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!!!!!!!!!!

Transformation

The past year has been a huge period of transformation in the Oergel household. We had the pleasure of watching our little princess (above) grow up with the constant quest of doing whatever her older sisters did, my middle child broke out of her shell into this uber confident little girl that believes she can do and conquer anything, our oldest continues to push the limits of success and always has a heavy heart towards caring for others, we bought a foreclosure and with lots of sweat and blood are transforming it into our dream home, my wife continues to transform into the corporate executive with leadership skills that drive a team to success they never thought was possible, my focus in training/triathlon has turned from one of type A to one of type enjoy every second as I am blessed just to be able to participate, we have lost some people close to us which was hard but reinforced the transformation thought process of needing to enjoy every day to its fullest and the biggest transformation is the constant drive to always put family first as we function better as a unit then an individual.

Each day you wake up you are faced with the opportunity to transform your day into something positive or negative and the impact it will have on your life. I use to wake up at 4AM and either jump in the pool, get on my bike or go for a run. Now I use that time for self study and to visualize how my actions that day will affect both myself and those around me. I find it positive to write a list of the top 10 things you want to accomplish in the day. They can be simple things as far as opening the door for everyone you come across to more detailed events like having lunch with a long lost friend. The art of the daily TO DO LIST will help keep you on track to what you need to do during the day to keep your mind and actions on track for transformation.

Never underestimate how small of an action in your life can transform someone else's life who may be down on times. My wife recently out of the blue sent a text message to a close family member just reinforcing how incredible of a person this individual is and their impact in this world is not over looked. What she didn't know was this family member was having an extremely difficult day and these words communicated meant more than my wife could have imagined. The family members day turned around and what was bringing her down seemed now manageable.

We all have some part of our life that could use some form of transformation. If we could all just do one thing daily to help out another person it will not only help transform that person into believing there is still good people in this world but it will help transform you into a person that giving is the ultimate reward.

With our recent move, girls activities, vacation and my daily quest to become Bob Vila I have not trained/worked out in over 8 weeks. I have enjoyed the down time and I think at the end of the day of pushing myself every year for the past 15 years my body has appreciated the downtime. Well in 4 weeks time I am racing a half ironman triathlon which at the beginning of the year I had enormous goals for. Those goals have since been put away and new goals have come out. I am not upset at not being where I should be physically not but I am excited to see in 4 weeks how I can transform myself into a somewhat competitive shape and how the new goal of just having fun will transform my mind.

As always Make It Count!!!!!

Perspective

I have had to take a break from writing over the past 7 weeks as life for the first time in awhile got extremely overwhelming. Between selling our house and moving into our new house, going on vacation with the girl of my dreams, getting sicker than I have been for a long time, trying to consistently build up my patient base, coaching some amazing athletes and being a present parent for all of my girls functions...well lets just say time management got a little stressful.

I am one however that believes that there is plenty of time in the day to live an extremely fulling life and accomplish all of your micro and macro goals. However over the last 8 weeks the one thing that I was not able to fit in is my love for triathlon training and the passion I have for consistent positive training. For the past 15 plus years of always putting training towards the forefront of my life and the constant need to always check the box daily with training my mind had a hard time over this transition phase not getting the daily dose of accomplishment it is use to. Some stress and slight depression did creep in initially as what I thought was my daily identity was being stripped away.

In the end however I will say that I have come out of this hiatus a better person, father, husband and athlete. I have learned that there is more to life than podium spots or the constant need to always beat some meaningless number in training. What is important is the time I spend with my wife and kids. Training and triathlon is not who I am but being an amazing father and husband is my drive in this life.

I still have a passion for triathlon and it will always be with me but what I have learned is that with minimal focused training I can not only still compete but I can have a WHOLE lot more time for the things that mean something to me. Or as my wife would say I have more time now to think I am Bob Vila with our new house.

At the end of the day all I am trying to get across to everyone is make sure you put your goals and time allocation into PERSPECTIVE. Are you focusing daily on what is really important to you or are you getting side tracked with a temporary goal that in the long run may hurt whats important to you? My family has always been number one in my life but looking back I could tell that I sacrificed some family time for my triathlon goals.  With re-focusing and goal re-assessment  I know that for me triathlon will always be a part of who I am but now its time for truly just enjoying the sport for what it is and not beating myself up if I miss a workout but knowing I probably missed that workout because something was more important.

Make It Count!!!!

Cherish

I will say that at age 37 my life is richer than I could ever have imagined growing up. Yes my wife and I do well financially and are smart with our money but that is not anything near what I am talking about. I am talking about how extensive my days are in regards to the experiences that I get to share with my family, friends, coaching clients and my patients. Every single person that I come in contact with on a daily basis is a blessing in my life and put in front of me to make me a better person.

I have said before how much my daughters have taught me over the years and that has never stopped. The imagination and true love that a child posses is something I wish we never lost. The picture above is my 5 year old who just lost her second tooth. She came to me after being asleep for a little while one night and said "daddy...I trust you so much can you help take my tooth out?"

I also love going into work each day to take care of my patients. To see a patient walk in almost not being able to move and then to see them leave with a smile on their face knowing that its going to be a better day is priceless. I have the privilege of working with some exceptional people where I practice and many of them inspire me to be better. They trust me with their health and well-being and that is an honor that I don't take for granted.

I know that you are asking yourself what about the people you disagree with, the people that irritate you, the people that are negative no matter the circumstance, the people that find joy in putting people down...well I look at these types of people in a way that they are pushing me to be a better person, to understand the negative side of things so that I can pursue the positive and more than anything else they drive me to be even more successful than I have already become.

What I don't let negative people do is get inside my head because I have learned that at the end of the day these energy vampires are just not worth the effort. I have learned more recently that we need to cherish the people around us that we care about.

I am not saying that I am perfect by any means but what I am saying is that you need to constantly remind yourself that you can be better. Recently I have had some moments of weakness and dealing with pity on myself mostly with everything that my family is dealing with right now. Although the second this happens I have been reminded how fragile life is and how it needs to be cherished. I recently had a sweet older lady who has been my patient for well over a year pass away in her sleep after dealing with a nasty illness. Just yesterday a patient was telling me about a good friend of hers at age 40 passed away in his sleep leaving a 2 year old and pregnant wife behind. If that doesn't wake you up I am not sure what will.

I have no idea when my time will come but what I do know 100% is that I will make the most of my time and cherish every second I have with those around me. We are blessed to have this opportunity to spread joy while on this planet and I plan to take full advantage of my time.

So as the season change and the winter depression leads to thoughts of warm sunshine on your skin make sure that you are constantly taking time our of your day to enjoy time with those around you.

Make It Count!!!!

Mindset

The past month living in Maryland has been some of the busiest/stressful days of my life mostly due to weather conditions, buying a new house and not selling current house, a growing chiropractic practice, coaching the most wonderful athletes I know, three active daughters, a wife who pushes the limits of success which has led to more travels recently, building a kids triathlon team and trying to train for endurance sports at a high level.  Some days I will be honest that I wish I could just hit the pause button, take a deep breath and live a simple life. These thoughts are always followed by the truth, which is I thrive on being busy and really wouldn't know what to do with myself without a daily, monthly, yearly and multi-year plan of attack. This has been my mindset for most of my life...the drive to attack things both increase your exposure to the world but also great reminder of how great life can be. I could easily just give in and let the stress overwhelm me but I choose not to as I have been blessed with the opportunity to leave my lasting impression on this world.

I want to share a story of inspiration, motivation, unfortunate events, success, never giving up, thinking life isn't fair, family always comes first, life is short so live in the moment, why not quit but most importantly a MINDSET of believing this isn't the end.

A few years ago a really good friend of ours, sister was dying of liver failure. She had been on multiple medications and thought that life was going to be a life of pills. As time progressed she had worsened to the point of being placed on the liver transplant list. The day came and the new liver was successfully transplanted with dreams of life going back to normal and world travels. Well a year went by with minor details until some blood work came back abnormal. After further investigation it was determined that the the new liver was transplanted with small cell carcinoma which was missed when the new liver was biopsied. At this point, I could tell you that after going through what she had already been through and to now hear the word you have cancer I probably would have crawled into that corner and stayed. She however with true amazing character accepted the new challenge and asked the doctors what the next step was. Now instead of the occasional check-up she was going for regular chemotherapy as not only had the liver had cancer but it had spread to other spots in her body. All this time family and friends shed tears of sadness but also tears of what potentially could come out of her weakened state. Not Leigh Ann!!! She told the world she was to strong for this and that this would not be the end for her. As time went on the chemo was successful in treating the cancer and within 8 months she was in remission. Once again the fighter had won the fight and was moving on to the next round of her life. I wish I could say this was the end of my story but the story continues. Within a short period of time spots returned on her new liver and the doctors at this point stated a transplant was not available and without more chemo this could be the new road. So once again more chemo was given until the beginning of this year when doctors gave her the blessing of she had been placed back on the transplant list. After 2 trips to the hospital with a liver ready she left with the liver going to someone who needed it more. All of us around her thought how unfair this was and the physical and emotional exhaustion she had to be going through must be taking its toll. Not Leigh Ann...she responds her coined motto- Think Happy Shit (THS)....she was grateful that someone was going to live a better life now and how happy she was for them. Well this past week she got the third call and this time the relativity of how incredible life can be came to fruition. Leigh Ann was blessed with a new clean liver and I can say as of writing this that she has once again been smiling non-stop.

Her MINDSET through this time was one of life is an amazing gift. We can choose to live a life of why me, why me or we can stand up in the face of difficult times and let them know how strong you are. She could have been weak minded after anyone of what seemed like a life just isn't fair but instead she got stronger and stronger and I know it has motivated me 100% to live my life more in the moment and accept everything that comes in touch with me as something that will make me stronger.  She always reminds people around her to THS and to live live HAPPY!  She challenges everyone to face anything with a Thumbs up mentality!

The following is one of the first pictures of her coming out of surgery. This picture is a perfect example of how positive she is...

During Leigh Ann's journey I believe one reason her MINDSET was so strong was from the power and support of her incredible sister Heather. I consider Heather one of the Oergel's very close friends and what I have seen in Heather over the years is how strong and supportive individual she is. She will never put herself first but will always take time out of her life to support her family and friends close to her. She has worked with my wife for years and I believe one of the reasons she has been so successful professionally is that she reaches a personal connection with individuals much deeper than anyone I have come across in my life. She has been a great supporter of my children and I am very grateful for her because of that. I know Heather's MINDSET through all of Leigh Ann's journey was: "I will be there for her 24/7 for her and give her the foundation needed in case she has moments of weakness". Keep up the good work Heather as this world is a much better place with you in it.  THS

So tomorrow when you wake up and you encounter events that may push you to the breaking point I want you to know that you have the power to challenge the stress and come out a better person. Start building a MINDSET of success and you are in charge of your future.

Make It Count and THS!!!!