OUTDOOR Adventures

By Brian G. Schommer

With 2022 only having a few short days left, a lot of us will be thinking about changes we want to make in our lives to create a better 2023. Some folks are very focused on their resolutions for the new year while others, well… not so much. Personally, I am a tweener as each year I have a few specific goals that I put a lot of energy into and then a few others that fall by the wayside. Like anyone else, it depends on how much priority it has in my life and how positive the change effects life overall. Last year, my biggest resolution, like many people, was to lose weight and not just a couple pounds but significant weight loss. My resolution was accomplished by losing 80 pounds and the positive effects go well beyond anything I could imagine.

My realization that I was obese should have come from a simple reflection in the mirror. Trust me, I realized it every time I looked in the mirror but as someone who is not afraid to admit that sometimes the cranium is a bit on the thick side, I needed something more than the obvious view and fact that I had two heart attacks before the age of 50. That “ah-ha” moment was during deer season of 2021. From the truck to my stand is about 125 yards and I had to stop not once, but two times to catch my breath walking to it. I had to again catch my breath before climbing up into the stand which is approximately ten feet off the ground. If you are thinking, “that is a pretty low stand,” you would be correct. That would be by design of the chubby guy who sits there. Climbing much higher was not in the cards. As it was, by the time I climbed that ladder, I was soaked with sweat. I sat down and thought, “if I don’t do something, this could easily be my last deer hunt.”

2021 was a successful year regarding putting meat in the freezer but more importantly, it kicked off one of my biggest resolutions of my life. At 5’6” tall and a fluffy 253 pounds, when the full gray beard and mustache came in, I was the spitting image of that guy that just went up and down chimneys across the world. I wanted to hunt more. I wanted to fish more. I wanted to keep doing what I was doing, and the only way things were going to change was if I changed them. This is true for any change that we want to make in our life. Nobody is going to do it for us and unless we put in the effort, nothing is going to change. If I could lose 70-80 pounds, I knew that I would be able to walk to my stand and not stop to catch my breath. I knew that I would be able to climb into higher stands, help on drives more, pheasant hunt more (and not be the post guy), and I knew that my outdoor adventures would be easier, more enjoyable and life in general would be much better.

I started the old-fashioned way; the way we all know works. Diet and exercise. This approach plateaued fast, and I decided to reach out to a friend who was a health coach for a successful and reputable weight loss program. I had to change my mindset from “I got this, and I can do it” to “I got this, and I can’t do it alone.” I realized that this too is something that resonates for all of us, no matter what the task or challenge we face. Sure, there are things in life that we do on our own, and yet, when you think about it, none of it would happen without the help of others. For instance, when we are up in Lake of the Woods in a few short days, anyone from our party could drive out to our shack and fish by themselves. However, they still are not doing it alone. The resort folks pulled the shack out onto the ice, provided the directions to get to the shack, made sure there were minnows in the shack… heck, they probably built the shack. There are always others in our lives doing the little things to make our life better.

So, for 2023, my main resolution is to maintain my weight around 173 pounds while appreciating those in my life who do the little things that so often, I probably do not acknowledge enough. That leads to a bigger resolution which is making sure I do acknowledge others and keep my mind set on not only acknowledging the efforts of others but also doing what I can to be there for others. If we all try to put a little positivity out there in 2023, indoors and outdoors, our lives and the lives of those around us will be better. That’s my mindset anyhow.

A full report of our Lake of the Woods Outdoor Adventure will be coming up in the next few weeks. As I will be on the ice at next deadline, I must adapt and improvise with a looming deadline. I have an idea in mind, it is truly an outdoor adventure and, I think (or hope) that all 31 faithful readers will enjoy. Now Get Out and Enjoy the Great Outdoors.