Willpower: DIRTY BOY!

"Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes." 

- Chinese Proverb

"Onipa'a. Be Steadfast." 

- Hawaiian Proverb

"Just do it." 

- Nike

ALOHA my willful, powerful and beautiful FAMILY, FRIENDS and you who have decided to join in the ramblings of my DIRTY mind.

Today I will speak of the PHYSICAL. I want to talk about your beautiful bodies and all the DIRTY THINGS you do with it. Seriously I want you to GET DIRTY!

But first:

My disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am not a nurse. I am not a psychologist. I AM NOT A PHYSICAL THERAPIST. I am not licensed to adjust or fix anything that might be wrong with your body. So don't ask me for a massage! I'm not allowed to give you one because I am not a LICENSED MASSAGE THERAPIST either. I am not affiliated with any sort of health industry. You are reading this blog with the full knowledge that Pilialoha K. Nathaniel is not authorized by any school, institution or government to give health and medical advise. If you follow any advise in this blog it is at your own discretion and at your own risk. Okay? Nod if you agree. If you read anything past this paragraph that means you have nodded and you agree.

Now get your mind out of the gutter and into the MUD. Today I will introduce to you another one of my Cousins. This man is truly a HAPPY NATHANIEL. I would like to bring Cousin Kaeo to the stage.

COUSIN PILI (CP): Aloha my Cousin! Thanks for joining me on another episode of COUSIN PILI'S DIRTY THINGS. YOU finally answered my text messages!

COUSIN KAEO (CK): Jastine (my girlfriend) made me.

COUSIN PILI (CP): Jastine's the best!

COUSIN KAEO (CK): What about me?

CP: You're okay.

CK: Bitch.

CP: I love you too cuz! Enough of this shit. Let's get dirty. You, along with Cousin Chelsea, Micah and Jeremy, did the WARRIOR DASH last week. What is THE WARRIOR DASH?

CK: It's AWESOME. It's the worlds largest obstacle race series. The website is http://www.warriordash.com.

CP: Why'd you decided to do this race?

CK: I love the outdoors! I would give up all my electronics and couches in my house and but canoes, surfboards, mountain bikes, rock climbing gear, dive gear... ANYTHING to do with outdoor activities. IF I COULD. Why THE WARRIOR DASH? I like to go on hikes... but usually it's just a leisurely stroll. The WARRIOR DASH is a RACE! I don't know if it was how I was raised or if it's just in my blood but I need to be the best that I can be in EVERYTHING I do. OH... and it was a good family outing with everyone.


CP: WHAT ARE YOU WEARING???

CK: HAWAIIAN!!! This is the type of attire I would wear when I was dancing Hula. The Malo (the sash wrapped around his midsection) is what warriors would wear when going into battle. The Lei (the garland around his neck) and the Kupe'e (the greenery around his wrists and ankles) are adornments I learnt to make in Hula. I am a HAWAIIAN WARRIOR!

CP: OWN IT CUZ! Any costume mishaps?

CK: Yeah. My oloz fell out a few times. And my ass was out for the entire world to see. A stranger even asked to take a picture of it... my ass.

CP: HAHAHAHA!!!

CK: Shuddap.

CP: You mentioned HULA...

CK: I have extensive experience as a hula dancer.... This I would say partially defines me as who I am. It's not just some activity I did after school or on the weekends, it's a part of me. Hula has been a part of our family for generations and I feel privileged to have been able to learn and live through hula. I have met people (a lot of local celebrities), seen things (beaches of Tahiti, fireworks over a lake in Japan), been places (japan, papaete, bora bora, samoa, guam),and done things (multiple ship cruises, international travel), people have only dreamed of. As you can tell by the way I dress for warrior dash, I still think about it and miss it from time to time. And maybe one day I'll go back when I find the right halau.

CP: How are you changing your life to become HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER?

CK: Happier and healthier??? .... I guess i could start by replying to text's and calls... ;)

CP: Love you cuz, but you know that'll never happen.

CK: Healthier - watching what I eat more often. I mean I'll still eat some greasy stuff from time to time, but now days I don't eat till I pass out like I used to. More about portion control. Don't eat white rice to often any more and more fruits and vegetables daily. Lets see... Oh yeah, go gym, no excuses! I'm not one of those guys that go gym to look good and perv out on hot girls... When I go to workout, that's exactly what I do ... WORK.

CP: It's okay, Kaeo. You can admit you're a perv...

CK: Shut up!

CP: *HUGE SMILE*

CK: Some years ago when I first moved to Oahu I really let my health fall apart. At one point I was 5'-7" , 215lbs. Ya short AND fat. The fat didn't really bother me, it's what followed that sucked. My breathing was terrible, I was just lazy as hell, and I kinda had a mild heart attack. (That really sucked). So it wasn't to long after that, I decided that's it. Started running, working out a bit, than maybe a year later a 53 yr. old painter I was working with introduced me to p90x. This dude lifted up his shirt and he was RIPPED! And that's how I went from 5-7" , 215lbs down to "still short" 5'-7" , 153lbs. Of course there was some INSANITY workouts and "gymrat" status but... Yeah.

Happier??? Mmmmm... Not much to say? If anyone really knows me I'm a happy person. Except when I'm in traffic, or its friggin hot, or I'm hungry, or tired.... Or everything at once... THEN STAY THE HELL OUTTA MY WAY!!! So I guess to keep me happy ... drive with the a/c on while I'm eating a burger (in your car) and let me fall asleep. Then the world will be a better place ;-) But yeah seriously, I kinda have this philosophy that if your unhappy with something do something to make your self happy. Don't blame your unhappiness on someone else. MAKE YOURSELF HAPPY. Kinda like if you complain about be bored all the time, you're a boring person. Get up and do something about it.

CP: I agree! MAKE YOURSELF HAPPY!  Happiness is a DECISION! Last question: What are your thoughts on WILLPOWER?

CK: Willpower - having the power to do whatever the hell you want to do at the drop of a dime. Just recently I was walking through the mall with my mom and we saw the volcano vapor cigarette "thing" booth. The line was ridiculously long. I couldn't help but think that all these people that are trying to quit smoking or need their fix while their indoors CAN'T JUST QUIT. It really isn't that hard. As for my own personal willpower... I pretty much do exactly what I want when I want (finances permitting).

CP: You must be rich my Cousin.

CK: RICH WITH HAPPINESS!

For further reading go:

HERE for the link to the American Psychological Association's article on Willpower and http://www.warriordash.com for more information on the WARRIOR DASH!

MUCH MAHALO to Cousin Kaeo for your thoughts. Come back tomorrow!!! I'm going to bring back Cousin Chelsea and a special guest... COUSIN UALANI!

Love and mud,

Cousin Pili

PS... Some final words of wisdom from Cousin Kaeo:

"Few things I live by....
Don't care about what people say about me!
Don't go to the gym for someone else's opinion, do it for myself!
Don't workout to look good, do it cause i don't want to die of something I could have prevented.
Looking good is a side effect, health is the main goal!
Plus it's hard for me to look bad, I'm a NATHANIEL!
If I'm unhappy, it's my own damn fault, and its up to me to fix it!
If I'm bored, that's horse $#!T, I'm don't get bored - I'm not a boring person!
I'm not cocky or a show off, I just accept how friggin badass I am!
ALWAYS strive for better."