Two weeks remain in this preparation season, and I didn’t know it when I began, but one of my biggest objectives was raising my capacity.

One definition of capacity is a person’s mental and physical ability to do something.

I have lost a lot of my capacity over the years due to being misaligned, stagnant, and, of course, grief.  During this summer’s prep season, I raised my fitness capacity by training harder than I have in years. I also raised my mental capacity by completing The Craft of Reading creative writing class.

 

It’s the people, stupid

During the Fall Acceleration, I want to raise my people capacity. At the beginning of this year, I knew I desperately needed to change my environment because it is one of the biggest reasons I have stayed stuck and stagnant.

To adapt one of my favorite James Carville quotes: “It’s the people, stupid.”

I have learned the hard way that if you want to improve yourself, you need to surround yourself with better people.

I want to raise my capacity for real friendships. I talked to one of my favorite people for hours this past week, and we both were amazed at how aligned we were. When you meet your soul tribe and your chosen family, you cannot settle for shallow, dull, and superficial relationships. They just feel like a waste of time and energy compared to real friendships.

More real friendships and relationships will come as I align and raise my capacity so I can invest in them.

Headed into the Fall Acceleration: Fitness and Writing

Fall is Harvest time. It’s the time of year when everything you have planted in earlier seasons now comes to maturity. Throughout this year, I have been planting seeds and tending the soil, and now I believe it is time to harvest.

Usually, I call this the Fall Push, but a few months ago I heard whispers to call it The Fall Acceleration because it feels like there is going to be a big leap forward in my life this season.

I’m stepping my game up and saying I want and need to be challenged because I need to raise my capacity so that I am prepared for my next season of life.

I signed up for another Creative Writing Class, and it was different from the one I originally planned. This class called to me from the beginning, but I thought that I should take the Craft of Writing next. It didn’t end up working out, and I think the class I signed up for will be much more challenging since we have to read six books in ten weeks instead of three. I am excited for it. I want to push myself harder. I need to build my critical-thinking skills and improve my writing.

I am also signing up for the Nicole Wilkins Stronger challenge because I’ve made good progress in my prep season, and I want to keep the momentum going.

Fitness is going to be so important in this next season of my life, and I want to get stronger and even more locked in.

Capacity for Love

Last week in Arnold’s Pump Club newsletter, he had an interesting question about where our hearts are. I’ve been thinking about it all week because I’m thinking about where I want my heart to be.

  • I want my heart in my relationships with my family and (real) friends
  • I want my heart in my writing
  • I want my heart in improving myself.

With my heart in the right place, I want to expand my capacity for love. When I talk about capacity for love, I don’t mean only romantic love, because many people don’t actually want romantic love. They want someone to rescue them from themselves, or they want to prove they are good enough to be chosen.

When I talk about capacity for love, I mean the ability to hold love for my family, my friends, and perhaps even a partner. That comes from investing time and energy and locking in to connect with the people who make up my nucleus and my team; this is not a space for everybody.

Prep Season was just that preparation and building the capacity for this Fall Harvest.