This was week 140 of my Operation Melt journey that started with my goal to escape obesity and lose over 100 pounds in under a year. I launched the Operation Melt blog as a way to share my journey to both keep myself accountable and to help you as you work to crush your own goals. My hope is that something that I am doing will inspire you to try, will motivate you to keep going and will equip you to succeed in your own journey.
Top 100 Self-Improvement Blogs
Before I get started this week I want to take a second a celebrate an accomplishment.
Earlier this week I was notified that Feedspot.com, an online blog aggregator and ranking service, selected OperationMelt.com as one of the top 100 self-improvement blogs on the web. I am very excited that my blog, that started as a way to hold myself accountable and to help others, is having an impact!
Thanks Feedspot!
Rest, recover, refocus, reinvigorate
One thing I learned throughout my journey from being a 325-pound obese guy to a fit amateur athlete (yeah, I used the “A” word, I’m a runner now) is the importance of rest. Taking rest days in between your hardcore exercises gives you body a chance to recover and rebuild. In body building there is even a belief that your muscles only grow during the rest days. I don’t know if I completely believe that but there is sound underlying logic and a good message.
If athletes (or anybody on a fitness journey) don’t take time for rest and recovery there are significant consequences. First is the increased risk for injury. Early in my journey I skipped rest and gave myself a minor, yet very painful, injury with shin splints. But, even without injuries, there are other consequences including decreased performance levels and loss of effectiveness of the exercise.
You cannot achieve your peak performance without taking time to properly rest.
Two years ago I learned that the value of rest doesn’t stop in athletic pursuits. When I was laid off from a job of ten years I decided to take some time off after twenty straight years of continual employment. I was lucky enough to have a few months of severance and I planned to try to use it all. Yes, I would look for my next job during this time, but I used the time as a sabbatical to prioritize other things.
After my first few weeks of rest time during my sabbatical my brain started changing. I spent my days exercising and really accelerating my Operation Melt journey. I wrote my book (grab your copy here) during my sabbatical. I trained for and organized my first Operation Melt 5k. I reconnected with my college that I loved but had become a stranger. I beefed up my blog and social media presence. I reconnected with friends. I spent time hanging out with my wife and often had dinner ready when she got home. Most importantly I rekindled my friendship with myself. If was an amazing time in my life!
I learned that rest isn’t just about recovery. Rest also helps you refocus and reinvigorate your energy to really step it up when the rest is over.
Rest is so valuable that it gave me an idea leading to a special announcement today.
This week begins the Christian season of Lent. This starts on Ash Wednesday and continues for the next 40ish days. It is traditional that Christians who observe lent will give up something that is meaningful to them during this time as a sacrifice. This year I have chosen to give up two things for Lent.
The first thing I am giving up for Lent is my scale. This is going to be really difficult for me after 140 weeks of weighing myself nearly daily. This is definitely going to be a sacrifice for me!
The second thing I am giving up for Lent involves Operation Melt. Starting Ash Wednesday I will be giving up my daily social media posts and my weekly Operation Melt blogs. I will spend the next 6 weeks reflecting on how to best refocus and reinvigorate my energy when I come back.
After Lent I want to make Operation Melt better and more impactful than ever but this requires some rest to make this happens.
Does this mean you won’t hear anything from me for 6 weeks? Absolutely not. Over the next 6 weeks I am going to repost some of my favorite blogs from the past 140 weeks. Today’s blog marks my 249th post and there is some gold in some of these posts. So I am going to share some of my favorites over the next 40 days. It is time for the Best of Operation Melt!
Plus, on both social media and my blog, I do reserve the right to share a random post if something big happens or I achieve some major milestone.
Please enjoy my Best of Operation Melt while I am taking my time off. And get ready because, when this rest time is over, I will be back with energy and focus like you won’t believe. We WILL build a world where goals never die of loneliness!
