Immediate Gratification

Immediate gratification creeps into my life too frequently and with little thought. I have been thinking about this for a while now and what it all means to me personally. It is becoming more and more clear over the past 14 days some of the areas I have allowed mediocrity to insert itself into my life without realizing it. 

I am following a detox/cleansing regime with Sifu Cosgrove's assistance and I am extremely grateful for this opportunity. While it might not have been the best timing, I am not one to pass up an opportunity. My work schedule has been crazy busy and I haven't had a day off in 11 days now and with another 5 days to go until I finally get a break. Most of these days are full days with a couple of half days to fit in some errands and appointments. 

The whole detox thing came about quickly and not a lot of time to prepare so extra time is needed most days to prep food. Avoiding dairy, gluten and meat with the detox and being so busy with work, there have been times when the pull of a quick fast food meal was very appealing. It's all about immediate gratification and yet I have managed to stay true to the diet plan. There have been a few minor slips at home, but at least done consciously and in moderation. 

Examples are everywhere and it is often about convenience. I see all the liquor stores everywhere, the smaller drug stores popping up all over, cannabis stores and have even noticed lately new tire and lube shops. Why do we need so much of everything? It's over-consumerism and convenience. Instead of having to drive 10 minutes down the road, what you need is now 2 minutes away. 

I also see examples of people and businesses not recycling. Not taking the time to put protocols and systems into place to take care of simple things. My newest job throws out numerous batteries into their regular garbage and tosses out recyclable bottles. The recycle depot is a block away. Oh my! That has to change. I am planning to help them implement some changes for the better. I'm not perfect either and know that there are things that I do better myself when it comes to recycling, reducing and reusing. 

Living intentionally is the answer. We are all human and so immediate gratification will not be completely erased. There are times when being spontaneous and saying yes can be a good thing. The more we can practice delaying gratification to make conscious choices, the greater the rewards will be. Immediate gratification is short lived and often comes with negative consequences. Being aware is a good start to making better choices and creating intentional living for the betterment of ourselves and environment.

Namaste everyone!

  

Update

Oh my! I would have never thought it would be so difficult to get back on track. How hard can it be to just jump back in where I left off?  I had a great thing going and then all of a sudden I didn't. My depression has eased and overall mood has improved. I've managed to add some training and requirements back into my daily routine, but can't seem to get the consistency and numbers where I would like them to be. I am struggling still, but making some progress. I have to remember that steps forward are better than none at all. 

There was a little light bulb moment the other day when I realized that I needed to start reading Mastery again every morning. This is something that had fallen off with everything else. I do believe there is a correlation between reading Mastery and pushing myself to live the messages within. So today I made a point of reading it before I left for work and will continue to do so every day. Maybe this was the missing piece to getting fully and completely back on track.

Namaste everyone!

Redefining my Training

For the first 7 months of the year I had a workable routine which served me well. My Engagement and motivation was spot on most of the time with a few minor glitches here and there. These glitches were recognized and adjustments made. I had also considered how my training would be affected once I started to work more regular hours and what adjustments could be made. What I hadn’t considered was internal factors. Internal factors can be harder to recognize even though it is our own personal reactions to events. One would think if it is happening within, we would be the first to know. This is not always the case.

Developing my eye for detail, awareness, trust, and feeling if some is right or not while doing my forms also needs to transfer over to other areas of my life. This will help with recognizing and addressing the internal factors earlier. We don’t practice Kung Fu just to leave it at the door. Kung Fu and life are intertwined and gradually become one with each other. The lessons learned are applicable to all aspects of our daily lives. I am understanding and experiencing this at a deeper level as I continue through this year. 

I know that if something happens beyond my control, limiting my ability to train then it is beneficial to have built up extra reps in different areas of training. Where my perspective fell off was in thinking that those extra reps could also provide extra days off, providing a convenient excuse not to train. There is a shift happening now in the way I view my Kung fu training. Instead of planning not to train at some point in the future, my perspective has changed to developing sustainable, effortless action that builds consistency.

Namaste everyone!

Believing in Myself

The primary theme for me this year has been about self awareness, and believing and trusting in myself and my Kung Fu. These are themes that have presented themselves consistently over the year and because of this have naturally become integrated into my training and day to day life.

Because I am my own worst critic I don't always recognize the steps or leaps forward. This year though I am experiencing more and more how my body moves and feels. Is there ease of movement? Is there room for improvement? What went wrong? Those aha moments! These all happen because I am listening to my body. The difficult piece sometimes is trusting in what I am feeling and not overthinking or doubting myself. 

Checking those internal voices and having a positive attitude while also still acknowledging any weaknesses and areas for improvement. Developing clarity of mind. All of this is needed to continue moving forward. Even with my recent struggles this has been possibly my best year so far. I do feel and recognize the changes and improvements. I know that there is still much work to be done, but I am excited to see were this journey takes me!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

Another Week

Another week has past and I am still not getting much done as far as requirements go. I am instead taking care of myself as best as I can right now. I have been blessed and so grateful to have a good friend here in town helping out her convalescing father in-law. We have been able to take some nice long walks together which is so beneficial to my mental state.

Chiropractic and acupuncture treatments are gradually helping with my neck issues. Dealing with associated consistent headaches every day takes its own toll, but I am happy to say these are slowly diminishing. The tricky part is continuing to do all the things that help to improve my mental health even when the depression is not as apparent. I feel it there under the surface from time to time and know that there is still work to be done. 

My plan for this week is to add push ups, sit ups and forms back into my daily routine. A poke here and there may help, so feel free to message/poke me.

Namaste everyone!