It was the Dinosaur's fault

Danny sat quietly, playing with his brand new dinosaurs that his Bubba bought him.  He really wanted his big sister Shayde to play with him, but she was too busy on Mommy’s tablet.

He thought about when his Mom said, "just have fun anyway, without Shayde, then she will see how much fun you're having then she'll want to play with you."  He crawled under the kitchen table, because it was dark down there and began playing with his dinosaurs.  

Shayde could hear her brother growling and then she remembered Bubba had gotten him new dinosaurs.  She shut off the tablet, jumped off the bed, walked through the living room and into the kitchen. 

“Let’s play a game Danny,” she said excitedly to her little brother

“Ok”, said Danny “Let’s play Dino Land”

“Um, Ok, I wanna be this dinosaur,” announced Shayde as she picked up the green and white polka dotted dinosaur holding a fish.  ‘This is going to be my favourite one,’ she thought to herself.  

As they played Shayde kept taking turns away from Danny and making changes to the game. He didn't want her to leave and stop playing with him but Danny could feel his face was getting hot, and his heart felt like it was going to pump out of his chest.  

Finally he yelled, “Stop that!” he began to cry, “Shaaaaaaayde stop that!”  

  

Shayde continued to make him mad, silently giggling to herself.  Danny didn't know why she was being so mean but he didn't like it and he couldn't take it anymore. The next thing he knew, he'd picked up Shayde's 'favourite' dinosaur and threw at her face.  The hard dinosaur hit Shayde in the head.

She screamed in pain. “MOOOOM!” cried Shayde “MOM! MOM!”

“Oh my God, what is it NOW?” said Mom.  She had been listening to them argue all day and she wasn't sure how much more of it she could take.

Shayde, holding her head, tells her mother, “Mommy I was just sitting there, I wasn't doing nothing and Danny hit me really hard with one of those rock hard dinosaurs and it hit me in the head.”

Maddie looked at Danny, as if to ask him for his side of it.

Danny tries to explain, "Mommy, I honestly don't know why the dinosaur decided to do that?" Danny, with his eyebrows raised, shaking his head, looked up at his mom face, to see if she was buyin' it but it would seem she wasn't.  

"No use," he thought to himself. Danny stuck his head into a pillow and cried, “Mommy I didn't mean to, my brain just took over, I tried to stop but I couldn't Mommy, I tried.”

Maddie questioned him, “You were upset and before you knew it, you had hit and hurt your sister with your toy?”   

Nodding his head, Danny confessed, “I’m such a bad brother, I’m so mean” he cried. 

Shayde could see that Danny felt really bad, she hugged her little brother until they felt a little better.  

When they were done, Maddie looked at Danny and said, “Danny, that little voice or whatever you want to call it, in your head that tells you to do things like that, isn't looking out for you.  He is only thinking of himself and it’s your job to make sure he doesn't get his way. It takes practice, lots and lots of practice.  Ok Danny?  Can you do that?”

Danny sat up quickly to think about it because he knows he’s having a big boy's conversation and replies, “What am I supposed to do when Shayde makes me angry?” 

Maddie, holding back a smile at Danny’s choice of words, asks him, “I’m not sure, sweetie, what do you think are some things you can try?” 

“Hmmm, let me think.” He says slowly and puts his finger to his tempo to show his mom he was thinking, “Can I hit the pillow like I do when you make me mad Mommy? “  

Smiling, “Sure.”

“Can I count 1, 2, 3, 7, 5, 3, um” counting fingers to find his place “16, 10?”  Showing mommy all his fingers.

Still smiling, “They sound like great ideas, Danny whatever you decide to do, please remember, no good comes from breaking other people’s stuff.  And always think about how bad you felt afterwards.  You felt good for a second when you threw it, but then you felt bad for a long long time afterwards.  Right?”

Danny nodded.

After that Danny almost forgot a few times but he didn't break anything again.  Not on purpose anyway.  

What Inspires You?

Taking a chance on life takes inspiration.  Yes it takes courage and perseverance, but first you need to be inspired.  Figuring out what inspires you can be a challenge, especially when you get caught up in the day to day of a busy life.  Take the time to sit down and really feel what inspires you.  Write it, draw it, talk about it or create it somehow or some way, so as to be able to articulate it to yourself whenever you feel the lull of your life settling in.

Finding your inspiration is subjective to the individual, no one can tell you how to find your inspiration or tell you what inspires you.  It is uniquely yours, so do what comes naturally.  Use magazines or coloring books to cut out images to symbolize your thoughts. I’ve brought you some of the things that inspire me, I hope you like it.

Please press the subscribe button.  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions feel free to email me erica.l.jamieson@gmail.com . 

A beautiful day on the Bay with the people I love the most in the world often times move me to action.  I see my grandchildren in my children, it makes me want to live longer.

Home made birthday cards from my younger children along with a note from a step-child and the perfect card from my oldest come in handy when I am feeling sorry for myself and unloved!

My dog, so many times I could have laid in bed all day to do nothing but he needs to eat and to be taken for a walk.  A dog feels no need to express their independence

After a long day and more so a day that was difficult, watching the innocence of a young child sleeping reminds of their vulnerability.                                                                   

The sun has been the centre of many ancient culture.  A lack of sun can lead to depression whereas the sun provides you with a sense of well-being.

Nothing like a well timed snapshot!

Life. Instinct. 

Anger is a great call to action emotion

Air, wind, sky and space.  The massivity of space humbles me and yet fills me with possibilities.

Our femininity, like water, is powerful yet gentle and nurturing.

A crisp winter day. 

A trees life is unimaginable

Building a strong foundation

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a discipline that has no short cuts or secret techniques that makes you better. You must train hard, regardless of the voice in your head persuading you “you’re too tired to train”.  That voice only has as much power as you give it.  The more you ignore it, like Jason Stratham, Jackie Chan or Jet Li, you will transcend it.  Morihei Ueshiba said, “Progress comes to those who train and train; reliance on secret techniques will get you nowhere.”  

Great Technique
Great technique only happens when your basics, meaning your stances, punches and kicks, are strong.  If done correctly, your basics will conserve energy and create more power.  There is no secret to perfecting your technique, it is done through repetition.  Repetition results in two important outcomes, it builds and tones the muscles needed for that technique and second, it ensures muscle memory.  

Muscle Memory
Muscle memory happens when you repeat a technique; your muscle will remember the movement and you will feel the difference between a correct and an incorrect technique.  The same holds true for a stance, which makes it important to always follow through, by returning to the appropriate stance.  Your muscles will learn and re-learn your natural state.  A good example is slouching, take note of a child (6 mths to 3 yrs old) when they sit their back is perfectly straight, it is unnatural to slouch and yet many of us do.  

Kung_Fo_Toa_1981: Flickr

Automatic Reactions
Muscle memory also creates automatic reactions, it is the action in your reaction that happen without you consciously being aware of it, or having to tell yourself.  For example, when you eat, you do not tell your hand to grab the fork or your arm to lift the food off the plate and into your mouth, or tell your jaw to chew.

All of those actions are second nature.  By repeatedly throwing a kick punch combo from a perfect stance, it becomes natural, thus when you’re mentally exhausted you will still throw a perfect kick punch combo.  
To beat the voice in your head, train hard.  To perfect a technique use repetition for two reasons; to strengthen your muscles and create muscle memory.  Remember there are no secret techniques or short cuts to training.  Morihei Ueshiba also said, “A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.”

4 Great reasons to run with a partner

Serious marathon training takes a single-minded approach to running.  Marathon endurance will require many considerations; running a mile in 7 minutes, pace training, cross country endurance, muscle memory, food intake and running times.  All this training requires commitment, as your shape your body into becoming a carriage of your dreams.  The right partner could take your training to the next level.  A partner who is roughly equal to your level of fitness would enhance your training and ultimately bring out your competitive nature, ensure accountability, apply consistency to your training, and motivate you when you need it most. 

Competition pushes our training further

Running alone and beating your own time is helpful but running against a partner will stir in you a desire to win.  Although a marathon requires a black belt of endurance, the beginning and end of a long run needs more of a brawler to separate yourself from the others. 

Busying your mind, in the moment, to winning will benefit you by taking your mind off the conversation in your head.  If you’re an avid runner you may enjoy running alone to work off stress, however, marathon training may cause more chatter as your endurance improves.  Focusing on winning against your partner, especially if you’re feeling competitive, will quiet the chatter in your head.

Accountability for our fitness 

Goal setting is an important component to training and requires benchmarks to ensure you’re on track.  A partner will help you to stay the course and provide feedback conducive to improving your level of fitness. 

It isn’t as easy talk your partner out of a 5:00 am run as it is yourself.  When it is time to train you are not only accountable for your time but for your partner’s time as well.  Ideally when you’re feeling stagnant you can rely on your partner to crack the whip to keep the two of you moving. 

Consistency in our workouts

Running with someone else will help you to run consistently.  When you run with someone else you naturally run together keeping each other even rather than slowing down and speeding up.  Your partner and you will keep each other moving at a consistent pace.   

Your partner can provide an objective perspective about your training.  We are subjective and often blind of our own flaws or overly critical.  A partner will provide you with an objective look at yourself.  You will be able to identify more clearly where you need help and where your strengths lie. 

Motivating our partner and ourselves

Hearing, “you can do it”, will provide a great deal more motivation than, “20 more minutes?  I just can’t, maybe just 10, that’ll do it, think I will stop now”.  Hearing encouragement from your partner and saying it to your partner can provide that extra push you need.  Motivating your partner will motivate you.

Picking a partner who you can inspire will only motivate you to work harder.  The goal is push yourself to the next level to give you a fighting chance at finishing the race.  If you are like most then you are your own worst critic.  You and your partner can celebrate each other’s victories regardless of how small.

Training with a partner can be the difference between a mile in 7 minutes or a mile in 6 minutes.  Regardless of what happens in the marathon at least training with a partner means you are sure to have more fun.  Ultimately, isn’t that what life is all about?