Biking again

Jack and I rode our bikes about 5 miles Sunday afternoon. First time in about 20 years! Felt great. Loved it. I’m so grateful we could ride without hesitation or fear. It felt natural to be riding again. I blocked out thoughts of when I did a power slide onto gravel, wearing shorts, when I was a kid. Instead, I focused on how good it felt, the breeze, warmth, beautiful scenery. When I struggled going up a hill in Winter Park (yes, there are hills in flat Florida), I started counting my pedaling. When it got harder and I didn’t like how I was feeling, I started praying the Hail Mary in time with my pedaling and shifted my thinking to ‘I can do this.’ It worked! Just like when I get in a jam or frustrated, I talk to God or say a prayer and shift my thoughts to a more positive perspective. It makes such a difference. I’m so grateful for that.

I took a 2 mile spin around the neighborhood this morning – I think I’m hooked.   

Setting Visible Goals

When I was growing up in New York, my father would make “going to Miami” and staying at the Fontainbleu where Prudential held its annual conference a goal each year. He would do all he could to sell enough life insurance policies to make that goal. Sometimes I was recruited to help him stuff envelopes or put packets together to take to potential policyholders. I remember his MIAMI and SELL SELL SELL signs around his office in the basement, sometimes hanging from the ceiling right near his desk chair so he couldn’t miss them. He was a real advocate of positive thinking making a difference in your life. (I guess I didn't fall far from that tree!) 

We never stayed at the Fontainbleu, but I knew what the hotel looked like and all of its fantastic features from the brochures. The few times we went to Miami with him as a family, we stayed at a small less expensive hotel nearby, Ocean Horizon, while he went back and forth to the conference. I loved that place, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves and the swaying palm tress. A few times he arranged for my sister, brother and me to spend the evening in one of his buddies' Fountainbleu rooms while he and my mother went to an event in the ballroom. We three were thrilled to lay on the big bed with lots of pillows watching TV!

He was happy when he made his goals come true, and it psyched him to achieve more next time. He was a great example of always working on improving himself. As I sit here working on my Outlook 2010 book, I'm thinking maybe I should hang some signs.