Great Reading and Personal Experiment

How to Win Friends & Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

There is a world of self-help books out there to choose from so why recommend one that was first published in 1937?. This book provides easy to understand concepts that you can apply everday to situations that most of us encounter in dealing with people. It is recommend that each chapter be read twice to soak it in and as you are reading picture yourself in situations where you could use them.

Even though the book was first published in 1937 it still provides great insight into how to deal with people and get what you want. Research performed at the Carnegie Institute of Technology confirmed that even in technical fields such as engineering, about 15% of one's financial success is due to one's technical knowledge and about 85% is due to skill in human engineering-to personality and the ability to lead people. Seems worth a try.

The book is broken down into four parts with three to twelve chapters of principles. In the chapter there are also real life examples of the effect of using the principles. At the end of each chapter there is a short sentence or two to remind you of the principle as you begin to put it into use.

Each week I will post the principle at Joe's Goals and track my progress. My goal is to work on each principle until my green checks outweigh my red X's. When I accomplish this I will add another principle and track it as well. To make it more interesting I'll add some in the field expereinces.

Part 1: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

Chapter 1: If you want to gather honey don't kick over the bee hive.

• Don't Criticize, Condemn or Complain

Alternative Routines (Being Flexible)

I'm one that likes my routine. I don't like change and will fight hard to keep things the way they are. It is a benefit for things like sticking to a workout or making lifestyle changes. However, it doesn't work well when life throws you a curve ball.

Wednesday mornings are usually my work week cycling morning. Tuesday night I layed out my cold weather cycling gear and was ready for the morning routine thinking the temperture would be in the mid to upper 20's. I typically check my email and look at the weather forcast briefly after dinner but missed on Tuesday. When I got down stairs at 4:15am and checked my blog my weather underground banner showed the tempature at 16 degrees. I refreshed my site and then checked other weather sites as I was sure there was a mistake. No such luck, I was faced with riding in 16 degrees or not riding. I'm not sure how but I had missed the fact that Wednesday's morning low was going to be below 20 degrees.

Typically I would have gotten down about it because I couldn't stick to my normal routine but something prompted me to checked the site of the East Lake YMCA to see what time they opened on the outside chance I would go and ride a stationary bike.

The "Y" opens at 5:30 am. I also remembered that I had done a spin class in the evening there a few times. I pulled up the group exercise programs and sure enough there was a spin class at 6:00 am. The instructor I discovered at the class is the mother of one of my kids classmate. Problem solved.

I had forgotten how hard spin class can be (no coasting). I actually pushed myself harder and enjoyed it much more than riding in the cold.

This was a good lesson for me. It goes to show you that if you will go with what you dealt and not fight it good things will usually happen.

Adapting to Cold

This year I've become interested in the body's ability to adapt to cold weather. Growing up in the Southeast cold weather is typically short lived and not something that we had to deal with for long. But after this weekend I was curious as to how people handle outside activities when temperatures drop into single digits.

After some research I discover an article that starts with the statement:

"Humans are essentially tropical animals and are not equipped to deal with even mild cold. That we can live in cold climates is a result of behavioural adaptations such as wearing appropriate clothing and building shelters." (read more)

I have always believed that people were not designed to live in cold climates. But how can I adapt and continue my training and enjoyment of the outdoors?

One thing I try to do to adapt is not to wear heavy coats when I'm doing short term activities in the cold; taking out the garbage, feeding the birds, getting the mail. I'm trying to adapt to the cold so the more prolong activities (more than a hour or two) with the proper clothing don't seem so harsh. I have noticed that after long exposure to the cold I am much more fatigued that normal.

I can't imagine dealing with more than a few weeks of cold and a few days of really cold weather and tip my skull cap to people that live north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Had Enough to Eat?

Check out this story over at NPR about overeating.

Gut Reaction: Overeating Can Impair Body Function
by Patti Neighmond

The holiday season is pretty much over. But is your body over the holiday season? For many people, indulging during these food-filled celebrations can set the stage for routine overeating.
The problem, some doctors and researchers say, is that overeating causes biological changes in the body that can lead to more food cravings and cause your stomach to send mixed signals about when it's actually full. (read more)

Be sure to read this as well: A Partial Fast Retunes The Body. From juice-only diets to herbal tea cleanses, there are lots of fasting fads for sale, but experts say a 24-hour fast with water is the safest.

New Year-Nicer You

Wouldn't it be great if you could just say; I'm going to be a better person to my family, friends, co-workers, and general people I meet. Making a broad general statement is less effective than resolving to make a specific change; something like quit complaining or if you just want to be happier check out Gretchen Rubin's "Ten Tips to Being Happier". Gretchen has many of the same personality traits that I have been working on so it's easy for me to relate and try things that may help. I have serious programing that takes me tremendous effort to change. It's hard but worth the effort.

Recent research shows that while 52% of participants in a Resolution study were confident of success with their goals, only 12% actually achieved their goals. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, a system where small measurable goals are used (lose a pound a week, instead of saying "lose weight"), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends. Qurikology Study.

Increase the odds: Set goals; start small and move up. Start with daily easy obtainable goals and to have a clear view of what you want your life to be like. Try this exercise of writing your on personal commandments. Here are mine:

• Practice Patience
• The Golden Rule (I figure if I can get this one right the other things will fall in place)
• Stay in the present moment.
• Act the way I want to feel.
• Choose not to take things personally.
• Forget the past.
• Don't complain.

I may add others. Working on these will take relentless effort, I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Cyclocross End of Season Report

Simon's first cyclocross season finished with a third place win for the under 14 series. Because of his willingness to keep coming back for more punishment he was able to secure his place atop the podium by out scoring his nearest opponent and beating him out right in the last race. It was earned and well deserved.

One of reasons Simon kept returning was the encouragement from fellow racers and the spectators. This makes the sport appeal to most cyclist; you not only get to race but you can cheer on fellow racers when you're not racing.

So congratulations to Simon for a top three finish in his first cross season!

13.1

Thanksgiving day I ran the Weather Channel Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon. It interesting how when you push yourself you learn things. Some of the things that I learned were more of a confirmation of things already knew but were not ready to consciously admit and put into practice.

Race Report:

Start time was 7:00 am. The race started in Chamblee and ended at Turner Field so the course was not out and back. Got up at 4:00am has some coffee, I had picked up my Breeze Card the night before so I was out the door 5:00am walking to the East Lake Marta Station. Got on the train at about 5:22 had to make one transfer and exited the Chamblee Marta Station around 6:05. I followed the crowd to the area where the trucks were collecting bags from people that wanted to keep their warm up clothes and pick them up at the finish line. I had decided to leave my clothes near the aid stations when I got warm on the run. The clothes are picked up and donated.

Got to my stall based on my number about 6:40 and waited. My friend Dan said he would meet me near the front but I never saw him at the start. 7:00 race started. The first few hundred meters we just walked then we had the whole road and were able to start running. After about two miles I settled into my Half Pace. A pace I thought I could finish the race without too many problems. My longest run to date was 9.5 miles.

Dan ran past me at about mile 3 and I ran his pace for about a half mile but decided to slow it down to my pace and let him go ahead. With three marathons under his belt I figured he knew what he was doing. To make a long story short here is what happened:

• Mile: 1-8:29, 2-9:56, 3-8:46, 4-8:44, 5-9:14, 6-9:04, 7-9:09, 8-10:38, 9-10:44, 10-11:27, 11-11:43, 12-12:21, 13-13:13.

As you can see things started to go wrong somewhere into mile 10 and got worse until the end of the race. I felt as if I has sustained an injury but I ran 2 miles on Saturday without the same pain. Things I learned:

• If you are going to run a long distance you have to train a long distance. The thought of running for over an hour does not appeal to me.


• I am much better at pushing myself hard for a short distance that just pushing myself to run long distances.


• I'm a better runner that a cyclists but I can work on the cycling part.

So when I talked to Dan about the race and he was describing the course after 10 miles I had no recollection of it. I was so focused on finishing I didn't even notice where I was.