Feats of Focus: Lewis Pugh, the “Human Polar Bear”

Welcome to the second installment of “Feats of Focus”! Last time I featured Willard Wigan, the incredible microsculptor who regularly creates sculptures that stand on the head of a needle.

My next feature is Lewis Pugh, or “The Human Polar Bear.” Lewis Pugh is the only person to have completed a long distance swim in every ocean of the world. In addition, he has swum the entire length of the Thames River (except for the first 26 miles, which he ran, because the river was too low).

What he is best known for, however, makes these other incredible accomplishment pale in comparison. He is the first person to swim at the geographic North Pole– in nothing but a Speedo, a swimming cap, and goggles. In 2007 he swam 1km in minus 1.7 degrees Celsius water in 18 minutes and 50 seconds. If that isn’t incredible enough, in 2010 Pugh swam across Lake Pumori, a glacial lake under the summit of Mt. Everest.

Lewis Pugh does these incredible swims to bring attention to world climate change. It has been the cause that he has dedicated his life to and it helps give him the strength to do what seems impossible.

Obviously this is a pretty incredible person. What can we learn from this crazy-cold-water-swimming-eco-friendly-conservationist-activist-guy?

1. Power of visualization: Pugh trains five hours a day to prepare himself for cold-water swimming. An hour is spent actually swimming in very cold water and the remaining four hours are spent on mental training. His technique is to visualize his swim from beginning to end. According to a CNN article, Pugh says, “I can taste salt water in my mouth. I can hear the sounds of the engines, of Tim Noakes [coach] screaming at me. I can feel ice burning my skin, I can smell the sea air. I absolutely live that moment. I have swum the North Pole hundred of times in my mind.”

What are you working toward? Have you visualized what it will look like when you accomplish it?

2. You are capable of more than you think: When I first heard about Lewis Pugh I thought it was a joke. How could somebody actually swim across the North Pole? I have trouble jumping into a chilly pool. Amazingly, Pugh has developed something that has never been seen in any other human. Dubbed “anticipatory thermogenesis”, Pugh can raise his core body temperature in anticipation of being immersed in cold water.

What do you think is nearly impossible to do? Have you tried?

3. Find motivation larger than yourself: Lewis Pugh has dedicated his life to drawing attention to climate change. In his own words:

“I am often asked why I do it. At a simplistic level, I am passionate about swimming and I enjoy pushing boundaries. But there’s a lot more to it than that. Through my swims I have had a unique perspective on climate change. I have witnessed retreating glaciers, decreasing sea ice, coral bleaching, severe droughts, and the migration of animals to colder climates. It’s as a result of these experiences that I am determined to do my bit to raise awareness about the fragility of our environment and to encourage everyone to take action.”

His purpose for enduring the incredible pain of swimming in subzero water is larger than his own aspirations. If you’ve ever done something for someone then you know how powerful a motivational tool that can be.

Lastly, I would like to share the TED video that first introduced me to Lewis Pugh over a year ago. I’m sure you will find it as inspirational and motivational as I did.

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It’s popular to equate physical possessions with security. Buying more stuff makes people feel like they are secure and insulated from the world. In some sense, I guess this is true. If you ever have a spur of the moment, 45 person dinner party I suppose you’ll be glad to have the multiple sets of fancy silverware. Having a lot of stuff makes people feel like they are prepared for anything and that they have “made it” in the world. However, where is the wisdom in relying on physical possessions for happiness or contentment? How secure is it to have your mental well-being reside in the impermanence of physical possessions?

I’m not here to berate you for owning things (that would quite hypocritical as I type this on my expensive computer), but to suggest that we begin to change our focus. Instead of relying on the physical possessions such as a nice house, expensive clothes, or the fanciest gadgets to provide our happiness lets begin to develop a sense of contentment that is independent from physical possessions. Indeed, true security is being able to find happiness within yourself.

1. Try developing mindfulness: Mindfulness, or the ability to be in the present instead of dwelling in the past or worrying about the future, is vital for learning how to be content. The art of meditation or even just spending quiet time with your thoughts is a great first step toward realigning your mind.

2. Delight in the details: With the current pace of society, it can be very easy to let the details slide by. Especially in nature, there is an unlimited amount of sensation that can be experience. Try really paying attention to your surroundings the next time you go for a walk or step outside. This isn’t a nature-only proposition either; try getting lost in your work the next time you sit down to write or read. You might be surprised how much you’re missing.

3. Focus on experiences and not stuff: Stuff can be destroyed, stolen, or broken; your experiences are forever. Try giving gifts that focus on the experience instead of an object that sits on a shelf. Focus on what you are experiencing and derive your joy from that, not how much you own.

The art of happiness has been studied, debated, and philosophized about for centuries. My humble addition and own personal outlook is that liberating our happiness and contentment from the impermanence of physical goods is the single largest step toward living a truly fulfilling, satisfying, and secure life.

Photo by Martin-Neuhof

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Before we get to today’s post I just wanted to quickly announce that the sale I’m running on my ebook ends Friday night. If you’re interested in purchasing Living the Simpler Life: 8 Essentials to Practice Everyday for $7.95 instead of $9.95 your time is quickly running out. While you’re at it, if you’re interested in more future discounts on products I release, consider signing up for The Simpler Life Monthly Newsletter (it’s free, non-spammy, and may or may not contain videos of me dancing and/or singing*). Ok, I’m done bothering you. Enjoy the article.

* Probably not.

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I’m no longer a minimalist.

Minimalism is so 2009. Focusing on getting rid of stuff, not having things, and minimizing is so boring. Nope, no more minimalism for me. From now on, I’m what you might call a “conscious maximist.”

Minimalism focuses on removal, absence, and restriction. I’d much rather focus on the positive. Conscious maximists focus on having awesome and beautiful possessions, doing incredible and interesting things with their life, and having as much as possible of everything that is awesome.

The key, however, is that ever so important word, “conscious.” Consciousness is what separates a conscious maximist from your average mindless consumer. You must be aware of how you are acting, why you are acting that way, why you desire what you do, what your passions are and what actually matters to you. Without that component, you’re nothing more than one of those average shmucks that thinks shopping is something you do when you’re bored, that McMansions are the best thing since industrial sized fast food menus, and that the only metric that matters is quantity acquired. That’s not a conscious maximist.

How can you become a conscious maximist and begin living a life of abundance, like me? It’s pretty simple:

1. Figure out your values.

2. Figure out what is getting in the way of you living your values

3. Figure out what you need to live your values more fully

4. Minimize #2 and maximize #3:

5. Repeat

You may notice that this course of action will utilize some of the minimalism skills you have learned elsewhere. Leverage those skills but don’t forget about step #3. That’s where you get to add all the awesome stuff to your life that makes you a true conscious maximist. Interesting experiences, interesting people, chances to learn new things and expand your horizons; this is the stuff conscious maximist’s crave.

What do you want to have more of in your life? Why don’t you have it yet? What’s the first step to making it a reality?

Photo by h.koppdelaney

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Tyler Regehr is a 22-year-old entrepreneur and writer residing in Washington, D.C. He is the publisher of On Top The Cage where he encourages others to follow their passions by being themselves and ignoring the critics.

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The biggest problem with the Internet is the sheer volume of content. You could spend your entire life exploring the web without making a noticeable dent.

Here are four areas where you’ll run into problems and what you can do to fix them.

RSS Subscriptions

The problem: Information overwhelm and regurgitated ideas. You browse the web, stumble upon a compelling blog, click the neat little orange Subscribe button, and before you know it you’re subscribed to 20, 30, maybe 40 blogs. Next thing you know, you’re spending hours a day just bringing the Unread count back down to zero. All the while you find yourself constantly disappointed that most the blogs you’re subscribed to merely repeat one another and you’re no longer gaining any value from them.

The fix: Quality is better than quantity. To eliminate overwhelm and recycled conversations, only subscribe to blogs that produce well written, articulate, and original content. Narrow your choices down to those you would truly miss if you didn’t read every day. You’ll find 80% of the blogs you’re subscribed to are producing no real value. I’d recommend getting your subscription count to below 15–10 if possibly. I’m still working at this. Right now I’m subscribed to 12 blogs, but it can get as high as 15-17 depending on what cool new sites I’ve discovered.

Social Media

The problem: Overwhelm and overlap. Many social media sites accomplish the same things: you can post pictures on Flickr or Facebook or MySpace, or stream updates on Twitter or Facebook or Buzz. So on and so forth. Being on too many social media sites leads to overwhelm due to the constant flow of information, as well as overlap between sites as people make duplicate posts on each of their social media outposts.

The fix: Pick one or two which you’ll be most prevalent on. Pick a site where you’ll be most active and stick to it; most are capable of fulfilling whatever your need is. I currently use Twitter (mostly to share interesting links) and Facebook (for the Discussions area) for my blog and only Facebook for my personal life.

Bookmarks

The problem: There is an infinite amount of possibilities. There are so many interesting, informative, and useful sites out there that you could spend 24 hours a day for the rest of your life and not discover them all. We quickly find ourselves overwhelmed with the amount of content on the web and end up paralyzed trying to keep up with it all.

The fix: Pick one site per need. This is best explained by using myself as an example. I use the Daily Beast’s Cheat Sheet to stay on top of the latest news stories. It’s a cool little page where they write a small blurb about each of the top 30 or so stories of the day. It’s super easy to skim and is a quick read. I’m a huge sports fan so, naturally, I use ESPN to get my sports fix. Google is my homepage from which I can access my RSS Reader as well as everything pertinent to my blog. Find a website that fills a need and stick to it. You don’t need to visit CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC to get all sides of every story. I only have eight sites bookmarked that I visit regularly. I also have a folder titled “Miscellaneous” where I bookmark sites that are used sparingly.

Email

The problem: Major time drain and junk mail. I’m not sure if there is a scientific study out on this, but I’d venture a guess that email is the number one time drain online. It can be used as a legitimately productive tool, or it can also be used as a means of procrastination. With all the spam and junk mail we receive, it’s nearly impossible to navigate our way towards what’s important anyway.

The fix: Multiple email accounts. I know this is contradictory for an article about simplifying your digital life, but hear me out. I have three email accounts: one for my personal life, one for my blog, one for junk mail. I mostly use my personal account to give to family and friends and for receiving online bill notifications. The blog account is used for anything related to the blog: contacting me through the blog, commenting, accounts that have to do with the blog, etc. I give the junk email out to sites that aren’t important, that I’ll use sparingly, and that I’m sure will send plenty of spam. On top of that, I use Apple’s Mail program through which only my personal and blog accounts are managed. I don’t need to be constantly reminded of the junk email I receive, so that account hang out in the ether, and I only check it every few weeks.

The Internet can become a huge waste of time if you let it. For everything you do online, determine what it is you’re trying to accomplish. Eliminate everything that’s unnecessary and focus only on what moves your goals forward.

What do you do to reduce overwhelm and keep your digital life organized? I would love to hear your  strategies.

Photo by …storrao…

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