Day 26 of the Better Man in 30 days challenge - Take the Marine Corp Fitness Test --- Managed the 3 mile in 29.5 minutes (includes the very leisurely 3 minute warm up), 46 crunches in 2 minutes and a barely there 4 pull ups for a total of 95 from a maximum 300 points possible. Not great but better than I thought given how a certain HIIT youtube video kicked my ass on Day 24. ...
Took day 24 a tad too far - no thanks to this video(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNZe01hqMW8).. Knackered! No debts of any description so will pass on Day 25… Home stretch!
Day 22 - Improve your posture and Day 23 - Learn a manual skill --- I didn’t need the prompt to tell me I had terrible posture. Managed to set up my chair at work as intended - to provide better support to my lower back and at the right height. Hopefully I begin to reap the dividends of improved posture, not least a less prominent keg. On manual skills; I installed ceiling fans for fun in my undergraduate days and still know my way with a soldering iron, a legacy of my previous pastime - tinkering with the innards of dead radios. I happen to also be the go to guy when my buddy O needs to set up a new bed or move stuff around in his house… Could use a few more automobile related skills as I haven’t changed a flat tire in nearly six years. Have to but that Z4 roadster first (and win the lottery before that or something).
Day 21 of the Better Man in 30 days challenge - Write Your Own Eulogy --- Born in the late seventies in the shadows of the Somorika mountain range in the then Bendel State of Nigeria, the few months he spent there before high tailing it across the country to Ife where his mother was studying for a degree set the tone for the rest of his life - pretty much not bound to any physical location but an aspiring global citizen. Seven or so months in Ife were followed by a couple of years in Imeri, then Igueben and then Benin where his academician father was studying for a PhD. The back end of the eighties saw a move to the adjoining town of Ekpoma where he would spend the bulk of his childhood. ...
Day 20 of the Better Man in 30 days challenge - Perform Service --- Falls on the day when I volunteer with the Tech team at church… Obviously from behind :)
Day 19 of the Better Man in 30 Days Challenge - Schedule a Physical Exam --- I am required to get an offshore medical every two years which covers quite a few of the items specifically referenced on the challenge viz blood pressure, weight/BMI, vision, lung function and audiometry. ECGs, bloods and urinalysis get taken six monthly for other reasons hence I consider the challenge covered between both. The main exclusion is the probing and probing of the man parts for potential prostrate problems. ...
Day 18 of the Better Man in 30 days challenge - Find Your N.U.T.s --- Your Non-negotiable, Unalterable Terms that is. For me these are inextricably linked to the Core Values from Day 1- Faith, Family, Continuous Improvement, Mentoring and Health. Soooo, here goes:order: Living out a real world faith - continuously seeking ways to translate the undergirding principles of love and consideration for others, and social justice - will be the single most important thing that will guide my relationships with others; I will honour my daily spiritual practice and journaling; My family, and adequately fulfilling the various roles I play in it - Son,Brother, (future) Husband and Father - will always take precedence over other considerations; I will schedule regular (monthly at least) time to go through plan-do-review cycles for each of my core connections and the roles I play in them - friends and family, professional and within the wider civil/social context; I will take care of my body - eating well and exercising.
Day 17 of the Better Man in 30 days challenge - Talk to three strangers. --- One of the more difficult challenges for me, given spontaneity and friendliness are not exactly my forte. Just about pulled through though I think Ran into a (relatively) new (Nigerian) start in the building I work at whilst on my way out to grab lunch from M&S. A quick search in the people directory - and a dive into LinkedIn - turned up an interesting factoid - even though his current job description is as far away form it as it possibly can be, his first degree is in Materials and Metallurgy. Chatted up the sales attendant at M&S whilst she was running my items though the scanner. The lunch time shift can be draining given it is as much of a revolving door/capacity optimisation exercise as there can be. I swear her eyes lit up when I asked how her day was (I might have imagined it only though). Blew over an hour on a good natter with the office mates, something I’ve not done a lot of lately given all the (far more) serious things that have been on my mind lately..Totally claiming this as in my humble opinion it fulfils the spirit of the challenge :) Another one I should work a tad harder towards improving on..
Fell behind on the Better Man in 30 days challenge thanks to a quick trip down south to sort out passport issues amongst other things. Methinks I’ve largely caught up now. Day 9 - Take a woman on a date: Caught up with J at at the Rodozio Rico over the weekend. No selfies were allowed, this will have to suffice as proof. Day 14 - Write a letter to your father: A bit of a mixed bag here really given the fact that age and time have mellowed the quite strong views I held to in the past. Doesn’t help that like me he’s not really an emotionally engaged person. Loads to be thankful for but quite a few areas we could have done better at. Fingers crossed going forward I guess ...
Dear Dad, My earliest memories of us are of me perched on my small chair looking up to you whilst you swotted into the early hours of the night, huge coffee mugs making their procession down your throat with the regularity of clockwork. It must have been back in ‘85, as in my memories I see Gracie . there too, right in the middle of your PhD years back in Benin. ...