The other night we finished everything that needed to be done for the day. We had cleaned up from dinner. We bathed the kids, brushed teeth and read some stories. As it wasn't too late there was an opportunity for mom and dad to watch a show. Alexandra wanted to get started on some preparations for a 4 year old birthday party. I didn't really want to make popcorn or some other snack from just one. So I headed off to the bedroom to read. During lent I'm trying to stay off my phone after 7 pm.I got a chapter or two deep into 12 Rules for Life before I drifted off to sleep. Since I didn't have a snack before bed and didn't have any exposure to the light from my phone I had a great sleep. Add to this the fact that I didn't have to set an alarm for the morning and this set the stage for a great day.But this very easily could have gone the other way.You see most evenings I do a sweep through the kitchen before bed. I'll have a quick poke in the pantry to see what grabs my interest. It might be some chocolate. Maybe I'll have some cereal. It could be a handful of Veggie Snacks.[caption id="attachment_5699" align="aligncenter" width="225"] These come in pillowcase size bags and the bag size is appropriately named 'Sensible Portions'. (see top left)Anyways, this got me thinking how our habits can be slippery or sticky. Here's what I mean by this.Our indulgences, treats, snacks and cravings can be thought of as sticky. Once we start it's hard to stop. We tend to back to our old, less than optimal, ways. It can be really tough to shake a bad habit.And on the flip side all of the positive things we...

What motivates you to train? You know on the days when it's cold and maybe even rainy outside? Of course it's still dark outside. Your bed could not be more comfortable. Yet for some strange reason you defy what is easy. You pull back the covers to be shocked with the cold of early morning. You throw one leg over the side of the bed and stub your pinkie toe on the edge of the bed frame. Then you shock yourself further with the brightness of the bathroom lights which are one or two degrees brighter than looking directly at the sun. You feel dizzy, Your head may be pounding. The last thing you are thinking about is putting food in your mouth and venturing out into the cold. Yet you do so anyways. Have you been there? I'll bet you have. Anyone who has trained long enough has. Every athlete has. Anyone who is serious about their goals has. What is is that motivates these people? Well for most people it's the avoidance of pain. Sometimes this might be an actual physical pain. Pain from an accident, a disease or some other cause. And these people know how bad the pain can get. And how this pain can affect their lives. And prevent them from doing things they enjoy. And that missing out on these things will bring them sadness. [caption id="attachment_4676" align="aligncenter" width="300"] According to Aristotle, the masses are wise.  But pain doesn't always have to be physical, Some people are alone, depressed and not feeling the best about themselves. They would like to have more confidence, to have a better physique and to be noticed by someone else. And so for them the option of living in pain or getting out of a warm, cozy bed in the...

Hi there: Hope you've had a great week. Mine flew by partly due to being busy. But I did manage to fit in a date night with my wife. And we went out for dinner and then to see the movie Conviction. She's not a huge Hilary Swank fan but we both did agree the show was pretty good. And it wasn't until after the show was over that it occured to me that the title was a play on words. You see the movie is about a couple of foster kids from small town Massasschusets. The brother is wrongly convicted of murder and the sister takes it upon herself to right this wrong and get her brother freed from jail. The only problem is that the sister is not a lawyer. Nor does she have degree to apply to law school. Nor a GED for that matter. But that doesn't stop her from doing whatever is necessary to achieve the end goal of freeing her brother from jail. Initially I looked at the title and thought it had to do with the brother and his conviction. But in retrospect it had to do with the sister and her conviction to overturn his sentence.So what does this have to with health, fitness, performance or anything?Well there are two messages you can take from this movie. The first is the most successful people aren't always the most gifted. Or the smartest. Or having the most of anything that is a pre-requisite for success in that field. Take Wayne Gretzky for example.He didn't have the hardest shot. He wasn't the fastest skater. He was in no way a physical presence on the ice. (some reports have him scoring the lowest on the Oilers' fitness testing). But he was the greatest player to ever play...