Eight Months til Departure

Assuming everything goes to plan, sometime in August I’ll be leaving for training in the Peace Corps.

I still don’t know where I’m going. I barely have an idea of what I’ll be doing. And at any point, they could change my initial nomination and invite me to a different program, depending on the needs, applicants, and strength of my application.

Westchester Lagoon.

I’m excited and terrified.

I want to be as healthy as possible before I leave. I want to lose as much weight as possible before I leave. I want to be used to hard work, uncomfortable situations, facing my fears, and coming up with creative ideas to nearly impossible solutions.

So here is a list of things that I want to try to accomplish before I set off.

• Eat “clean” and eliminate any excess intake of sugar
• go white water rafting
• Go Sea Kayaking in Seward, AK or Homer.
• Summit Flattop
• Ride my bike from Anchorage to Girdwood
• Learn French – or start learning the native language of the place I’ll be serving in the Peace Corps
• Pass the two classes I’m taking this Spring

Read/listen to this list of books*:

• Start Something That Matters

• Entreleadership

   

   

   

• The Personal MBA

   

   

   

• Getting to Yes: negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

   

   

   

• The Mindful Appetite

   

   

   

• The Eat-Clean Diet

   

   

   

• Buddhism for Busy People

   

   

   

Based on my list of books, I want to be more skilled in negotiation, business, and listening to my body and treating it well.  In order to accomplish this, I’m going to have to expect more from myself. That was a common theme from last year while marathon training, and while I did accomplish some crazy things, I didn’t feel like I was ever really putting out as much effort as I could to obtain my goals.

I figure once I get back into the gym, listening to these books will be a great way to keep my mind busy while doing cardio. Music doesn’t keep me distracted the way I like anymore.

Eating Clean is really going to be the most challenging of all the things for me. I am addicted to sugar. I tried giving it up once; ultimately I don’t know where I’m going but I want to detoxify my body and remove its dependability on such high levels of processed sugar before I leave. I have to keep this at the forefront of my mind. This is prep time for go time.

Gotta be ready.

*Links include an affiliate marker to Amazon.