Update - Week 5

This week had it's ups and downs.  I have had some great days - like Friday when I was able to finally get on the mats and swing my staff around.  There also some not so good days.  But everyday I did make progress, I did not give up.  My numbers are not where they need to be but I am learning that I can't define success entirely in my numbers.  I am getting stronger.  I am focused on my goals daily.  That is a success.


I had another physio appointment yesterday for my knee.  She was impressed with the progress I had made.  When I first went in I was 20 degrees short of being able to straighten my knee and I was only able to bend it to 90 degrees.  Yesterday I was only 5 degrees short of straight and could bend it to 110 degrees.  Not where it needs to be but heading in the right direction.  She has given me a bunch of strengthening exercises now.  I am allowed to stand on one leg!!!  I have also taken some long walks with my sweet walking partner and our speed has improved immensely.  Things are headed in the right direction.


Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 5:


Push ups             3,619
Sit ups                3,785
Kempo                  27
Staff                      53
Sparring                30
KM                    28.3
AoK                     101


Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal  108
Piano                     10.25 hours
Books finished       3 
Daily fruit - haven't missed a day!!!
365 photo challenge - 6 days missed
Daily journal - missed 2 days

Just for Today...

Just for today...  I will choose and display the right attitudes.
Just for today...  I will determine and act on important priorities.
Just for today...  I will know and follow healthy guidelines.
Just for today...  I will communicate with and care for my family.
Just for today...  I will practice and develop good thinking.
Just for today...  I will make and keep proper commitments.
Just for today...  I will earn and properly manage finances.
Just for today...  I will deepen and live out my faith.
Just for today...  I will initiate and invest in solid relationships.
Just for today...  I will plan for and model generosity.
Just for today...  I will embrace and practice good values.
Just for today...  I will seek and experience improvements.


Just for today...  I will act on these decisions and practice these disciplines, and
Then one day...  I will see the compounding results of a day lived well.
                                                    - John Maxwell in Today Matters


Tonight I was sitting down to start a new book and this was the introduction.  I just had to share.  I love that each of these statements is a declaration and a determination.  I love the intentionality.  Feeling very blessed and inspired tonight!

Injury Update & Week Four Totals

Yesterday I had my first physio appointment for my knee.  There was positive news abounding!  She believes that everything that needs to be intact still is.  Due to swelling and her not having x-ray vision, she is unable to tell if there are tears or if things are just stretched a little too far.  In her words - ice is my friend!  I will know more after my MRI but she assured me that she would be treating my knee with the same exercises regardless of my results so I wait.  She has given me some exercises to do to help increase my range of motion and strengthen muscles that atrophy quickly when you limp around like I have been.  I go back next week.  I asked her if I could get back on the mats and she laughed at me.  Her response was as long as I don't try to balance on that leg, jump, bounce, run or kick.  Then she asked if that left anything...  It does not leave much during regular classes but I do plan to be on the mats on Friday night to work on my forms (with no stances) and to swing my stick around.




I know at the beginning of this adventure, I had said I would post my numbers weekly.  I did not post my week three totals.  There were a variety of not so amazing reasons for this - mostly I was mad, disappointed and bitter.  This week has been so much better.  I actually doubled every single number from last week.  There are still numbers that are suffering as a result of my knee but I am doing what I can.


Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 4:


Push ups             2,869
Sit ups                2,785
Kempo                  23
Staff                      30
Sparring                30
KM                    24.5
AoK                     76




Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal  85
Piano                     7.5 hours
Books finished       3 
Daily fruit - haven't missed a day!!!
365 photo challenge - 4 days missed
Daily journal - missed 2 days

Defining and Then Redefining Success

Back in November, this adventure called the I Ho Chuan was still an idea that I was playing with in my mind.  I spent a great deal of time thinking about what my goals should be for the coming year.  At the time success was easily defined.  You set your goals, you work your butt off, you meet all your goals.


Fast forward to February...  The adventure finally gets to begin.  I was not as strong out of the gate as I would have liked to have started but I was gaining momentum fast.  My earlier definition of success was still holding true.


It is now the middle of March, not even four full weeks in, and that definition of success is no longer working for me.  It is not motivating one little bit.  My injury has brought many of my numbers to a stand still.  I am starting to make some strides in some areas, other areas are still untouchable for the time being.


So what does one do in a situation like this...  I find that I am faced with two very real choices - give up or redefine success in a way that will motivate me.


As I have been pondering how exactly to perhaps redefine success for me, I read this tonight...
"To quit before reaching the finish line deprives us of the reward of completion and the strengthening of our character." This was buried in a chapter of the book I am currently reading called Own Your Life: Living with Deep Intention, Bold Faith and Generous Love by Sally Clarkson.


Right now success does not look like meeting all of my goals, especially the physical ones.  Right now my focus is on healing my body. 


So how have I redefined success...  Each day has been a success if I have not quit the race.  I will not deprive myself of the reward of completion.  I will live this race one day at a time.  I will redefine success continually as I heal because what I am able to accomplish will look different day by day.  I will do what I can each day and rest in the satisfaction that I have made progress.  When I reach the finish line next February, I may not have obtained all my goals BUT I will have strengthened my character because of the journey.  In the end, that is what I believe the I Ho Chuan is really all about anyway.

A Bright Moment to End a Tough Week

This has been an up and down kind of week. My injury has really slowed me down. Both my kids were sick this week and at home. I have had to fight a bad attitude almost constantly. This is not what I had envisioned. I was working hard. I was gaining momentum. Then an abrupt stop....

Today I had the opportunity to walk away from the messy week. I headed out with my Little Lady for a date day. We hit Costco for lunch & then went to see Annie.  It was a beautiful & needed distraction. She declared it one her best days ever.

Soaking in the Sunshine

Just a quick update on my knee situation.  I am off of my crutches and happy to see them go.  I truly was a hazard waiting for a place to happen.  It is able to hold my weight as long as I am careful how I stand.  Most of the noticeable swelling is gone, I'm sure there is still some that can't be as easily be seen.  My range of motion is still extremely limited.  I do not have any pain as long as I don't push too hard or forget that I'm injured (that has only happened twice this week).


Now for the exciting news!!! Yesterday's rains washed away the ice on our road and today's sunshine inspired me to make the trek to the mailbox.  Guiness was truly not impressed by our pace but he was thrilled to have a person attached to him.  Our 1.5km trek took 42 minutes with a short break to chat with some neighbours.  My knee is tired but not hurting. 


Life is most certainly not perfect but the sunshine has truly lifted my spirits!

Barriers vs. Hurdles

I just finished a truly inspiring autobiography written by Ben Carson called Gifted Hands.  His story is truly one about a man who had every reason to not succeed in life.  He was raised by a single mom who struggled with mental health issues.  He was a minority in the States which tried to set limits on how he could succeed.  His mom was integral in teaching him that he could do anything he decided he could do.  That is exactly what he did.  He is now a world renowned neurosurgeon.


It was the last few paragraphs of his book that really struck me tonight so I thought I'd share them here...


     "To THINK BIG and to use our talents doesn't mean we won't have difficulties along the way.  We will - we all do.  How we view those problems determines how we end up.  If we choose to see the obstacles in our path as barriers, we stop trying.  'We can't win,' we moan.  'They won't let us win.'
     However, if we choose to see the obstacles as hurdles, we can leap over them.  Successful people don't have fewer problems.  They have determined that nothing will stop them from going forward.
     Whatever direction we choose, if we can realize that every hurdle we jump strengthens and prepares us for the next one, we're already on the way to success."


This is a message that I need to grab onto right now.  It truly matches up with the encouragement that I have received from Sifu Brinker and the entire I Ho Chuan team.  I may not physically leap over any hurdles in the near future, but I am choosing to leap.

Major Detour - Week 2

I was rocking out week 2 of the year of the sheep.  My numbers were getting stronger each day.  I had started filling in some of the gaps I had identified last year.  I was gaining momentum each day.  My entire outlook for the year was changing for the better.  Then...


Major detour hit yesterday morning in class.  We were working on flying kicks.  Our warm up was all about getting up into the air.  Despite being significantly shorter than my classmates, I was keeping pace.  First kick after warm up started out so well.  I ran.  I jumped - I mean really jumped.  I kicked that bag hard.  I was flying.  Then I was not...  To say the landing did not go well would be an understatement.  Best guess is that when I landed I seriously hyperextended my knee.


So here is what I do know.  My knee is not really working very well at all.  The X-rays came back looking good.  I have a lot of swelling.  I can't straighten it all the way.  I can't put my full weight on it.


Here is what I do not know.  I am waiting for an MRI.  I do not know the extent of the damage.  I do not know how long I will be on crutches.  I do not know when I will be able to return to class.  Pretty much the outlook for my journey this year is up in the air.


I ended week 2 with 6 hours in emergency.  Thank you Sifu Rybak for hanging with me all day long.  I can't even begin to thank you for your kindness.  I also want to thank my classmates who have been faithfully checking on me.  It has meant the world to me.


To be honest, I have started week 3 with a pity party with me, myself and I as the guest of honour.  I am allowing myself today.  Tomorrow it is back to it.  Tomorrow I am going to start figuring out which requirements I can still work on and how to modify the best I can.  I am choosing to not give up.


Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 2:
Push ups             1524
Sit ups                1465
Kempo                  22
Staff                      30
Sparring                30
KM                    19.6
AoK                     40


Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal  43
Piano                     3.75 hours
Books finished       1 
Daily items - I did miss writing in my journal last night.  I was too tired and went to bed instead.

The Busyness of Life

What is the answer that you hear more often than not when someone asks, "How are things going?"....


"Busy!"


Everyone is so busy.  It almost like a badge our society insists that we wear.  A friend of mine posted a link to an article on Facebook yesterday that has had me really thinking about how I view life.  I am a busy person.  I am always on the go with too many places to be.  If someone asks me about life, the answer is busy.


The article talked about the cost of busyness on our mental and physical health.  Whether we have no choice or more often than not, have made the choice to be too busy - it causes stress.  We are rushed.  We are overwhelmed. 


So what does this mean in my life.  I have many things on my plate, but honestly, none of them are things that I am willing to give up at this time. (That is except housework.  That can go at anytime.)  And this was before the I Ho Chuan started...  That adds a whole new level of additional activity to life. 


So how can I battle the ill effects of busyness?  By changing my perspective on life.  Instead of playing the victim that has to do all of these things running around rushing and stressed, I can embrace life.  I can view them as choices and opportunities.  Today I had the opportunity to attend kung fu class.  I had the opportunity to go the Tri to do some extra training.  I had the opportunity to run errands.  I had the opportunity to spend some time doing housework and paying bills.  I had the opportunity to make my family supper.  Right away I will have the opportunity to help my little one with her home reading.  I could allow the "have to's" to drag me down or I can change my perspective. 


My hopes is that in the future my answer will not be "Busy" but "Blessed"!