An explanation for the beard Kato calls nappy…
Dang. I don’t remember the last time I posted my picture on my own blog.
During one of the courses I took earlier this year, the instructor / coach said something that just shot through to the core. He said “being private with your commitments is inauthentic.” There’s not a lot of power in inauthenticity, and there’s lots of power in authenticity. Being public about your commitments is a way to really be authentic / straight about them.
So earlier this summer I made a commitment to get in better shape (ie lose weight / body fat through exercise and diet). That was a primarily private commitment– maybe one or 2 people knew I had any goals (Mar is one of them… I can officially validate Kato’s sentiment about “crap support”– because we are crap support for each other, hehe). Well being mostly private and thus inauthentic with that commitment, it’s no surprise that I failed miserably. It’s not that I couldn’t have done it– I could have– but by being private I have no accountability.
So I don’t remember when I got this idea, but I decided that I would use my new beard as a way to be public about my commitment (I had heard of someone who let their hair grow long until they’d reach a certain level of fitness, and the more unkempt it got the more motivated they were to try to reach the goal…) I decided that I wouldn’t trim it (cut it shorter) until I’d lost 10 lbs, and that I couldn’t shave it off until I had reached my goal (I’d like to lose around 40lbs– about what I lost in 2004 and subsequenty gained back through a couple bouts with depression and / or stress.) Hmm… maybe I should let my hair go too. That would drive me even more nuts than the beard, I bet.
See, sometimes I don’t mind having a beard– but a) I don’t really like the attention it brings, and b) I like to keep it cut pretty short if I keep it– it gets pretty frowzy looking when it gets long).
So there you have it. If my beard is just unkempt and out of control, it means I haven’t been making decent progress. And you know it, and it leaves me accountable to other people for my actions.
Granted I don’t see a lot of my blog readers often enough for them to see what the progress is, but making a public declaration like this is still authentic. It’s time to take better care of the body I’ve been given and enjoy life more. For the record, the start weight is about 250lbs (readout on the scale fluctuates between 249 – 251). So we’ll say when I hit 240 I can *trim* the beard down. Maybe I’ll take a picture just prior to trimming it just to see the damage, hehe. You’ll notice I already have maybe 3 weeks of growth without a lot of progress.
Anyhow, think about it in your own life. What commitments do you keep private for fear of accountability? Consider that actually making it public is what calls you into action in many cases– because people will support you.
Comments
7 responses to “Authenticity and Commitments”
screw that, i don’t wanna support you. I wanna see you get as vagrant looking as possible, that would be awesome!!! not that i don’t want you to succeed in your weight loss goals, but a big bushy beard would be tops!
“as vagrant as possible”, haha. Awesome. I can’t hear that word and not think of Zoolander. Maybe we should make Derelicte a reality and just go totally vagrant… “a way of life inspired by the very homeless, the vagrants, the crack whores that make this wonderful city so unique.”
Really, I like you guys with some scruff! I’m a fan. But when you get all ‘derilicte’ and Vati starts preaching to you about being clean-shaven… Dude, Mike, you should play with that picture on photoshop and see what you’d look like with a long beard and long hair! VAGRANT! Hahahaha!
Okay, I can breathe normally again knowing sloanie.com is here when I need it. Mike, you are totally right about commitment authenticity! I’m trying to loose weight too and actually told Jorg he wassn’t allowed to tell anyone about my diet. Looking back, I know that’s becuase i want to be able to cheat without people judging me. and why would i want to cheeat if i were really committed? Hmmmmmm…vs….when i say i will do something in a meeting at work or for my church calling, i always pull through because i have publicly stated my commitment. yes…lots to think about…
See, you get it, Em 🙂 What it comes down to is that people actually want you to succeed in your goals for the most part– not judge you for failing. If they know what you’re up to… they might be able to help.
See, I talked to Shawn the other night (it happens sometimes on google talk if I’m up at strange hours on a Tuesday night) and he read my blog post, then proceeded to share his thoughts, experiences, and progress in his own efforts to be more fit. The result? I hit the gym for the first time in months the next day. I’d say he kinda inspired me– and it just took a little support and encouragement.
So how can we help you in your quest? 😀
Okay, it’s one thing that I KNOW I’m crap support for you (right back at ya, hehe), but it’s another to announce to everyone else that I am, too! (Of course, Kate already knows this.)
I have a chart that I hang up in my bathroom for Jesse to see and chart his own progress on, too. I must say, it is exciting when the numbers go down because someone else can see it, too.
Hey Mikie,
Occasionally I get on this site and read your blog. I just had to comment on the pic – I really like the look. It looks great on you. I also like the stuff about the diet. One day a few years ago I decided to lose weight. Seventy pounds later, I feel great. It wasn’t really hard cause I ride and work at the ranch so much it just came off with eating right. Anyway, hope all is going well with you. I miss you guys and wish you would come over for a visit. It doesn’t get any better than seeing the beauty around here. Carmel