to be random and disconnected: even the smallest things ought to be directed toward a goal.” —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.16 (Daily Stoic New Year, New You Challenge Day 12 Email).
Welp, if I wasn’t sure if I loved the Stoics yet, then this quote from Marcus Aurelius sure clears things up! I agree that purpose is everything and that it can be created and focused in any given moment on any given task. I feel at my best when I have purpose. And feel depressed and can eat a jar of Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter when I lack it. Looking back at the times in my life when I did eat that Cookie Butter for dinner, I can see how I had allowed myself to exist without purpose and perhaps even worse – with a purpose that I knew was incorrect for me.
Tonight, as I left the office, I purposefully decided to go to a different Trader Joe’s for the expressed purpose of seeing what it is like and seeing what I would see along this different route home. I encountered enumerable cute spots on the walk to the 4th & Market TJs, and then I encountered a line of – I’m not kidding – 80 people weaving through the aisles of the subterranean store. Normally, I would have aborted this mission, but because my purpose was to just experience what this different store was like, I stuck with it. I enjoyed the challenge of finding my favorite items in a different store layout, and I felt like a snake inching toward its prey as I wove in and out of the aisles toward the registers. I marveled at all the people and how they shopped. Some clearly with intentionality and others more in discovery-mode. I felt so accomplished when I arrived home – for enjoying a new route, embracing a new Trader Joe’s experience, and carrying heavy bags up steep San Francisco hills 😊
Now the purpose, ahem, of today’s challenge is to pick a physical feat and do it with purpose and passion in order to reach a new personal record (PR) this year. I’ve decided to give myself until the end of the week to determine what I want that PR to be, as I can think of quite a few that might interest me. Here’s the start of my brainstorm, and I’ll share when I’ve made a decision:
- Fastest mile – I can probably run one mile at a 7:20 pace, and I believe I could shave a minute off of this if I wanted to.
- Heaviest squat – I would need to see what I can do today, but judging from the past, I might be able to do 120. This is definitely something I could improve upon this year.
- Most real pushups – Man my upper body is weak, and I struggle mightily with pushups! I can probably do only 10 full and perfect pushups on my best day, so I think I’d have a lot of room to improve here.
- Fastest swim – I have no baseline for this, but I do live near a pool so I could commit to swimming as a regular workout and see what I can do in the pool
- Ski a black diamond – Ooh, this one gives me chills to write, and not the good kind! If I sign up for this one, I better take a week off in February and take lessons in Tahoe!
- Consistent surfing – I would definitely love to surf on a more regular basis and be able to get up on most waves. This one has me the most inspired so far and seems, quite honestly, the most challenging or uncomfortable for me.
- Learning to Kitesurf – I saw people doing this last weekend at the beach and for the first time I finally thought – well that would be cool to do. So maybe this is the year where I finally learn how to kitesurf on the bay.