Courage

There are many definitions of courage these days and also countless ways we go about approaching courage in our daily lives. I am going to embellish on one avenue of courage that I think is important to the success in our lives and the ability to make a difference.

Do you wake up in the morning with the courage or the fight to tackle anything that comes your way? Do you start the morning goal oriented towards knowing what the day is going to need out of you to be successful? Or do you wake up with high levels of stress worried or scared that you will not be able to succeed with what you have on your plate? Do you skirt around the issues or do you attack the obstacle in your way with 100% confidence that as long as you give life your best then nothing else matters?

The picture above is how I try and start my day every day out of the year. My little princess wakes up with this smile everyday and while I know she is only one she has no worries as to what the day or the future holds. Why can't we as adults do the same. What holds us back from the ability to wake up each day with a smile and the strength to fight beyond the minimum requirements so that we lead a life rich in experiences. Why worry about the future when you its more important to live in the present.

I guess this is my definition of courage...the ability to know that you are a strong individual, the ability to accomplish anything you put your mind to, the resistance to never give up when things get tough instead push harder and know quitting is not part of who you are and most of all like my daughters say as long as you always give your best nothing else matters.

Most of us stress over the smallest details...i.e. loosing that 5-10 extra pounds, when am I going to fit in exercise, I have no clothes that look good on me, the weather is terrible, I had a bad race, that person was mean to me and so on and so on. Now imagine going out for a run and collapsing because your heart stopped and when you came to finding out your heart condition has gotten worse or going to the doctor because your not feeling well and after some tests finding out you have cancer or your a single parent of two kids and you get laid off from your job...I know someone in each of these categories and many more with similar situations and the one thing they all have in common is courage. Each and every one of them came back a stronger individual knowing that while life is fragile they are stronger and will maximize the time they have. When life threw them a curve they reacted and knocked the ball our of the park in the sense of strength of courage and ability to spread that courage and the never quit mentality to those around them.

I agree in the sense that sometimes things just dont seem fair and the world will feel like its closing in. I can however tell you with confidence that if you step back for one second, reassess and bring your circle of strength (family, friends and confidence) closer to you then things will seem easier. The options of success and avenues out of those tough times will be plentiful.

Finally thanks to everyone who has donated to my Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation 2015 Ironman Lake Placid drive. To start the first week off with a bang and more 9 months left to raise as much money as I can I feel honored to have such amazing people in my life. Please think about donating to such an amazing cause that helps drive research to help people diagnosed with this incurable disease.

http://support.themmrf.org/site/TR/EnduranceEvents/EnduranceEvents?px=1781288&pg=personal&fr_id=1730

In closing always try and "Make It Count"

Impossible

This past weekend after a long EXHAUSTING day of driving all over the state cheering on our daughters in the activities they love my wife and I kicked our feet up and turned on the first movie that came up. When the TV came on the movie "The Impossible" was starting so we snuggled in. All we knew about the movie was that it was the real life betrayal of the 2004 tsunami that hit Thailand causing extreme devastation. What we didn't know was how powerful the movie was going to be and how much it makes you recognize how fragile like is. The movie is about a family (any time kids are involved it pulls at my heart strings) who is on vacation enjoying the simple joys of life and in a second life changed pushing them to the extreme limits of life and death. I won't ruin the movie for those of you who have not seen the movie and if you haven't seen the movie then I recommend watching it as its a great real life story on how fragile our world and life is. When the tsunami hit Thailand it caused extreme destruction and massive casualty. For those who survived the initial wall of water the next challenge was given to them in what seemed like the impossible quest to find loved ones and safety for themselves.  

I won't pretend I can relate to what these people went through during this horrific accident and my heart goes out to every single person that lost a loved one during this event. What I will say is I know all of us have gone through struggles in our life and many times we put an initial constraint on ourselves which makes whats going on seem impossible to overcome. Whether its a health struggle, financial crisis, extreme self doubt, stressful job or lack of support from family/friends I want you to know that deep down you have what it takes to overcome what seems impossible.

I am a realist knowing that some diseases are incurable and treatment is either palliative or available to extend life longer. While I am not personally fighting a disease I know that myself and many of you can do a little extra so those that are battling diseases like cancer know that the diagnosis is not the end and with our support anything is possible. I am not sure that in my lifetime we will figure out a cure for most cancers but what I do know is that as long as I am breathing I can do everything I can do to make it possible.

As always I have to give a reference to my children as they are my personal psychologist to positive thinking in life. My two older girls who are 8 and 6 have developed what they call "The Oergel Mantra" and it goes as follows "If you give everything you do your best then the outcome doesn't matter as long as you know you did everything you could." I assume they have gathered these thoughts via listening to their parents but I also know that whats so amazing about our youth is they don't put limits on their action and they believe everything is possible. The photo at the top is my oldest this summer in a duathlon. At this point in the race there were no visible racers in front of her but as you can tell by the facial expressions she didn't give up until she crossed the finish line.

I also know that building a solid support system through your friends and family will allow you the support to always pursue your dream. Of course their will be times when something arises that seems like a road block but the support from your circle will give you that extra confidence to bypass anything difficult.

In the movie there were many road blocks along the way that seemed to distract the survivors from finding safety or family. The key to success though was to never give up and keep pushing past the obstacles or failures knowing that constant/consistent efforts increase your chances of success.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog as it means a lot to me.

Please also check out my fundraising page at:

http://support.themmrf.org/site/TR/EnduranceEvents/EnduranceEvents?px=1781288&pg=personal&fr_id=1730

Make It Count!!!

Paradigm

A paradigm is the way you see something; its your point of view, frame of reference, or belief. Another word for paradigm is perception. Paradigm's can be helpful or hindering depending on your belief system and the confidence you have in yourself. Most often our paradigm's are forced upon us or formed via others opinions on us. How many times has someone told you that's impossible or you can't do something? How many times have you forced your views upon someone even though you knew it wasn't your place? Our perceptions are just that ours...we have the power to create a positive atmosphere within our belief system yet we also have the power (or lack there of) to create a demise in our beliefs thus always limiting the power to make the most of our lives and those around us.

The picture on the top is yet another picture or one of my children but like I have stated 100 times before we can learn so much from the youth if you just open your eyes. My daughter is number 23 and this is from an awesome youth duathlon in my region this summer. My point with this picture is while I watched every kid that morning every single one of them's perception was A) this is so much fun and B) I can win this. They have no perception's or doubts in their abilities. They don't let other kids or the competition get in their way of attempting to accomplish their goal. There is no talk of this is to hard or that hill is to steep. They show up with a smile and 100% belief that today is their day. What if you woke up every day and displayed the same confidence these kids do? What if you had 100% confidence in your abilities?

I want you to stop what you are doing right this second and answer the following question: Are your paradigms of yourself helping or hindering you? Negative self-paradigms are incredibly strong at putting limitations on what we can accomplish in the world. On the other hand positive self-paradigms can bring out amazing self creativity that will push you to accomplish dreams and goals you never though were possible.

Over the past year I have had the chance to meet two very incredible people who have both accomplished so much in their life and lead a life of nothing but doing their best to make the world a little better place to live. These two individuals don't know each other but unfortunately are tied together via multiple myeloma. The thing is and I hope I could be this strong is once they were diagnosed each of them instead of giving up made it their point to take their life and giving to the next level. There was no outward negative self pity but instead a show of inner strength came forward. Their self-paradigm grew into one of I am stronger than this and I will win. Due to how great of person they have been in their life the community has come out to support them and this is due to the energy they have displayed over time and the commitment to always be there for everyone else.

This leads me into my next project and one that I am so extremely excited to be a part of that my heart feels a sense of warmth and drive to be better.

Over the past 15 years I have engulfed myself competitively into the world of triathlon and I have enjoyed every single second of it. Its time to put some of that all about me self competitiveness aside  as over the next year I will be taking a step back from the competitive side of triathlon and instead using triathlon/Ironman more as a platform. My platform will be two fold in number one raising as much funds as I can for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and second trying to get across a story of inspiration and my mantra of Make It Count!!!!

Cancer has affected my family and close friends numerous times over the past couple of years and its time for me to use a passion of mine to fight a form of this terrible disease.

The following link will lead you to my fundraising page where you can read more about the cause and what I am trying to accomplish.

http://support.themmrf.org/site/TR/EnduranceEvents/EnduranceEvents?px=1781288&pg=personal&fr_id=1730

Thanks for your time and remember to MAKE IT COUNT!!!

Educate

I have been terrible at my posts this summer due to the schedule of keeping up with these three little ladies above. Between ER visits, triathlons, duathlons, soccer tournaments/practice, vacation, work, dance, camp and just trying to be the best parents we can be time seems to fly bye the older we get. Although even as crazy as we get I wouldn't trade out a single moment with these ladies.

This leads me to the topic of this blog post...Educate. I am not singling out our nations teachers or leaders but instead shifting focus to everyone who wakes up each day and takes a deep breath. We all have what I believe is a given responsibility to educate ourselves and those around us. Have a daily goal of learning something new. With technology and the ability to search anything on the internet spend 10, 20 or 30 minutes a day trying to educate yourself on something new. There is only positives that will come from this exercise as it will make you a more well-rounded individual.

The larger task at hand though is to take time each day and educate those around you. It can be anything from teaching a co-worker effective marketing strategies, to helping someone learn how to properly canvas the grocery store for food choices to spending 5 minutes educating your constantly depressed/negative friend on how much they have to live for and the good they can accomplish. Whether its a family member, a friend or a complete stranger we can all work together to make our days more effective through education. I am helping coach a local high school cross country team this fall and I am over the hills excited to share my knowledge and help the kids become better runners and even better individuals.

I have the luxury of seeing patients daily who are in acute pain or just want to live a better life and the one thing I enjoy the most is educating them on how things can indeed always improve. I use strategies from every facet or chapter of my life to help someone improve on what they currently have. I am not saying I have all the answers but what I am saying is that through some form of communication or confidence in an individual you can make long lasting dramatic changes in their life.

Although no offense to any of my patients but the one thing I enjoy the most is educating my children. Number one I always daily teach them and constantly reiterate that they can accomplish anything they put their mind to while at the same time giving it their best. I will never once tell them its impossible or they don't have what it takes. Living with 4 highly competitive driven women (yes I can already tell what direction the baby is going and anyone else that knows her will agree) I love the challenges that each of them takes in their life and I love being there to help drive them down the path. Their confidence wanes at times but as a team we are always there to help each other out.

A week ago I competed in the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships for sprint and olympic triathlon in Milwaukee, WI. Its two races where basically the top athletes for those distances come together and duke it out for spots on the next years Team USA triathlon team. After years of racing long course triathlon I was excited to switch gears and attempt to get some of that old school speed back. Well without going into extreme detail I showed up at the race running some of my fastest times in all my 37 years. That was until race day when my body decided that it had different plans and extreme stomach pain slowed me down to a walk/jog. To come this far and push so hard in training it was an immediate mental letdown. I thought about just quitting as the pain was intense but then I realized what does quitting really accomplish and that my children where at the finish line and what example would I set if I quit. So with much determination I pushed forward cheering on those I knew racing and looking forward to that finish line when I knew no matter my time my family would be there with smiles on and congratulate me regardless of my performance. I was right as my oldest told me at the finish "sometimes we don't get what we want dad but if you tried your best then at the end of the day you won".

So with this I challenge each and everyone of you to take time to educate someone around you. We are all a wealth of knowledge no matter if you have a doctorate degree or a high school diploma. We all have something to learn from each other.

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

1st or 2nd

Before I get into what "1st or 2nd" means let me just focus on this picture for one minute. I get people ask me all the time for secret workouts that will make them faster. Well over the last month I have incorporated two one hour walks into my training schedule and I can tell you first hand that the recovery workout has made me a stronger runner. What it also gives me is one hour of uninterrupted time with this amazing little lady who for anyone that has met her knows what kind of special lady she is.

So back to the focus of this post...Are you a person that maximizes their time while on earth and lives each day to the fullest? Do you bask in the glory of selfish activities or do you put others happiness in front of yours in an effort to make the world a better place? Are you willing to spend time teaching those around you a skill that you excel at or do you think you are to good to assist?
Do you let the little things in life that are out of your control affect your way of life? Do you allow people with negative energy (energy vampires) change the way you think?

I have a good friend of mine who I consider to be one of the most amazing individuals I have ever met and although distance has separated our daily encounters I still consider him very close to me. Recently while running he developed a condition in which his heart stopped working and for a brief second. Thank the lord his heart came back around and with a small surgery he is alive. While speaking with him he mentioned how he has a 2nd chance at life now and is going to maximize his time. The thing that is scary is that his 1st chance was nothing more than exceptional. He is one of those individuals who instantly puts a smile on your face, he will always be there for you and the word selfish is not part of his vocabulary. So I can't wait to see what his 2nd chance is going to be about and the way he will change peoples life for the better.

The thing is we don't have to wait until a health issue or other life changing event to happen in order to get your second chance on life. Do your part daily now during your first chance in order to make your life and those around you better. Or after reading this blog take a deep breath and move forward with the rest of your life calling it your 2nd chance.

Life is fragile so there is no guarantee that a second chance will ever happen. We are GUARANTEED one chance and one chance only so don't hold back on a dream you have. Don't stop pursuing a goal just because someone told you there is no way you could accomplish it. Don't let those energy vampires control your decisions as there is only one person that has control over what you do and that is you. Instead surround yourself with the people that you aspire to be. When we do this their energy is easily transferred to our goals and you will go forward in life ready to rock n roll.

Those close to me know that my 1st chance in life is 100% focused on my family. My wife and three kids are my main focus in life and I know that I only get one shot to be the best dad and husband a man can be. Our kids grow and age at what feels like warp speed and for me not to be there for them all the time would mean I am failing them. Same goes for my wife in the sense that yeah sure times will get tough but the true meaning of any life partnership is the willingness to work things out and know you have each others back. If I wait for my 2nd chance to be a good family man then it will be to late.

One last first is your health in regards to health and nutrition. The choices you make today will affect you tomorrow, next month and for years to come. Make time in your life for exercise and know that while eating crappy foods tastes good and is comforting the effect it has on your life is not what you want. As a physician the health effects food is having on us is getting scary but at the same time is something you can take control of and easily fix your life.

I don't know all the answers and I will be the first to say that my life is not perfect. There are times when my mindset fails and stress/frustration sets in but then almost immediately the reality of I am in control of everything sets in. The reminder that life is indeed fragile and can be taken away in a heart beat keeps me focusing back towards the purpose in my life....to MAKE IT COUNT!!!!

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.