Perception

I have written on numerous topics over the past year and while all of them have extreme meaning to me (otherwise I wouldn't have posted them) this post signifies a topic that if you can master it then I guarantee nothing can stop you.

Perception by definition is the act of cognitively understanding and making sense of a situation. It is the process of you and only you making a choice as to how you are going to act, think, speak, perform to any and all situations. Perception is 100 percent individual and we all have beliefs that lead to how big or small that perception is going to be.

Being a doctor that treats mostly athletes and a coach I have recently been getting lots of questions in regards to the mental side of training and injuries. Most of these individuals have put in the time and effort and physically are capable of achieving their goals they are just not ready mentally and don't know how to fix that. My single response is its all in how they are perceiving their race or their confidence in themselves. Most endurance athletes give up on themselves in a race instead of their body giving up on them. When times get tough we mentally tell ourselves that its OK to walk or stop even though physically you are capable of pushing forward. The perception comes down to how you view the difficulty of what you are doing.

Our cultures perception typically is when things get hard or difficult most of us typically will give up on something. We will decide that that effort is to much and the goal that we had in mind will never be achieved. If there is an obstacle in the road our perception is that its to difficult or we can't think outside the box as to what tools are needed to help success.

I try and teach my daughters daily that there is nothing in this world that they can't accomplish if they just try their best and sometimes think outside the box. A great example of this was this past week my oldest daughter and I went to the school track for a workout and on the way home there was a pretty steep hill that she immediately said there was no way she could ride her bike up. At the bottom of the hill I stopped and looked at her and told her that she should never in life say she can't do something. Her perception of the hill was it was to steep and she wasn't strong enough to ride up it. I told her that sometimes we need to asses a situation and use all the options we have available to achieve a task. So I told her to start riding and mid way up the hill when she started to slow down I gave her a push on her back for about 5 seconds which then gave her enough momentum to crest the hill. When we reached the top I asked her what she learned and she said that sometimes things seem difficult but if you ask for help or use your surroundings you can achieve anything. Through the accomplishment her perception changed from I can't to anything is possible as long as I try.

Most of the great leaders in history had the perception that they could accomplish anything. They still knew that there would be plenty of failures along the road but the failures didn't scare them away from trying. Deep down they understood that all a failure was is something that taught you how to do it better the next time. The world is out of our control but our actions and perception are within our control and only our control.

A good friend of mine has had a rough year with having to drop out of his first ironman triathlon due to being diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. I think plenty of peoples perception would be crap and crap. Not this guy he took on the MM with 110 percent of his energy knowing that he was going to control everything within his control and anything outside of his control was just that outside of his control. His perception of the situation was strong and an inspiration to all his friends and family around him that no matter what card we are dealt we are in control of the response and how we will attack the next minute, day and year.

One of my favorite examples of perception is when I was a kid growing up in Chicago. In 1985 we had arguably one of the best football teams ever assembled. Two weeks before the Super Bowl that year the Chicago Bears came out with the Super Bowl Shuffle which was basically a song that the team performed saying that no one can beat us. They hadn't even played the Super Bowl yet but their perception was that they were that good that no matter the opponent they couldn't be beat. Now come at it from the opposing teams viewpoint. There had to be a little break in the confidence in the other team playing in the Super Bowl. If you are so confident in your performance I believe sometimes its the secret weapon needed to outperform your competition. Well I will let you do your research but the Super Bowl that year wasn't even close right from the start.

Bringing this to an end I ask each and everyone of you that takes the time to read my blogs that before you ever perceive something as to hard or to difficult that you take a step back and reassess the situation. Never give up on something or believe that you don't have what it takes to succeed. There is no obstacle in this world that is to strong to stop you. I also ask you to never look at a situation as negative as every situation has a positive. I know that there will be a group of people who never take this blog serious but if there is just one person out there that I can positively influence than mission accomplish. I don't wast my time with negative energy as at the end of the day my perception of negative energy is its not worth my time.

The meaning of the picture at the top other than I just love the picture is that its her bring on the world face. The face of confidence and belief that nothing can stop her from success except herself.

Make It Count!!!!!!!!

Obstacle

In my daily quest to always find the meaning of each and every day I recently started reading a book titled "The Obstacle Is The Way". I am not to far into the book but so far it details how society reacts to anything that stands in their way. Whether it be a failure, a boss, a co-worker, health, family, etc...we have taught ourselves that failure is negative and should be avoided at all costs. When times get tough most people would rather choose the easy way out instead of putting all your cards in and fighting the good fight. I have heard plenty of people over the years tell me they wish they had the courage, determination, guts or ability to achieve their dreams. Well I am here to tell you that anything is possible as long as you believe in yourself and constantly learn from your experiences.

The picture above is far from an obstacle that has been presented to me in life. There are times when trying to be the best dad in the world combined with everything gets tiring? Well of course but to see the smiles on these girls faces makes anything tiring worth every single second. I have 100% confidence in myself when attacking goals and I know that if they are not achieved today I will one day with the right building blocks accomplish anything. I will admit however that just like every successful person that there is always a weakness in the armour. When my weakness is exposed though I always have a back up plan and my back up plan is these three girls. They are my strength when needed and still to this day they think I am a super hero...ha ha!!!

I am not sure what the correlation is but in my sport of triathlon I have met some extremely amazing people over the years that have been dealt with more obstacles then one can imagine. Obstacles that would make most people just curl up in a corner and hope for the end. However each and everyone of these people took the experience for what it really is...a learning experience. Obstacles are learning experiences which either teach us what we did wrong or they are learning experiences in how we can be better people through spreading the word of hope and determination to everyone else.

Life has blessed me with an amazing friend who has been battling injury for a couple years and just when he gets better another one comes on thus limiting him from a sport he loves. He had to retire from a sales job that he held for over 20 years due to disagreements with organizational developments. On top of that his wife (who is also pretty amazing) recently was diagnosed with the pre-stages of multiple myeloma. Most people would shut down if these events had happened to them but not this guy. I think one day I saw him depressed and shut down for about 30 seconds and then snapped out of it. The positivity that this guy creates in a room is about as contagious as it comes. I always look forward to our meetings as I always walk away thinking I can take over the world. He has been dealt numerous obstacles in life but I think in his mind he doesn't see them as obstacles but more as what can I do to make myself and those around me better. Do you have someone like this in your life? If you do then hold on and really listen to them as they will change your life.

As most know this year as been a very busy year for the Oergels. All great events but none the less about as busy as it comes. Well my consistent triathlon training took a back seat or maybe just got thrown out of the window completely. Yesterday I competed in the Eagleman 70.3 (half ironman) race in cambridge, MD. Going into the race I truly had no idea what to expect. I knew first off that a PR probably wouldn't happen and the goal was mostly survival...ok I lie my competitive juices said a 4:45 time. The obstacle in my way this race was the obvious...almost no training since February and only on my bike a handful of times all year. The day before I had the most amazing, positive, confident day ever before a race as I knew deep down that no obstacle is impossible as long as I do what my daughter always says...go out and do your best as that is all that matters in life. In the end I came across the finish line in 4:54 and although no PR in hand the race felt more accomplished than any other race I have done in my life. Sometimes its not about the medals (although they are nice) but more about the journey and learning who you are as a person.

I challenge you daily to take obstacles head on for what they are...just a learning experience. If the thought makes your stomach turn then I suggest you start small and build upon it. I guarantee you will learn more about yourself and your confidence will blossom during the journey.

Make It Count!!!

This blog also goes out to my very good friend Nicole who also embodies what it takes to spread the good word of just do your best and the rest will take care of itself. She is an amazing person and 100% in my circle of people who make my life better.

Support

Do you have a support system in place? Are you part of a support system for a specific purpose or cause? Does helping others put a smile on your face? Do you find yourself offering positive reinforcing feedback instead of negative unwanted feedback? If you think about your life do you rest easy knowing that if something happened your support staff would have your back immediately?

I know that I can easily 100% answer yes to each of these questions. My family operates on a system where we know we have each others back constantly. My wife and I daily let our girls know that we will always be there for them and no matter what happens they are not alone.

Recently I felt a sense of satisfaction that my oldest understands the process. Over the past two weeks she has had soccer practice, two games and three tryouts for travel/select soccer. She has always been my girl that strives to be the best at everything she does and for the first time with the higher level tryouts I think she realized that some girls where better than her. On the way to the first tryout I asked her if she was ready and she responded with "Daddy I feel as ready as I will ever be...I will go out and give it my best and at the end of the day if that is not enough then its out of my control and there is nothing I can do about it." This is the support that we always tell our girls that as long as you give your best in life than you have done everything you can.

Although family is the strongest of all support systems it doesn't have to be the last outlet. A successful workforce can follow the rules of support if they want to take there production to the next level. What sounds better...a boss that supports your efforts, decisions and future career development or a boss that is constantly belittling your production, gives you no individual power of choice or doesn't support your daily efforts towards future advancement? I have worked in both the corporate setting and in a small health care practice and I can state that the environment that supports each other is the environment that is constantly growing and successful. Friends also provide a way of supporting your efforts. I have had some friends who unfortunately have battled some health issues over the years and I believe that the power and support we can provide these individuals is the energy they need to overcome their hurdles. These individuals need to know that no matter what is going on that they have people there to provide not only in person services but also daily prayer or support that is not seen daily.

The last level of support that is often overlooked is the support internally that you give yourself. Do you support yourself with positive thoughts, exercise, lifestyle eating and taking some personal time to support your own health and wellness. Some of us are incredible at supporting family and friends but rarely take the opportunity to support our own endeavors so eventually we run thin. I am not saying that we need to be extremely selfish but at times a touch of selfishness can help support the energy you give others but also support yourself to leading a more rewarding life. If you have a dream or goal in life than I say do everything you can to support the progress of obtaining that goal/dream. Life is to short to skip out on your dreams so go after what you want now and stop holding off.

Make It Count!!!!!!!!!!