THE SECOND HALF

I've been ruminating: what is the second half of this trip about?  Is it about seeing the country?  Visiting friends and family?  Meeting new people and trying new things?  Learning about myself?  Developing better skills, habits, and attitudes?  WHAT?

It's about all of that and more, of course.  There's no way around most of it; traveling in an RV alone, by its very nature, involves seeing the country, visiting friends and family, meeting new people and trying new things, and learning about oneself.  The only variable is whether you avoid these things, accept them, embrace them, or seek them out.

The opportunity, then, is developing new skills, habits, and attitudes.

This, of course, is what I set out to do in the first place.  I didn't tell anybody, though.  The last post detailed what I intended and what I accomplished--not very satisfying.  I'm thinking I could do better.

So, this half:

Of primary importance to me at this time is to develop better self discipline.  It is the cornerstone of everything else on the list.  What appears different to me this time around is that I'm less critical of errors and omissions, and more likely to pick up again when I've let myself down.  My all-or-nothing approach doesn't serve me very well. 

Limiting my goals is probably a good idea as well.  In that vein, my goals are:

to meditate daily for fifteen minutes
stretch my back muscles as shown to my by my chiropractor
answer all my email
communicate with friends and family
run through my short routine with weights four times
run or bike
post on Facebook or blog
eat healthy food and not much junk
make note of being calm and present
FORGOT TO MENTION--STUDY A LANGUAGE (was working on Spanish but have switched to French, of which I have a smattering; I have been to Paris four times and intend to go again in September.)

Doesn't seem like much, does it?

My brother Dan has a great way to teach his students how to change habits.  There are four position:

unconscious incompetence (AKA, cluelessness)--unaware of bad habits or things you want to change
conscious incompetence--aware of bad habits and things you want to change, as they happen
conscious competence--aware of the change as you do it
unconscious competence--you do things the right way without thinking of it; ready for a new challenge

Conscious incompetence is actually a high state.  Moment by moment, you can observe your mistakes and work to change them the next time.  You will go back and forth between stages two and three, and it's good to work on more than one thing at a time, in different stages, so you can avoid focusing too much on things ready to drop into unconsciouscompetence.

Dan is a great teacher, very effective.  I'm giving his method a try.

Meanwhile, it's spring break here in Florida.  I've been riding my bicycle up to forty miles a day to visit the different beaches, from Deerfield Beach down to Ft. Lauderdale.  It's great to see the young people congregating and having so much fun.  I lived in Ft. Lauderdale for a couple of years right after college, and it's nice to feel those vibes again.


Ft. Lauderdale



Deerfield Beach

Along the coast, south of Deerfield Beach, is a community called Hillsboro Beach. It's effectively an island, separated from the mainland by an extensive waterway where the residents park their yachts.  I won't bother trying to describe the houses, but here is one of the yachts, easily a hundred feet long.


Imagine the money involved in owning something like this.

NEXT: KEY WEST FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE HOMELESS