For me, mastery is the process of dreaming of all life can be then working continually towards that vision. As you make progress towards that initial vision, it changes and grows. Mastery truly is a journey not a destination.
Why do more people not seek mastery in life? Why do people who start out on a journey towards mastery then lose their way? There are likely as many reasons are there are people on this earth but if you listen closely there will be some common themes underlying the answers. In my journey one of the biggest enemies of mastery is procrastination. I also believe that I am not alone in this battle.
According to Wikipedia, the definition of procrastination is the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time, sometimes to the "last minute" before a deadline.
I get caught up in things that appear to be more urgent, but really aren't and are definitely not more important. I honestly do prefer to stick to things that are more pleasurable in the immediate sense than those that are not as pleasurable but have long term benefits and payoffs. Deadlines are great and nothing gets this girl moving like the last minute rush.
What happens when the important things get pushed off for those that appear urgent? What happens when you do the things that bring pleasure right now but have no long term benefit? What happens when the things that are pushed off don't actually have a deadline? What happens when it is an opportunity and the only options are to grab hold or to let it slip away? This is what mediocre, average living looks like. This is the kind of living that our culture has totally bought into. This is my struggle.
When I set my goals this year, I dreamed of the life that I wished I was living. I really didn't have to think hard about my goals. They were things that I have meant to do or incorporate into my life and just have not done so. (The exception to this was doing 50,000 push ups in one year. Last November that was just pure crazy talk...) Notice that they were things that I had MEANT to do. Most of my goals really are not hard but they are live changing if I do them on a regular basis.
How am I doing? Well, some of my goals are going great but some of them are still being put on a shelf by procrastination. For me, the battle with procrastination is a daily one. I am realizing more and more where it has seeped into my life and where I need to work to push it back. When I don't push back, I am settling for average.
Every year I need to do 40 hours of professional development to keep my professional designation. Yes, even if I choose to be a stay at mom I need to keep current. This has been part of my life for nearly 20 years. I have never missed my year end deadline BUT many years I am cramming in webinars and reading over Christmas. This is not how I want to spend the holiday season! I decided that this year would be different. I decided to go head to head with procrastination. I set a goal to be 85% done by the end of June and completely done by the end of September.
So here we are at the end of June... It is time to evaluate my progress... I am thrilled to say that as of tonight, I am 91% done my hours for this year. Ha! Ha! Take that procrastination!!!
Tuesday 30 June 2015
Thursday 25 June 2015
Week 18 - Year End Craziness
Last week I set the goal to remain balanced in my numbers while working to decrease the gap between where I am and where I should be. I realized what a lofty goal that was after looking at my calendar. There is only one more day of school left. This past week my calendar has been jam packed with either appointments that I wanted out of the way while I still had my kiddos occupied or year end activities for the school. The past week has really felt like a full out sprint to the finish and I am definitely feeling the wear and tear of it on my mind and body. Yet, I did not want to lose that momentum. I had to dig deep this week to just maintain my numbers, but I did. I did achieve the first part of this week's goal. I did keep the balance. The second part of the goal was somewhat achieved. In most areas I did make up some lost ground (at times only by 5). This was not really what I had in mind but it truly was all I had to give this week.
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 18:
Push ups 14,944
Sit ups 17,775
Kempo 136
Staff 236
Sparring 255
KM 368.5
AoK 353
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 365
Piano 30.6 hours
Books finished 10
Daily fruit - 111 days
365 photo challenge - 89 days
Daily journal - 120 days
With school ending tomorrow, that means that my life is about to take a crazy shift in dynamics. I am finding that although my weekly numbers look fairly balanced, the way that I am getting them in is not really working very well for me. I find that I am putting off my requirements many days until after the kids are in bed. Then the panic hits and I start seeking out ways to get my numbers in. The result is I am trying to do too much when I am tired already (I am not really a night owl). My sleep is suffering because I am staying up too late trying to fit it all in. This week my goal is to maintain the momentum that I have found BUT to shift the execution of it to earlier in the day.
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 18:
Push ups 14,944
Sit ups 17,775
Kempo 136
Staff 236
Sparring 255
KM 368.5
AoK 353
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 365
Piano 30.6 hours
Books finished 10
Daily fruit - 111 days
365 photo challenge - 89 days
Daily journal - 120 days
With school ending tomorrow, that means that my life is about to take a crazy shift in dynamics. I am finding that although my weekly numbers look fairly balanced, the way that I am getting them in is not really working very well for me. I find that I am putting off my requirements many days until after the kids are in bed. Then the panic hits and I start seeking out ways to get my numbers in. The result is I am trying to do too much when I am tired already (I am not really a night owl). My sleep is suffering because I am staying up too late trying to fit it all in. This week my goal is to maintain the momentum that I have found BUT to shift the execution of it to earlier in the day.
Sunday 21 June 2015
A Part of Something Special
As a team we have talked about the odds and blessings of being on this team. Out of all people on the planet... Out of all the places on the Earth... Yet here is a group of people who are working together on a journey towards mastery studying kung fu together - in Stony Plain nonetheless.
Today I lived one of those moments with one of my other families. Last May a group of very excited people stood on a vacant lot across the street from the Community Centre in Stony Plain. The anticipation and promise for what was to come was energizing. Over the past 13 months, there have been many challenges and setbacks yet a group of very dedicated people kept coming together working with a single purpose in mind.
Today the promise was realized! Today my church family held their first service in our beautiful new building. The place was packed! After the service, we celebrated with a barbeque. The joy and excitement was obvious on every face in the building.
I have been so blessed to be a part of this journey with these people. I was blessed to have an up close view of the dedication of these people. I was blessed to work alongside them. Now others will have the opportunity to be blessed by the fruits of their labour.
Today I lived one of those moments with one of my other families. Last May a group of very excited people stood on a vacant lot across the street from the Community Centre in Stony Plain. The anticipation and promise for what was to come was energizing. Over the past 13 months, there have been many challenges and setbacks yet a group of very dedicated people kept coming together working with a single purpose in mind.
Today the promise was realized! Today my church family held their first service in our beautiful new building. The place was packed! After the service, we celebrated with a barbeque. The joy and excitement was obvious on every face in the building.
I have been so blessed to be a part of this journey with these people. I was blessed to have an up close view of the dedication of these people. I was blessed to work alongside them. Now others will have the opportunity to be blessed by the fruits of their labour.
Thursday 18 June 2015
Week 17 - Balance Is Possible
I had a good week for numbers this past week. I hit my weekly target in most areas. There were two exceptions - kempo and piano. This is the most balanced that I have been yet. Most weeks I end up focusing on one area and all of the other areas suffer. I had also set the goal to get caught up on sit ups - DONE!!!
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 17:
Push ups 13,954
Sit ups 16,755
Kempo 122
Staff 211
Sparring 235
KM 331.3
AoK 331
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 343
Piano 30.6 hours
Books finished 10
Daily fruit - 108 days
365 photo challenge - 87 days
Daily journal - 113 days
My goal for this next week is to continue on with the balance - increasing my numbers to start catching back up some of my other goals.
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 17:
Push ups 13,954
Sit ups 16,755
Kempo 122
Staff 211
Sparring 235
KM 331.3
AoK 331
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 343
Piano 30.6 hours
Books finished 10
Daily fruit - 108 days
365 photo challenge - 87 days
Daily journal - 113 days
My goal for this next week is to continue on with the balance - increasing my numbers to start catching back up some of my other goals.
Monday 15 June 2015
Hitting the Pause Button
Life is crazy. My lists of things I need to do are a mile long. My lists of things I want to do are just as long. I feel pulled every which way at all hours of the day. I feel like I am in a constant battle to ward off overwhelm. I keep putting one foot in front of the other in the hopes that one day I will conquer more things on my lists than I add during the same period of time.
On Saturday between open training and the meeting, I sat in the change room and made a list of the things that I really would love to see accomplished over the next week. There are things on there that must get done. There are things on there that I would like to get done. There are things on there that quite honestly I have put off for far too long. Is this list doable? Not really but now I have something to at least work towards. Many of the things I have been putting off are part of my goals for this year that I have made either little or no progress on. If the list gets me to even start moving in the right direction, it will have been a success. Then armed with this list, I made a decision.
Sunday morning rolled around and my sweet kids asked what the plan was for the day. My answer was go to church. Nothing shocking there. That's what we do on Sunday morning. They then asked what the plan was for after church. I then informed them that my plan was to eat steak for supper. A little confused, then they asked what my plan was for between church and supper. I let them know that I did not have one. They were very shocked. Mom always has a plan or a gazillion things that need to be done. My decision was to take the day off to regroup and relax.
Yesterday after lunch we watched a movie as a family. I had a wonderful nap curled up on the couch with my little furbaby. I read for awhile. We did indeed have steak for supper. After the kids were in bed, we even snuck in a quick date and slipped into town for an ice cream cone at Jack's. (Just for the record, both of my kids are dairy intolerant so eating ice cream in front of them would be meaner than sneaking off without them.) It was an awesome day! I can't remember the last time I chose to take an entire day just to restore. Most times when I pause it is not a choice but my body or mind giving out on me. Making the active choice and then following through felt so fantastic - I really can't even begin to describe how I felt at the end of the day.
Now for the hard part. One of the reasons I tend to not take rest days is because I can find it hard to jump back in again. I lose my momentum. That's where that awesome list is going to come in handy. I am going to have it out on my desk or kitchen counter for the rest of the week to keep me on track. This was a pause, not a stop!
On Saturday between open training and the meeting, I sat in the change room and made a list of the things that I really would love to see accomplished over the next week. There are things on there that must get done. There are things on there that I would like to get done. There are things on there that quite honestly I have put off for far too long. Is this list doable? Not really but now I have something to at least work towards. Many of the things I have been putting off are part of my goals for this year that I have made either little or no progress on. If the list gets me to even start moving in the right direction, it will have been a success. Then armed with this list, I made a decision.
Sunday morning rolled around and my sweet kids asked what the plan was for the day. My answer was go to church. Nothing shocking there. That's what we do on Sunday morning. They then asked what the plan was for after church. I then informed them that my plan was to eat steak for supper. A little confused, then they asked what my plan was for between church and supper. I let them know that I did not have one. They were very shocked. Mom always has a plan or a gazillion things that need to be done. My decision was to take the day off to regroup and relax.
Yesterday after lunch we watched a movie as a family. I had a wonderful nap curled up on the couch with my little furbaby. I read for awhile. We did indeed have steak for supper. After the kids were in bed, we even snuck in a quick date and slipped into town for an ice cream cone at Jack's. (Just for the record, both of my kids are dairy intolerant so eating ice cream in front of them would be meaner than sneaking off without them.) It was an awesome day! I can't remember the last time I chose to take an entire day just to restore. Most times when I pause it is not a choice but my body or mind giving out on me. Making the active choice and then following through felt so fantastic - I really can't even begin to describe how I felt at the end of the day.
Now for the hard part. One of the reasons I tend to not take rest days is because I can find it hard to jump back in again. I lose my momentum. That's where that awesome list is going to come in handy. I am going to have it out on my desk or kitchen counter for the rest of the week to keep me on track. This was a pause, not a stop!
Friday 12 June 2015
Week 16 - Still Plugging Along
Last week I wrote about the energy I had. This week I've already blogged about struggling to balance the seasonal responsibilities I face with kung fu. This week my numbers were not as high as they have been in the past but I am still plugging along. Each and every day I make progress on at least one of my goals.
In addition, last week I committed to being caught up with my sit ups by tomorrow's meeting. I have 762 to do in less than 24 hours. This is doable. I am not backing down from this commitment!
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 16:
Push ups 12,954
Sit ups 15,235
Kempo 113
Staff 190
Sparring 185
KM 300.1
AoK 312
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 322
Piano 30.3 hours
Books finished 8
Daily fruit - 103 days
365 photo challenge - 86 days
Daily journal - 107 days
In addition, last week I committed to being caught up with my sit ups by tomorrow's meeting. I have 762 to do in less than 24 hours. This is doable. I am not backing down from this commitment!
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 16:
Push ups 12,954
Sit ups 15,235
Kempo 113
Staff 190
Sparring 185
KM 300.1
AoK 312
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 322
Piano 30.3 hours
Books finished 8
Daily fruit - 103 days
365 photo challenge - 86 days
Daily journal - 107 days
Wednesday 10 June 2015
'Tis The Season....
Just when you feel like you are getting things figured out... Just when you are building an awesome momentum... Life throws change in your path.
Last week I was feeling totally pumped and on fire. Momentum was all building in the right direction. It was awesome!
This week I have experienced some growing pains. I love living out in the country. I love having my own little piece of paradise away from the chaos of the world. With that paradise comes the work to keep it a paradise. I love to mow the lawn. I like getting dirty in my garden. I love deciding what's for dinner based on what is growing out there.
All this happy work does come with a cost though. And that cost is a ton of time. Time that I would usually use to get my I Ho Chuan goals accomplished. So although my lawn is mowed and my cucumbers and squashes are found and all are awaiting tonight's desperately needed and promised rain - my numbers today are terrible.
Add to this that school is nearly done. There is a ton of busyness involved in the last couple weeks of school plus the mad dash to get all my appointments done before the kids are home fulltime. Soon my home will be filled with 24/7 delightful distractions. Hubbie is also transitioning into a new work schedule which seems to change by the minute.
All that to say - I believe that I am going to have to fight hard to find the time to fit in my requirements. I am going to have to be on the lookout for opportunities and be quick to seize them. For the next couple of months, I need to find a way to maintain momentum in amidst the other so that I don't dig myself into a hole before we reach the 1/2 way mark of this year. Thank goodness mastery is a journey taken one day, one minute, one step at a time.
Thursday 4 June 2015
Week 15 - Turning Things Up a Notch
The start of June has brought a new energy. I believe it is a combination of many things. I am finally starting to really feel better. I think I've more or less kicked the viral thing that had been dragging me down the past couple weeks. I cut back on my push ups for the first part of the week and the pain in my chest is mostly gone - only a small twinge every once in a while. The other kick is that summer is just around the corner.
I have mixed feelings about summer right now. I love that we get to take a break from school. I will lose no sleep over not having to deal with homework or making yet another sandwich. The kids are ready for some downtime too. They are ready for a slower pace mixed in with some fun. The other side of summer is that my whole routine (if that's what you can call it) is turned upside down. Yesterday in class I was asking about fitting it all in. I have been getting better at managing my requirements on the most part. I am still struggling to get it all in and I am especially struggling to find extra time to actually work on my curriculum. With the kids home, I really don't suspect that is going to get any easier.
I am behind in almost all of my requirements. I am planning to use this surge of energy to set some very specific goals for this month and hit things hard. The first goal is that I am going to have my sit up requirement caught up by the next I Ho Chuan meeting. The 1000 day on Monday really helped fix up that one. I am less than 700 behind. I can make that up easily in the next week if I just get down on the floor and take care of business.
This week I finally took Sifu Hayes up on his advice to bike. Twice this week I packed myself up and went to the Tri to ride the exercise bikes there. It was awesome! Racked up a ton of kilometres quickly and really worked up a huge sweat. I have slugging along trying to get my kilometres in. Since one of my personal goals was to lose weight, I had decided all of my kilometres this year had to be deliberate exercise. I had planned to take up running again to help get this done. As of yet, I have not been able to do that so I have been walking my sweet beast for hours. He loves his walks but the numbers have just not been quite enough. As of last night, I am 184km behind where I believe I should be. My goal is to be caught up by the July meeting. This is completely doable. I am going to take advantage of sweating off the calories on the bike supplemented by walking Guiness to reach this goal.
The next problem area is forms... I have not yet devised a plan in my head on how I'm going to tackle that hole I've dug. Perhaps I'll have an idea for next week's post. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I also have some personal goals that need some attention. One in particular has a set deadline for the end of June. I have made good progress on that one and I will definitely write about it once I have nailed it. There are others that are not going well at all. I am going to sit down and make a plan for those as well.
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 15:
Push ups 12,284
Sit ups 14,095
Kempo 109
Staff 184
Sparring 125
KM 292.2
AoK 295
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 303
Piano 29.5 hours
Books finished 8
Daily fruit - 99 days
365 photo challenge - 81 days
Daily journal - 101 days
I have mixed feelings about summer right now. I love that we get to take a break from school. I will lose no sleep over not having to deal with homework or making yet another sandwich. The kids are ready for some downtime too. They are ready for a slower pace mixed in with some fun. The other side of summer is that my whole routine (if that's what you can call it) is turned upside down. Yesterday in class I was asking about fitting it all in. I have been getting better at managing my requirements on the most part. I am still struggling to get it all in and I am especially struggling to find extra time to actually work on my curriculum. With the kids home, I really don't suspect that is going to get any easier.
I am behind in almost all of my requirements. I am planning to use this surge of energy to set some very specific goals for this month and hit things hard. The first goal is that I am going to have my sit up requirement caught up by the next I Ho Chuan meeting. The 1000 day on Monday really helped fix up that one. I am less than 700 behind. I can make that up easily in the next week if I just get down on the floor and take care of business.
This week I finally took Sifu Hayes up on his advice to bike. Twice this week I packed myself up and went to the Tri to ride the exercise bikes there. It was awesome! Racked up a ton of kilometres quickly and really worked up a huge sweat. I have slugging along trying to get my kilometres in. Since one of my personal goals was to lose weight, I had decided all of my kilometres this year had to be deliberate exercise. I had planned to take up running again to help get this done. As of yet, I have not been able to do that so I have been walking my sweet beast for hours. He loves his walks but the numbers have just not been quite enough. As of last night, I am 184km behind where I believe I should be. My goal is to be caught up by the July meeting. This is completely doable. I am going to take advantage of sweating off the calories on the bike supplemented by walking Guiness to reach this goal.
The next problem area is forms... I have not yet devised a plan in my head on how I'm going to tackle that hole I've dug. Perhaps I'll have an idea for next week's post. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I also have some personal goals that need some attention. One in particular has a set deadline for the end of June. I have made good progress on that one and I will definitely write about it once I have nailed it. There are others that are not going well at all. I am going to sit down and make a plan for those as well.
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 15:
Push ups 12,284
Sit ups 14,095
Kempo 109
Staff 184
Sparring 125
KM 292.2
AoK 295
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 303
Piano 29.5 hours
Books finished 8
Daily fruit - 99 days
365 photo challenge - 81 days
Daily journal - 101 days
Monday 1 June 2015
How important is kung fu to you?
Today I was asked this question and I was at a total loss of how to answer it.
Today was my first appointment at the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic about my knee. I met with a sports medicine doctor that I have been fondly referring to as the "Gatekeeper". She has the power to refer me to a surgeon or not. I did not get my referral today but I did get some homework and a come back in six weeks. My knee has not healed enough to be ready so patience and more hard work are in order.
Anyways, back to the question... This was one of the first questions that the doctor asked me after walking into the room. She had already seen my MRI results and a resident had already tried to turn my knee into a pretzel to see what I could and could not do. She was working to form a basis of where to take my treatment plan based on this one important question. I was stuck for an answer. I think she was looking at this momma in her 40's who has been doing kung fu for about four years and seriously just had to ask the question.
When I first started kung fu it truly was just a way of getting some exercise with a great group of moms while our kids were in school. Pretty much just like any other exercise class. Except this is kung fu... And kung fu has a way of working itself out of being just a class and into something more. Since joining the I Ho Chuan team, kung fu has literally taken over my life. The whole point of this year was to set goals and work towards mastery in every area of my life. Kung fu has successfully invaded every single part of my life. How do you even begin to explain that to someone who has not lived it. You don't realize how much of an impact something is having on your life until you have to answer hard questions like this in the context that it is being asked. This is not just some family member seeking to understand why you live at the kwoon and your children have taken up permanent residence there too. How I learn to answer this question will impact my entire journey. I guess need to try find a way to put it all into words...
Today was my first appointment at the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic about my knee. I met with a sports medicine doctor that I have been fondly referring to as the "Gatekeeper". She has the power to refer me to a surgeon or not. I did not get my referral today but I did get some homework and a come back in six weeks. My knee has not healed enough to be ready so patience and more hard work are in order.
Anyways, back to the question... This was one of the first questions that the doctor asked me after walking into the room. She had already seen my MRI results and a resident had already tried to turn my knee into a pretzel to see what I could and could not do. She was working to form a basis of where to take my treatment plan based on this one important question. I was stuck for an answer. I think she was looking at this momma in her 40's who has been doing kung fu for about four years and seriously just had to ask the question.
When I first started kung fu it truly was just a way of getting some exercise with a great group of moms while our kids were in school. Pretty much just like any other exercise class. Except this is kung fu... And kung fu has a way of working itself out of being just a class and into something more. Since joining the I Ho Chuan team, kung fu has literally taken over my life. The whole point of this year was to set goals and work towards mastery in every area of my life. Kung fu has successfully invaded every single part of my life. How do you even begin to explain that to someone who has not lived it. You don't realize how much of an impact something is having on your life until you have to answer hard questions like this in the context that it is being asked. This is not just some family member seeking to understand why you live at the kwoon and your children have taken up permanent residence there too. How I learn to answer this question will impact my entire journey. I guess need to try find a way to put it all into words...
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