Fear Is A Choice

     What do you fear? Think long and hard. Come up with something that truly terrifies you.

     You are choosing to be afraid of it. You can argue all you want, but being afraid is a choice. Yes, it is a natural action. Yes, it is a reflex to danger. Yes, it can be controlled. You laugh at me, don't you, dear reader?

     Let's take an example fear... Being afraid of the dark. I used to be afraid of the dark. My parents didn't know this, but I used to be freaking terrified of it. I tried everything to get rid of this fear. I tried tensing my mind up, trying to block it out. I tried standing in the dark for long periods. None of it worked, and I was scared of the dark for far longer than I am going to admit to the public.

     Fear is a choice, even if it's a subconcious one. Once I realized this, I was able to overcome my fear very easily. I accepted my fear. You cannot overpower fear, it is a foe much stronger than you. When it washes over you, tensing your mind to resist will leave you paralyzed. Instead? Relax into it.

     I'm not spouting any zen crap here, what I'm saying is that you have to find peace with the fear you have(which you should note, is a lot easier as a Christian). The way that I did this was imagining the worst possible thing that could come to back my fear. Being a writer with a fantastic imagination, this conjured a gang of five clowns with large knives some pretty horrible images of what waited for me in the dark. Then, I allowed myself to imagine those fears taking place... A hidden monster killing me, falling down an unseen hole, having my throat slit from behind.

     The fear was unbelievable. Until I shrugged and said: "Well, can't do anything about it."

     When you accept that you are powerless against fear, it loses its power over you. It's like swimming. If you kick and flail and struggle, you're going to sink lower and lower and lower. But if you take nice, deep breaths and relax... You float.

      So the next time you're afraid, acknowledge your fear, acknowledge you can't do jack about it, and move along. It might just help you.

In Probably Not the Most Derogatory Term We Use: Resolutioners

Resolutioners. Yes, you. The ones who jumped onto a gym membership the moment the New Year rolled around.

STOP CURLING IN MY SQUAT RACK IF YOU WANT YOUR HEAD TO REMAIN ATTACHED TO YOUR BODY!

Sorry, I've been holding that in since January 1st.

I have absolutely nothing against wanting to better yourself, to drop fat, to gain muscle, to get stronger, to get better conditioned, etc. I fully support this and anyone who truly wants to accomplish any one of those goals. One of those goals will support all the others if you actually focus on it, but we're not going to cover that here.

Resolutioners have one trait in common--most of them, at least--they disappear sometime between February 1st and March 1st. For some reason, they stop coming to the gym. They're on a contract and they still pay 40-80 a month, but they don't show up.

Now, I have no problem with an empty gym--I get to use the power cage more--but I do have a problem when people can't legitimately pursue a better them. I think that it is one of the manifestations of the general attituge of American society. It's a microwave attitude. A 'six-pack abs in 6 weeks' attitude. A 'vote for the guy that gives out the most free stuff' attitude. It's a disgusting attitude.

I'm not going to blame just the people themselves for having that attitude. No, the media is also to blame. Just watch a few late-night infomercials for fitness products. P90X. A 90-day program. Similar products dot the channels, all promising to deliver in 8 weeks, or 12, or 6. You get the idea. If I were to sit someone down, look them in the eyes, and say: "Building a body you can truly be proud of takes 2-5 years of straining under a heavy barbell and eating like you were made to eat" most people would display an astonishing 40 time as they ran for their room to cry in a corner.

People have no sense of commitment. People don't understand that great things take time. People don't understand that the kid in the gym benching 315 probably didn't start lifting 90 days ago. Yeah, a 12-week cycle of Smolov can bump your bench or squat up 50 pounds, but that's what we call 'peak strength' and is easily lost. If that confuses you, just Google it and stop being confused. Most people require a year or more of serious training(read: Starting Strength to Texas Method to 5/3/1) to reach a bench number like 315.

Yet you look at all these people coming in the gym on New Years, and they seem to think they can sculpt the body they want in a few months. It saddens me. What saddens me even more is that when I approach someone and tell them they might be better purposed by getting under the barbell, some sorry excuse such as: "squats screw up your knees" or "deadlifts are bad for your back" is given.

Overall, the attitude towards physical fitness is rather disapointing... People belive that it's an option. Sure, it is nowadays. But the human body was made to do amazing things. It wasn't made to grow a gut the size of Montana. I apologize if that offends someone, but seriously. Don't make it a resolution. Make it a lifestyle.

Now go forth and lift something heavy.

Plot and Character, the Two Great Variables

When you are writing, there are--at the most basic level--two variables in your story. The flow of the plot, and the characters. The plot is that thread you weave throughout the pages of your book, you twist you turn, you knot it into a brilliant tapestry that leaves yoru readers guessing at every turn. The plot is what keeps your reader up at night, what keeps them wanting to know what happens next, and apparently what gets you fangirls. That last bit is just personal experience.

A lot of writers can come up with a halfway decent plot without much trouble. Just throw a few dragons in there, a betrayed brother, an assassination attempt, and a feuding set of countries and you're good. What these writers--and I was one of them for a long time--fail to realize is that plot will not drawn in without character. Yes, it can be fascinating, but if you have bland caharacters, there is no substance.

Ultimately, we pick up a book and read a slice of a character or multiple character's life. The book may be about a civil war between two halves of the elven nation, but it has to be viewed through someone's eyes. And if that person is uninteresting, so will be the story.

What I'm saying is that any plot is uninteresting without interesting characters.

On the flip side of the coin, interesting characters without any significant plot will typically just meander. They'll have interesting dialog and perhaps a few exciting incidents, but there will be nothing driving you forward. An excellent example of this can come from TV shows. I'm assuming I'm going to be somewhat hated for this, but please... This is my blog. Shut up.

NCIS is a character based show. There are occasionally over-arcing plots that pull you forward and make you want to watch the next episode, but they are not going on the entire show. NCIS has some pretty awesome character interaction, but at least for me, the stickyness--or long-term viewer retaining--is low. Now, let's take a look at a plot driven show, one of my favorites: 24. Good characters, but there are certainly shows with better ones. Yet, sit someone down to watch two episodes and they suddenly can't wait for the next two. It's like TV crack.

I use 24 because it provides a perfect example of what a good plot requires: a ticking time bomb. Not necessarily a real one like in 24, but something that the hero(es) has to race against to 'win' or to save the day. It could be an actual bomb, an invading army, a political plot, etc. The point is that there have to be clear stakes. Furthermore, the stakes need to threaten death. And again, this does not neccessarily have to be literal. It could be physical death, but it could also be the death of relationship, the death of a job, etc.

The point here is that a good book needs good characters--one(s) who's personalities and personal issues are very clearly defined--and a good plot--one that threatens death and gives the hero(es) a deadline. Lean two much towards having only one of those and your book might start to suck.

My Recent Addiction

     Swing dancing. I've always loved it. But over the past month, I've really become addicted to it. I don't have a partner to practice with every day like one of my lucky friends--you know who you are--does, but swing dancing is on my mind a lot these days.

     I plan to swing dance a lot in 2013.

     I plan to do a lot of stuff in 2013. I plan to write. I plan to dance, and I plan to lift. I plan to go to college.  plan to get a tattoo. I plan to weigh 200 pounds. I plan to score a lead in the spring play.

     To be honest, 2012 was not a good year. There were a lot of things that were messed up. A lot of things I saw burn, a lot of things I let go of. Towards the end I wasn't in a good spot. But that's changed now. The night was darkest before the dawn... I can see that dawn now.

     It's not the dawn I expected it to be, but let's be honest... is it ever?