December Challenge, Day 21: Advice

Advice: What was the best piece of advice you received in 2012? Does that advice still ring true for you? 

This has been a year marked by a very important decision for me, as I decided to take a leap into the brave new world of becoming an entrepeneur... and people have offered their support and advice, and it would be unfair to highlight just one, but I would sum it all up in one concept: Do it!

December Challenge, Day 20: Energy. Getting it, losing it, wasting it, transforming it...

DAY 20: Energy, Where are you losing energy in your life? When/where are you most drained? What energizes you? What jolts you, lifts you up, gets you giddy? Makes you relax? What has you feeling better immediately no matter what?

“Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.” 

- Albert Einstein

The problem is that our energy comes from calories, and if we don't burn the calories to fuel our energy, it gets stored for future usage... and this is a case where too much "stock" can be negative...

So what drains my energy? overstocking it drains me heavily (pun intended)... Funnily enough, using it actually energizes me... So exercise of any kind -running, swimming, weight training, cycling...- is my main source of energy, both physically and -most important- psychologically.  

Exercise and sport in general makes me feel "upped", pepped -up, it improves my mood and my general well-being. I know it has to do with endorphins, and in the end it's a chemical effect on the brain, but also, being fit makes you feel better about yourself, and its one of the best ways to work up a healthy appetite, increase your libido, and sleep better at night...  

On the other side of the spectrum TV is probably the single activity that drains my energy the most -if I allow it... In the "right" measure, it can help me get my mind off things, and relax... True I can achieve this by reading or listening to soft music, but sometimes a sit-com or a good  TV series can really help you escape worries and help you "turn your brain off" for a while...  The best scenario is when I can have a good work-out at the end of a productive day, and then watch a little TV before bed... As long as I don't stay up too much... 

December Challenge. Day 16: Be a fruit loop

The challenge today was dare to be different, to step out of my comfort zone, and leave the house with something I wouldn't normally wear... But I don't own anything I don't normally wear, so as I did last year, I asked someone to help me pick something... I went to a store where I normally do not shop, and had her pick out something she thought would suit me.

Here's the result... What do you think?

I'm adding this last one, as a direct result of "Fruitloop day", as the shirt and sweater were part of my fruitloop shopping, and the haircut is also part of the same idea... I just didn't have the time last Sunday...

December Challenge, Day 19: Everything's going to be alright!

What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

Believing that "everything will be alright" is basic to keep a positive outlook in life. To cope with hardship, loss, disease or even death, we need to believe that everything will be alright... Even if it's not now, It will be alright... Even if it's not in this life, but rather in the next one, it will be alright... This is at the root of many religious beliefs: That there will be an afterlife and we will live happy there, whether it's Valhalla, Heaven or Reincarnation, most cultures need this idea to cope with fear of death.

But we, of course, want it to be alright HERE AND NOW...  So we put our faith in Saints, Jesus, God... The Universe... The "Law of Attraction"... Whatever works for each one of us... The truth is that there is no logical basis for believing that positive thought helps in making things happen, and yet... it works! 

I believe things will be alright, because every time I've found myself in need, things have worked out! When I've suffered a loss, I've pulled through and it HAS been alright in the end... So I basically believe in my experience and the empirical data that I have collected. 

I also have the suspicion that it is this very positive outlook on life that causes things to be "Alright" in the end... That we provoke this miracle by believing it will happen, just as children believe that someone will leave a coin under their pillow or presents under their tree... It doesn't matter who is responsible for actually making it happen, there's a point when they don't want to know, they just know it will happen and that's all that matters... 

So whether you believe that some outside force will help you, or whether you believe in some magnetic pseudo-scientific law, or whether you just believe in your own capacity to pull through no matter what... In the end all that matters is that you KNOW is will be alright... And if you do, it WILL be alright!

December Challenge, Day 18: The last time I laughed so much I almost peed my pants?

The last time I laughed so much I almost peed my pants? That's easy. It was a one man play I saw recently: "Espinete no existe" (Espinete doesn't exist)

Espinete is a Spanish character of the 80s local version of the Sesame Street tv show. Sesame Street always has the same puppets (dubbed in each local language), but the "live" characters are always local actors, and that includes the life-size man-in-custome types such a Big Bird, or Elmo... In Spain they were "Caponata" (a big chicken) and "Espinete" who was a pink porcupine...

In any case, the show is all about nostalgia, about being a child in the late 70s and early 80s... About taking a trip down our collective memories and take a look at our childhood, with a lot of humor!

I had already seen it, but wanted to share it with someone who I thought would appreciate it, as we were classmates and share a lot of common memories, and she definitely did...

Even though I had seen it before, I also laughed myself silly... It was great fun! Again!

December Challenge, Day 17: What mantras keep you going?

This one is easy, as I have been collecting them, posting them and repeating them in the last few months...

December Challenge. Day 15: Thanks: write down the things for which you were most thankful in 2012.

I have many things to be thankful for:

Health, both my own and that of my loved ones...
My loving family...
The privilege of being father to my daughters...
Friends who care and give their unconditional support...
New opportunities... both personal and professional...

Most of all, I'm thankful for my life!

December Challenge. DAY 14: When the universe seemed to be chanting “Quit! Quit! Quit!” what did you do?

The popular consensus is that quitting is bad. That you must always persevere until you're successful... But when you realize you're going in the wrong direction, it's a wise man who decides to quit and rectify his path...

For sometime now I've had the feeling I was in the wrong place, going in the wrong direction and for the wrong reasons, but when you've invested time and effort in a project, in a certain path, it's hard to decide to "quit" and start anew...

This year, I experienced one of those situations when you feel like the whole universe is "conspiring" to help you go in the direction that you really want to go... The universe helped me to "go gently into that goodnight" and not fight the exit route that I was "offered"... Instead It felt like I was given a push in the right direction. In the direction where I really wanted to go, even if it was scary or uncertain...

But sometimes ¨uncertainty¨ is another way to say "opportunity", while "certainty" is a synonym of "doom"... So here's to quitting when the enterprise in question is not worthy of your perseverance, and to persevering when taking the road less traveled.

December Challenge. Day 13: The beauty of different. What things about you are different and make you YOU?

What's different about me? What makes me ME? That's a hard one...

Some people have described me as being "soft": I have soft skin, soft hands, a soft voice and a "soft" personality. I'm not a person with edges. Neither physically, nor personality-wise... I may have a temper on occasion, but I'm mostly pretty "suave"...

Two things that are very different in me is that I look younger and that I have almost no body-hair. I think the fact that I'm hairless makes me softer, and the fact that I remain young, also helps...

The other thing that's very ME is my smile, and that also shows my "softer" side... Finally, kids seem to like me... I think they pick up on this "soft"quality of mine and that's why they quickly get comfortable with me...

December Challenge. DAY 12: Imagine you have 5 minutes to rescue what you can from 2012... What would it be?

This one's fun, but a bit difficult for people with weak memories such as myself. In any case, I'm setting the stopwatch for a 5 minute limit and will attempt to recount my blessings... Here are the moments I would save from 2012:

My trip to NY with Ilyana to visit my Sister and her Family... Two surfin´ trips: Fuerteventura and Peniche... The Berlin Marathon... Memorable times with Family and Friends... too many to recount...  Spain winning the 3rd Championship in a Row... My daughter's success... Fun trips to Argentina, Mexico, Brazil...  A new car! ... Friends who suffered but got better... Being quoted in a book... The opportunity to start a new project with great hope and energy... New people who came into my life to bring love and happiness :-)

That was all I could recall in 5 minutes without cheating... I'm sure if I check my FB pics I could find a lot more... In short, I live a charmed life and I'm enjoying it to the full... Whatever may come in 2013, I'm sure it'll be great!

December Challenge. DAY 11: What is your superpower?

I´m a big fan of super heroes ever since I was a kid... I joke that I'm on my way to being the Silver Surfer... once I learn to surf and get all "silver"...

But if I have to pick the Super hero I'm more like, I would have to say... Wolverine! Other than the fact that I'm hairless and he's like a rug, of course... 

Wolverine is not specially strong or powerful, but he makes this up with an incredible resilience: He get's knocked down, but always gets back up and keeps on coming... Also, he may get sick, but always pulls through... and like him, my bones have never been broken... and also like him, I always bite-off more than I can chew... but chew it anyway!

His biggest quality is not a super power, but rather it's his character. Strong but caring, and ever resilient... And we both age pretty well...