Gordy’s Getting Real AF-75hard Challenge

The outpouring of birthday love🥳is a reminder that I'm surrounded by amazing people who care. Thank you for being part of my journey and making my day so special!❤️I’m truly a very blessed man!

Today as I celebrate my 61st birthday, I am also celebrating my 600th day of sobriety. People often ask why I stopped drinking alcohol??? I treated alcohol like professional football - I played hard and I got hit hard, so I retired early before it killed me and now I’m just a commentator for the sport.

Honestly, alcohol was the cause for many bad decisions in my life and it had created a cloud of depression and anxiety that pretty much followed me everywhere I went. As I laid my head on the pillow February 26, 2022, I really had no intention of quitting drinking forever. I was just prepping myself for my journey through the 75HARD program, because the program didn’t allow me to have any alcohol for 75 days. I had stopped drinking for 90 days a few years before that for the purpose of shedding a few pounds, so I knew 75 days wouldn’t be a problem. I had every intention of celebrating with a beer at the end of 75HARD.

However, two weeks into the program my body and mind were feeling so much better. The vocal issues I had been struggling with subsided, in fact my voice began to sound more healthy and resonate than ever before. I had been listening to a podcast by the guy who wrote the book and developed the program 75HARD. He made the statement, “If you’re having problems in your life and you drink, the first thing you need to do is stop drinking and see if that fixes it.” It seemed to fix a lot of problems and two weeks into the program I made the decision to live out the rest of my years sober.

For years, I hated myself for my past and the terrible decisions I’ve made that have left a lot of hurt people in my wake. I hated myself so much that I just wanted to end my life. Some of you that are reading this may not understand that depression has different depths and you could never see yourself putting a bullet in your head, but I was at that point and alcohol was wanting me to pull the trigger. As I look at the past with a clear mind, a healthy body and a healing heart, I now realize I have been dragging around this big anchor called alcohol that has held me back from loving God and loving myself as well. I’ve learned so much over the last 600 days about myself, past traumas, generational curses, overthinking, ADHD/OCD, and how the mind and body reacts chemically to thinking and feeling.

Most of all, God has has revealed to me His purpose for my life; to BE LOVE and to SHOW LOVE. I give Jesus Christ all the glory and praise for giving me the strength I needed to pull myself out of the hell I’d been in for so many years. Sobriety is the greatest decision I’ve ever made and best birthday present I have ever received. Happy birthday to me!❤️

Days #65 - 73 - I know it’s been a while since I’ve last posted. Yes, I am still good with the challenge. Just two more days left. I find it somewhat ironic that this challenge will end on Mother’s Day. I did not plan it that way. That’s just how it happened. So Mom, in honor of the woman who gave me birth and inspired me and encouraged me in music; I will celebrate your memory by completing what I started with the same determination that you instilled in me.

On day 67 I decided to go for a run, with no intention of trying to set any records. It was simply just a day for conditioning and pace. I apparently hit a sweet spot with my pace, because I shaved a little more off my time for a new record of33:07. I’m not sure what I did right that day, but I have not been able to get a better time and I have tried several times since. I’ll get there eventually!

As much as I like getting out there and challenging myself physically, that is not what this challenge is entirely about. There have been many changes in how I think and approach life as a whole. The books I’ve been reading have been giving me lots of insight and have been teaching me some basic principles for successful living. The one thing that I thought would be the hardest about this challenge was the fact that I had to read 10 pages of a book every day. As most of you know, I’ve never been big on reading books. The fact is, I’ve probably only read a dozen books since leaving high school.  I always used the excuse that I never was a good reader and that my eyes would always jump around the lines of text I was reading and I would have to start over. I had convinced myself I had a reading disability, therefore, I didn’t read. This challenge has forced me to read and because of that, I enjoy reading now more than I ever have in my life and I feel like a sponge soaking up all the knowledge I have missed out on my entire life…AND I’m actually getting a lot better and faster at reading. Imagine that! The only disability I had was thinking I did. 

I had to laugh a little when a lady in our Resort called me the other day asking me if I was OK because she had 4 other people in our Resort call her and ask if I was OK. They seemed to think that I was getting too skinny and they thought I was sick!😂 So just to dispel any rumors from getting started; I went to see my doctor yesterday and he said that I was within the perfect weight range for my age and height. My cholesterol is in check. My heart is good. My PSA is low and if I share any more information with you, you’re going to have to sign a HIPPA form.😉 I truly feel I’m in the best shape of my life right now! So don’t worry ladies!😘

All in all, it’s been a great week! I see the checkered flag!🏁 Be happy, positive and blessed!

Day #63 & 64 - Yesterday and today are days off from performing. It feels good to not be quite so busy, although it seems to throw off my routine just a little.

I started another book this week entitled “The Power of Positive Thinking“ by Norman Vincent Peale.  Although I’m not on any kind of religious journey, I do believe in a higher power, and a lot of what the author speaks of in this book is based on biblical principles that apply to everyday life. I’m anxious to see how I can apply it to my thinking. 

I have been practicing thinking from the inside out(making inward choices that affect outside circumstances). So many times I have let outside circumstances do my thinking for me. For example, this week during my exercise, I pulled a muscle just a little too far and I have been experiencing some pain from that workout. I think pain is the biggest distraction when it comes to working on one’s self, because when it becomes too intense, it consumes every thought! So, here’s how I deal with it. Pain is usually caused from outward circumstances and I can choose to allow the pain to speak to my mind and tell me how I feel or I can choose inwardly to have my thoughts tell my body the pain isn’t that bad and over time I will become stronger because of the pain…sounds easy, right? WRONG! It takes every bit of mental effort and fortitude I have to make THAT choice.

Thursdays are “running days” for me and my conditioning and today pain wanted to consume my thoughts as I was lying in bed this morning, but I threw back the covers when the alarm went off at 5:50am and started my day. It is amazing what a good book and a cup of coffee do to help create a positive mindset for the day. I began thinking of ways to improve the way I feel. Meditation and stretching seemed to work best for me today and by the time I went for my run the pain was nearly gone. This reinforces the idea that we are all products of our thoughts.

By the way, I didn’t set no record today, but I accomplish what I set out to achieve today and that was to run the entire 5k and I did it with a minimal amount of pain and I didn’t allow the pain to dictate my thoughts.

Have an awesome Thursday everyone!

Day #60 - 62 - The dreams and goals I have for this life, I’m finding, are only attainable by MY actions. They will never sprout legs and come running to me. Even if I can see the goal, I still have to put forth the effort to reach for it and run, walk or crawl to it. There been many times in my life I could see the goal, but was either too weak, lazy or unprepared to reach it.

Part of my short term goals, in getting my body fit, has been to be able to run a 5K in under 30 minutes.  Mondays have been set aside to set records. Last Monday was a little disappointing as I fell short of setting a new record. At first, my “bitch voice“ laughed at me and told me I was too old to be doing these kind of workouts. What my “bitch voice” didn’t know is that I have been faithful to this program for the last 62 days and there was no way anything “it” had to say to me was going to discourage me. So, I quickly got out the rope and the duct tape and put the “bitch voice” back in the corner.

I began thinking of how I could improve my time. I needed more stamina. More gas! I began thinking about how people would always come up to me and ask how Debbie and I were able to sing for so many hours, song after song, without a break…and not be hoarse…and still sound good. I would always tell people, “It’s because we’ve conditioned ourselves to do that“. We sing every day, at least 4 to 6 hours per day, so we’re used to it. So, this got me to thinking that if I work more on my conditioning, I will have more stamina and more gas for running! This last week I have been running, biking, squatting, stretching…anything to condition my legs. The conditioning paid dividends! Today I’m just a little closer to my goal by shaving off another 41 seconds of my previous record for a new record of 33:45. Knowing that I’m only 3 minutes and 45 seconds from a goal I would have considered impossible a few months ago, has given me more than enough momentum and motivation to crush it!

Thanks for letting me share my experience and thoughts with you through this journey I’m on to find the best version of myself.
Have a happy, healthy and prosperous Monday!💪🏻❤️🏆

Day #53 - 59 - Yes, I’m still at it! Today is day 60 of 75 and I can see, what some may call, the finish line. In my eyes, it is just the starting point for the next chapter in my life’s journey. It seems like my life has been broken into three different phases of which the first two phases were 30 years each. The first 30 years, I was young and impressionable and I made a ton of mistakes, that at the time, I never seemed to learn from.

When I turned 30 years old for my second 30 years, I seemed to wise up a little. I learned several trades during those years, but never really found the fulfillment that I wanted in a career until later in that phase of my life, but even then, I continued to make lots of mistakes. At least at this point I’m starting to learn from my mistakes.

Later this year I’ll be turning 60 and if I’m given another 30 years…or 30 months…or 30 days, I want the rest of my life to be the very best of whatever I have left. And yes, I’m still going to make a lot more mistakes, but my biggest mistake would be, to quit moving forward and progressing to be a better human being.

I am searching for something that is so big, that I’m not sure how to describe it. I just keep asking myself the same question… “what is your burning desire to accomplish in life?”…I’m still waiting on my heart to give me a clear path of understanding, but I’m confident that music and helping people are part of the journey to fulfilling my desire.

Until then, I stay the course doing exactly what I’m doing; moving forward and progressing. Successful people are often asked what was the best investment they made in their lives. Most will tell you the best investment they made was in themselves. So, that’s where I’m at right now. I’m not as good as I’m gonna get, but I’m better than I used to be!❤️

Better Than I Used to Be -- Tim McGraw (Lyrics on Screen) Learn how to Make Money online: http://tinyurl.com/6s3fvw7 Tim McGraw's newest single from the album Emotional Traffic! I do not own any parts of this audio....

Day #49 - 52 - I know it’s been a minute since posting anything about my progress with this challenge, but my social media time has been limited the last few days as I have been working on myself. Everything is going great and I’ve been soaking up a lot of good knowledge from my reading. I keep digging deeper, trying…and succeeding in pulling out the good and positive things inside of me. I’m about to finish my 3rd book, “The Magic of Thinking Big”, and I’ve got three more books waiting in the wings I just ordered to continue teaching me the power of positive and forward thinking. 

When I was out for my bike ride yesterday, Debbie was following me and she kept getting further and further behind. Every once in a while, I would look back to see where she was at and every time I would look back, I would lose my balance on the bicycle and would lose control of where I was going.  The thought occurred to me; this has been what I have been doing my entire life. I’ve constantly been looking back… Looking back on mistakes I’ve made and wishing that I could’ve done things different instead of just looking forward and moving on to greater things. By doing that, I created imbalance in my life and missed opportunities when I wasn’t looking where I should’ve been. The past is just what it says it is, it’s past, so why linger there? For me it was only creating complacency and mediocrity in my life, which in turn, just led to dissatisfaction, unhappiness, and depression. Looking and moving forward is one of the main purposes for the “why” when people ask me why I’m doing this challenge.

On day 50 I stepped on the scale to find out that I had lost an even 10 pounds. I actually lost about 13 pounds earlier in the challenge, but I’ve gained a little weight back due to all of the exercise and muscle building. My body feels pain every day, but not for very long. After my workouts, I usually feel energized, and the more faithful I am to my workouts, the more energized I feel. Before doing this challenge, my body felt pain every day, but it was usually all day. I’m learning to embrace the pain of exercise in a positive mindset knowing that I’m doing something good for myself.

I’ve had a lot of you tell me how much I have inspired you. That means so much to know that the decisions I make, can affect the whole world in a positive way. Hey, maybe I can change the world just by changing myself. Have an awesome day!😎

Day #47 & 48 - I saw a guy’s shirt the other day  that said “NOBODY CARES, WORK HARDER” and I get it. At the end of the day, nobody is going to go out of their way to make an effort to go see whether or not I set a record running the 5k today or not. Why? Because nobody cares and I have to constantly remind myself of that. This challenge is for no one else, but me and has given me a better understanding of self-respect and how it applies to my life. I would like to look back at this post in a couple of years and say “man, I’ve come along way since then”…now on with the statistics nobody cares about!😜

Monday morning I woke up, knowing that it was my day to push for record. Everything in my body was screaming at me to do something easy, because I had pulled a muscle in my back from an exercise that I did the day previously and I really wasn’t feeling like running. I did all the proper stretches before my run that morning and the moment that I began running the pain that I had been feeling went away, which really surprised me! I ended up running the first 1.2 miles without a walking break and overall I finished one second faster than last week. I’ve been doing a lot more biking to build up the endurance and muscles, so that my running will be a little stronger. I’m starting to see the end of 75Hard and the beginning of something new. I won’t let the “old man” in.

Day #45 & 46 - My eyes are still focused on the goal. My lack of posting has been due to my increased focus on everything I’m trying to accomplish. One of the biggest things in my life that has always held me back from being all that I’ve ever wanted, is looking back on the past, reminding myself of all the mistakes I’ve made, and living in a constant state of depression. When I haven’t been looking back on the past my mind drifts to worrying about what the future holds. In the last 46 days, I’m learning how to forgive myself for what is behind me. I’m learning how to live more in the moment.

On day 45 I knew it was my day to run and honestly I didn’t feel like it, but I geared up my mind to do it(not even considering going for record) and I set a new record for the 5k shaving of another 19 seconds from the previous record.

I’ve always heard the phrase, “you can do anything you set your mind to“. It sounds so simple and it is, but sometimes it’s not easy to apply due to the negative influences all around you that tell you, you can’t. 

I’ve had many people tell me, that I’m getting too skinny. Yes, my clothes do fit me a whole lot looser than they did 46 days ago, but I’ve only lost 10 pounds over this 46 day period. I have been eating right, drinking tons of water and exercising every day twice a day to gain more muscle and lose fat at the same time and it’s just re-shaping my body. I literally feel half my age physically since starting this program. I’m excited to show everybody the results on day 50.

I hope all of my friends that have been following me have an awesome and prosperous day! ❤️

Day #43 & 44 - As I roll into day 45, I reflect on the last two days of this challenge. In the book 75HARD it talks about the eight different eras I will go through if I follow the program. I’m currently in the sixth era(day 36-49) which is; Alignment, Automation and Anticipation which I would like to think is self explanatory to most that are following me during this challenge. I have been aligning myself with certain dreams and goals, that before, I always thought were out of my reach. Excellence in the tasks I perform and mental toughness in my determination have become automatic and anticipation of the things I want to do for the rest of my life have been on the forefront of my mind. Thanks again to all who have been encouraging me on this journey.