With things looking better with the quarantine becoming more manageable and ending in many states, I took time to reflect on some of the good things that being in quarantine reinvigorated in me. I realized that spending so much time commuting and maintaining the 9 – 5 life that I’ve become complacent in some areas of my life.
Quarantine Reinvigorated My Discipline
When I was on my regular work routine before the pandemic, I had a ton of excuses or reasons not to do things that benefit my life. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a disciplined person. But since I began working my 9-5 I haven’t been pushing as hard in certain aspects in my life.
Workout Discipline
For example, I always complained about getting home so late and not being able to workout at the gym because I was tired from the workday. I limited my gym sessions to 2-3 per week mostly on weekends.
Under quarantine, I can work out every day utilizing body-weight calisthenics and simply running. My overall health has improved and I look and feel great. I might break up with the gym in favor of continuing this workout regimen.
Food Discipline
At the start of the pandemic, I also didn’t pay as much attention to my food intake. That coupled with my lack of direction of workouts at the start of the isolation allowed my weight to balloon up to 187 pounds.
I’ve put my foot down when I saw that number and decided to seriously track my calorie intake. I also implemented intermittent fasting along with my increased workout activity and my current weight as of writing this is 178.1 pounds. My goal weight is my college lacrosse game-day weight of 175 pounds.
Quarantine Reinvigorated My Drive
I realized during this pandemic that my life had no momentum. I haven’t done anything to create an impact on society. That was because I chose to settle with my 9-5 being enough and not properly goal setting.
Paradigm Shift
I’m currently reading the book “The Ranger Way: Living The Code On And Off The Battlefield” by Kris Paronto. Kris is a special operations soldier who served in the 75th Ranger Regiment and GRS. He is most famous for his heroic role in the defense of American assets in Benghazi on September 12th, 2012 accounted in the movie, “13 Hours in Benghazi“.
Reading this book, I was struck by Chapter Three that talks about goal setting. Kris talked about if you feel strongly about your goals or values, it should be your job to accomplish or follow them.
He also noted in the following chapter that if you have a meaningful goal in life, it should be something you have to work for as opposed to an item that can be checked off a list. He also mentioned that it won’t be easy to accomplish the goal either.
These two statements hit me like a ton of bricks and created a paradigm shift in my brain.
Forward Action
I can’t disclose what my goals are for the future as of yet. But I do have something planned. Immediately, I flashed back to something I read in David Goggin’s book “Can’t Hurt Me” about writing your goals on sticky notes placed on your mirror. That is exactly what I have done. This allows me to visualize my goal and physically pull them off the board when I accomplish them.
This current drive in my life is something I haven’t felt since my college days on the lacrosse team.
Final Thoughts
It is easy for most to say that quarantine has been a terrible experience. The pandemic absolutely has been an interesting time for me to say the least. I am making the best of this challenging time. I have reignited a drive in me and I feel better about myself now than I have felt in years.