Stoic philosophy however has taught me to think otherwise. As an aside sometimes I am not sure if I got into reading about Stoicism because essentially I was practicing it before I learnt of it and it was just confirmation bias as I recall doing many of the things I have subsequently learnt well before I knew it was a philosophical practice. The other way to reflect on the past 2 years is actually quite motivating.
Whilst members of my family have been infected with COVID everyone is vaccinated and has had very mild symptoms. That's a positive. Despite the dire work year I have had I did manage to complete successfully the most complicated and challenging reorganisation of my career. Yes it was painful to see people made redundant but our business is now stronger and more primed for growth than ever. Another positive. I managed to maintain string leadership despite many times wondering if we would succeed. I was able to stay strong, get up, dress up, show up and never give up, each day and it paid off...Another positive. My family has lived essentially 2 straight years in each others pockets, without a break, every single day yet we still get on and in some ways our relationships are stronger now than ever before. Just like a scar heals stronger when under tension, our family has become stronger and tighter through this adversity. Another positive.
Finally for me the 2 big IronExec "must haves" have actually had significant success over the past 2 years. Reading and Lifting have never received so much attention. Over the past 2 years I have read close to 30 books. The lifting has been so consistent and the volume has increased due to the additional time I have to devote to it. No work travel. No extended time away. The result has been an increase in lean muscle plus new PR's in a number of lifts all achieved in my mid forties. Just goes to show you can make gains in your mid forties if you devote the time and attention. Sure I have dealt with some injuries and had to work around them however the consistency, the volume and the smart programming has lead to many new PR's or improvements where I thought I would not be able to maintain the type of numbers I had in my thirties I have gotten back to these ranges. Just this morning for example I hit a new max PR in the log lift. The other day I hit a PR in the weighted Chin up of 42.5kg at a bodyweight of 110kg.
The lesson here is to be able to reframe and to look objectively. These abilities enable you to see the positives in a world of essentially dire predictions and negativity. Sure the last 2 pandemic years have sucked. Upon reflection however it has meant more time than ever with my family, more time than ever to read books and improvements in my lifting that I had not realistically thought possible at my age.
Below is a look at my home gym and some of the recent books I have read that I would I recommend.