My inner twelve year old...

Gym class...

Middle school...

Fat kid...

Hell...

No, seriously.

Hell.

Once a year they made us participate in national fitness day.

I had mastered the fine art of accidentally (on purpose) forgetting my gym clothes but national fitness day was mandatory.

Velcro sneakers from Kmart…

Hand me down jeans from my brother who was eleven years older than me.

They almost fit because I was so heavy.

They were tight…

The field behind John Greenleaf Whittier middle school is vast.

Four laps…

Half way through my first I had been passed by other kids who were already on lap two.

“Ok Trick… good try!” Mr Healy said, motioning for me to come back.

He patted me on the back.

The pat on the back was him saying good job Jim…

Beyond last place...

Out of breath, sweating, the feeling of damp jeans clinging to my legs, restricting my movement.

Humiliated…

This is the kind of moment that feeds our inner critic…

The inner “saboteur”, if you will.

Its 2015

I am forty-four years old.

I run now.

Our town has a 3.5 mile loop we call “the neck”.

Its a gorgeous peninsula, surrounded by the ocean and connected to the mainland by a causeway.

Beautiful homes and majestic views abound.

I am fortunate enough to have the neck as my track.

With all of its beauty, running, even in a place like Marblehead is still a struggle.

Why?

Because that 12 year old boy is still inside here…

The saboteur is still telling him he can’t.

The good news is that the ever-present twelve year old Jim Trick has gotten wiseto him, thus allowing the forty-four year old Jim Trick to do battle.

The first quarter mile is always about fighting the voice that says “What are you doing???”   "This isn’t what you do!”

For years I pretended that the smoke of those inner, distant battles were crazy and to be ignored.

For years I tried to pretend like that bullied, awkward, embarrassed twelve year old never existed.

That little boy is no longer banished.

He now has an advocate.

Someone to say yes you can, and I know you will.

What is time?

Are you still telling yourself you should be over this stuff by now?

Are you still living under the false belief that there is a statute of limitations on your story?

This post is not for those of you who live in the past and have chosen to spend your life wallowing in it.

This post is an invitation to those of you who long for a deeper, richer, truer experience from today forward.

You are not alone…

There is fuel inside your story…

The saboteur is not you…

No…   Its not.

The advocate IS you…

Yes… it is.

Heartache is the breeding ground of compassion and a million other beautiful thingsif you are willing to cultivate it.

Heartache is the breeding ground of bitterness and every terrible thing your saboteur wants you to believe if you won’t.

Curious about life coaching?  If you are ready to schedule your confidentialsample session with Jim Trick or have any questions just call:  978.994.0431 or email thatlifenow@gmail.com

Just Go...

Today's post is a guest entry from my dear friends Gabi and Skip Yetter.   Their story is inspirational and their new bookJust Go,  is a great read. 

We had a beautiful home. Lots of great friends. Good jobs and full and happy lives.But there was something missing which we didn't realize till we traveled to Southeast Asia.

Gentle spirituality. Embracing people. Inexpensive lifestyle. Something intangible that spoke to us and drew us in.

We returned to our beautiful home, lots of great friends and our full lives as different people.

A seed had been planted and we spent the next three years watering it until it grew into a flowering blossom

We sold our home.

We quit our jobs.

We bid farewell to loved ones and, in June 2010, boarded a plane to Cambodia with a one-way ticket, two suitcases and hearts filled with anticipation.

"You'll come back," some said.

We didn't.

Almost from the moment we arrived, we fell in love with the chaotic, heart-warming, extraordinary country which became our new home.

Working as English resource volunteers for non-governmental organizations, we discovered how to integrate ourselves in the Cambodian community.

We connected with tuktuk drivers who became dear friends and learned how to speak a Khmer.

Our friends were Australian, Dutch, Italian, French, British, American and Cambodian.

Our lives were fuller and more meaningful than ever.

Our new book, JUST GO! Leave the Treadmill for a World of Adventure is our story and the story of others like us who decided to make a change.

It tells of people who walked away from lives in the west and discovered new worlds.

Dismounting from life as homeowners with mortgages, credit card bills and car payments to start afresh, they (and we) packed their bags and launched themselves into a new adventure.

And never looked back.

www.TheMeanderthals.com

"It's better than nothing" might not be...

"It's better than nothing" might not be.

Sometimes better than nothing is more damaging than nothing.

Nothing is empty and eventually creates a Vacuum.

Vacuums suck…

See what I did there?

Zero action = nothing.

Nothing creates a vacuum that sucks and magnifies the lack of action aka the "nothing".

The suckiness of the vacuum eventually leads to rock bottom.

Rock bottom, if it's doing its job, inspires powerful action.

Presto change o, nothing has sparked something and that something has the potential to change everything.

You're obese so three times a month you go for a walk during which your heart rate never really gets elevated.

You long for a companion so six months ago you went on two match.com dates.

You've hated your job for years so once every couple of months you play around with your résumé.

"I'ts better than nothing" is what we say when we are basically doing nothing but won't admit it.

“It's better than nothing” is what we say when we are doing a bit of something but not enough to get any meaningful results.

If this is hitting home with you try these steps to start your shift.

1.  Admit that you have choices and be honest with yourself about what you have been choosing.

2.  Replace the phrase “its better than nothing” with “its basically nothing”.  This is not about beating yourself up, its about keeping it real in service of your goals.

3.  List twenty potential actions then choose the four that have the most juice.  Write a little about what you thinkthe potential resultswould be if you were to engage each of the four action items for nine months.

4.  Use your calendar to schedule these action items, keep those appointments and track each action item’s result.

Initial steps are courageous and can be really hard.

“Its better than nothing" is a mindset that is neither courageous nor is it difficult, and in fact may not be what it claims to be.

Curious about life coaching?  If you are ready to schedule your sample session or have any questions just call:  978.994.0431 or email thatlifenow@gmail.com