Lisa Spagnolo's Journal (22)

It's been a while since I posted anything, and also a challenge to maintain UBBT requirements lately.  June was an incredibly busy work month, and the fallout continues into July.  As a ripple effect, daily requirements fell by the wayside, or were spottily done, and I'm not happy about that.  I need to get back to that consistency that I had in December and January, and remind myself that I know how to do that (it *was* all working, then, yeah?).

Nevertheless, there have…

There is a passage in the Book of Five Rings that talks about learning from other activities: "A man cannot understand the perfection and imperfection of his chosen art if he cannot see the value in other arts."  This passage came to mind as I was applying some golf sayings to my UBBT journey (even though I did not watch any of the Masters).  One of those is "always follow a bad shot with a good shot."  Essentially--if you mess up, because it will happen, do the next thing well.  …

I had high hopes for February that didn't pan out as expected, so I'm really glad it's a new month.  Just looking at numbers, I'm pretty amazed at the accomplishment so far--more than I have ever done over the course of a winter, when I usually hibernate. Each day has new challenges and new inspirations. For example, yesterday I was clobbered by a migraine, but today I was encouraged by coming out of the gym at 6:30m and seeing how light it was. My legs are feeling stronger on the cycle…

At the end of this week I’m reflecting on and savoring some minor accomplishments, and getting ready for new challenges. I’m proud of what I accomplished for UBBT during the work conference, not as much as during a normal schedule, but much more than I would have ever imagined in those circumstances:  7.55 miles ; 460 crunches and modified pushups; 6 repetitions of basics; 7 acts of kindness (this was really hard because there’s so much self-management). Meditation time was also difficult to…

I'm writing this post from San Diego (rough!), and the first professional conference of my year.  A lot of my workday involves sitting at a computer.  At conferences though, we do a lot of running--back and forth down the convention center--as well as a lot of sitting, which is often on the floor in the back of the room by the power outlet (for the dying laptop).



This is also my first conference since starting karate, and in particular, starting UBBT. It's only one day in, but I've…

I had planned on posting this on Friday, and then Christmas happened. 



Successes the previous week included persisting with the routine during the darkest days of the year, and overcoming some deficits after a very social day with dinner guests. Adjustments to basics made during class have been incorporated to practice at home, and I feel my balance improving with the kicks that require it most.



I've been able to redirect, at least a little bit, the weasel mind, who likes…

This week's overarching theme is overcoming resistance from my lizard brain, which doesn't like to be uncomfortable, and taking the long view. It was hard to get up a few days this week--my body definitely wants to hibernate for the winter.  But, I'm enough of a data geek for the spreadsheet tracking to motivate me. I have to keep filling in those cells! The wake-up calls--crickets from my phone so as not to wake up David--has been effective most days.



There are some areas I need to…

Over the course of my working life as a manager, I have occasionally heard the question "when are we getting back to normal?" The answer is usually "this is the new normal." Time passes, and whatever change that was met with resistance is often incorporated into routine--until the next changes come, and they come fast these days.



It goes without saying that I'm applying the "new normal" to the first couple weeks…