What skills or lessons have you learned recently or been reminded of?

In my day to day work, I coordinate and implement a variety of employee benefit plans for large and small companies across the United States.

After utilizing a copious number of timelines, Zoom & Teams meetings, emailed questions and confirmations, in the end there are always lessons to be learned. This from a guy who has done this for more than a decade.

So, in my life lately, what have I learned (or have been reminded of) that’s new?

I HAVE A SLIGHT ADDICTION TO APPLE PIE ROLLS FROM PANDA EXPRESS

In December, I took a detour after picking up some groceries at my neighborhood Hy-Vee and found myself in the drive-through at Panda Express to grab a quick meal (I think the wife was having a dinner date with several girlfriends), and they had a new item on their menu called Apple Pie Rolls (sort of an apple pie and egg roll combined). Because the cost was pretty reasonable, I added a couple to my order.

A cinnamon sprinkled egg roll with warm apple filling was just the ticket I needed after finishing my main entree, although I didn’t need the 300 calories!

IF YOU DON’T SPEAK OUT ON POLITICAL IDEALOGIES YOU DISAGREE WITH, NOTHING CHANGES

Similar to how Obamacare was handled in 2010, the U.S. Senate this past Sunday released a bill aimed at dealing with the border crisis and immigration, with Senators having inadequate time to read and absorb what was in the bill itself. I’m not planning to preach on my own political idealogy, but I don’t appreciate government protecting our borders only if we provide more tax dollars to other countries in the mix (Israel and Ukraine in this instance), and not providing Senators adequate time to review the bill (seems like I recall a politician stating once upon a time, “we have to pass it to see what’s in it”). Look how that went.

This time, I wrote to both my state senators to make my voice heard. Whether you are of one party or another, it’s an important part of being an American citizen.

SUCCESS IS IN THE DETAILS

Work sometimes moves at the speed of light (or perhaps just a tad slower), and I strive to find ways to keep up with the influx of projects coming my way. I tend to focus on quantity over quality and that can sometimes leave me in a bind.

One lesson I need to periodically remind myself on is to slow down and focus on the details of a project and see them through to the end, marking them off the list so I know where I stand from one step to the next. Simple in theory…so difficult at times in practice!

$100 DOESN’T REALLY BUY MUCH AT WAL-MART

I came home from Wal-Mart yesterday after spending more than $100, and the items I bought fit into just a few plastic bags. The interesting thing is that I bought normal household items – paper napkins, peanut butter, ice cream (for my last lesson below), cashews, coffee and a few other items. As you’re doing your work checking yourself out at the terminal, you hit “PAY” and almost do a double take at how prices have soared over the past 2 to 3 years. Knowing also that once something goes up, there is little chance it will return to its former cost any time soon.

I DISLIKE NOVELS THAT INSERT PREACHING FROM CHARACTERS THAT REPRESENT THE AUTHOR’S THOUGHTS BUT MAKE NO SENSE WITHIN THE STORYLINE

If you’re a reader, you know the feeling of anticipation you get when a new novel is coming from one of your favorite authors. Such was my experience recently with an author I’ve read since I was in college.

Although I’ve noticed that the last few books from this bestselling author have had political bullshit inserted into the text for what appears to be no other reason than to vent to as many people as the author can, the constant barrage of comments throughout the first 50 pages made me do something I don’t do often.

Even while the initial mystery at the beginning of the story intrigued me and I ignored the first few instances of a character commenting on politics (which made NO sense or impact to the storyline), I ultimately made the choice to abandon reading further right then and there.

If I wanted to read political opinion, I’d read the new books from Mark Levin, Liz Cheney, Rachel Maddow, Sean Hannity and others. I want to be entertained – not programmed. It is of no consequence to me how many millions of books an author has sold.

I DON’T KNOW ALOT ABOUT THE 49ER’S

With Super Bowl LVIII hitting screens and the field this weekend, I realized I don’t know much about the San Francisco 49ers. SF sort of flew under my radar all season. What do I know now? The team ended the season with a 12-5 record and ranked #1 seed in the NFC. Much of the team’s success comes from last year’s rookie QB Brock Purdy, who became the 49ers’ starter this season after leading the team to the NFC Championship game last year. This year’s game marks San Francisco’s eighth Super Bowl appearance, having won their first five games in the big show. If they win this game, they’ll join the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers as one of only three teams to win six Super Bowls.

IT’S TRICKY BEING YOUR OWN EDITOR

As I’ve written sections of my novel “Relentless”, I’ve come to realize it’s a bit tricky to keep up with the details you’ve provided in prior sections of the book and to retain consistency in the storyline at times. Things like places, times, seasons, events are very easy to mention once and then forget the details behind them. With an authentic editor, I imagine those continuity issues would be resolved.

BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES CAN BE A GREAT OPTION WHEN THE GYM IS BUSY

This time of the year, it seems every gym in the country is overflowing with people excited to make a change in their fitness routine (or start one for the first time), with attendees slowly tapering off over the next few months to those who are truly “into” the process vs. those who like the idea of becoming more fit, but not the time and commitment it takes to get there.

You do have to applaud those (including myself) who value being healthy and fit, or doing their darndest to get there by taking action rather than letting their goals be simply a dream or thought in their heads…right before they grab a bowl of ice cream.

Those of us who have been in the gym prior to the new year influx are oftentimes left with long wait times for machines or broken equipment due to the level of usage changing so dramatically. Rather than wait, what I learned this year (and I believe last year too) is that if you create some bodyweight moves to compliment the machines or free-weights, you’ll be surprised how much of a workout you will end up getting when all is said and done.

Some of my favorite moves to incorporate into a workout include push-ups, crunches, planks, burpees, Turkish get-ups, Russian twists, goblet squats, wall sits, squats, lunges and scorpions. Quite often I’ll see a machine is busy and I’ll instead do one lap around the track, stopping every quarter of the lap to do ten reps of whatever bodyweight exercise sounds good at the moment.

You keep your heart rate up and your workout moving forward and then flip back to the machine when it’s free. Done!

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NOW IT’S YOUR TURN

What lessons have you learned recently in your life? Share them with a comment or feedback on the site!