Spence Smith

Over the past few months I’ve been taking some time to figure a few things out and get some parts of my life recalibrated so that I can take care of my life in a more manageable way.

Truth be told… over the past year I’ve been working on a few areas of my life that I knew I needed to shape up a bit. In the process, I realized I was going to have to let some areas go from time to time. One of those areas is blogging.

When I started blogging, I was so into it I wrote almost every day. The problem was some days were consumed by just my blog. I love blogging. I really do. But I have way too much going on in my life to just blog all of the time and over consumption of any kind isn’t good for you… right?

So I took a break. I didn’t care if I wrote once a week, once a month… or whenever.

The great thing is twitter and facebook are great to stay connected to community when the blog isn’t that active.

So… I’m back. Life is prioritized and I’m very focused on what is ahead of me.

What is ahead of me? Oh… you will find out soon enough.

The next 12 months are going to be an adventure!

So here’s the question: If you have a lot going on, how do you prioritize where your attention goes?

I haven’t written much about my Ironman training lately. Quite honestly, it’s been a bit tough. Between the cold weather for the past few months, travel and work, I’ve had a harder time sticking to the scheduled task at hand. But now that the weather is getting really nice, that will all change.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the process of what I am going through. Each week I get a work out plan from my coach, but it’s up to me to make it happen. I’m very thankful for the friends I train with and the encouragement we all bring to each other. Especially when most people think this is something I’m doing alone. I’m not sure i could handle this alone, which is why I love training with friends. There’s a core group of us, I would say at least 20 that are connected together. Whether it is swim practice, bike class, weekend rides and runs… we all are trying to do this together is some form or fashion of a schedule.

There are two things I’m learning in this process. The first is learning to prioritize life to make life simple. I have a lot going on and it’s all by choice. So you might wonder what is simple about that? There’s a lot I want to do and in order to get it done, the process has to be efficient. Compassion, blogging, ironman training, etc… it all has it’s place in my life and some of these things are starting to run themselves with a little attention. But in the end… the desired result is to simplify.

The second thing I’m learning is to be mentally prepared. The ironman event is physically taxing, but the real challenge is going to be… can I mentally get through it? There is every opportunity to quit and say this is enough. But… if you learn to think the process through, then the finish line is always in sight.

With these two truths I have learned about myself I have come into a process of planning and preparation. These play a huge role in my training. But it begs the question though .. doesn’t planning and preparation speak true of most things in life? You have to plan and prepare if you want to do well. Especially if you want to hit your goals and realize your dreams.

The more I focus… the more I get done. With everything in my life…

So… as you go into your weekend. What is it that you could plan and prepare for more in your life that would make what you do more focused and more productive?

Over the weekend I thought about how much time it takes to actually become knowledgeable, proficient or good at something like a hobby.

As I have been training for triathlons I’ve noticed one thing that has made me better at the sport is practicing the sport. As I look at blogging, one thing that has made me better has been blogging more. As I look at my life as a drummer, one thing that made me better at the craft was playing more.

People tell me they would never be able to run a marathon or do a triathlon, But all I tell them is it just takes a little practice to get started and the determination to dedicate some time to it.

When I was a kid learning to play the drums, a teacher told me once that I needed to spend at least two hours a day practicing the drums if I wanted to be a good drummer. So I did…and my family can tell you…I played every day. They had to hear it.

Since getting into blogging, I spend a little part of each day either blogging or educating myself on how to do it better. That education helps my marketing side come up with ideas to try online and ways to make things work a little smoother in the world of online presence.

Now that I’m full on into doing triathlons, I spend a considerable amount of time each week training and trying to become a better athlete. I’m not the fastest or the best at it, but I’ve done it.

With anything you do, the more time you spend on something, the better you become.

So…if you want to try a new hobby of some sort, jump in and give a little time. Maybe for you this is time everyday or whatever you can handle during the week. Start small, find other people who do that hobby and ask them questions, learn and have fun trying.

As we say often when we are training for triathlons, if this isn’t going to be fun, then why are we doing it? I know…you must be thinking, you call putting your body through all of that fun? Well…if you didn’t by yourself all the time, then no…it’s not…but when you learn and progress with others, then yes…it’s fun because the community around it makes it more fun.

Enjoying what you attempt to do some times is the one thing that keeps you from quitting.