Seabright's 2023 Battle Log of Awesomeness

[Seabright]

GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALS!

 

Yay for the Year of the Rabbit! Time to focus on rest, introspection, and working smarter, not harder. Time to chill a bit and go with the flow. 

 

With that in mind, I'm going to keep my goals from 2022 going a bit longer. I feel that I'm definitely on-track with how focused those are and I think another year operating in this way will help solidify some life changes. I'll keep my check-ins to the weekly rhythm I established last year, since that worked well for me --- often enough to stay accountable, but not  so much as to be a distraction from actually doing things. 

 

I'm also adding in my Big Why and Internal Motivations to the articulation of my goals, just to keep those things front and center. Soooo, here we go!

 

 

My Big Why

• Human adventurer, I want to be fit and healthy so I can explore and enjoy all the beauty the outdoor world has to offer, in all kinds of weather, all the days of my life. 

 

 

My Internal Motivations

• I feel better when I stay on track with my eating and skip the sugar and alcohol.
• I feel more relaxed and able to go with the flow when I do yoga and Tai Chi first thing in the morning.
• I feel healthy, happy, and proud when I finish my daily walk.
• I feel more optimistic when I work on my own writing every day.

 

 

My 2023 Goals

 

1. Eat right and take care of myself

• Stay on track with the my totally chill eating style. It's working, and I feel better this way.
• Prioritize all health and wellness appointments. Why be a hero? I'm putting myself first in my own schedule.
• Prioritize hiking, camping, outdoor time. Also, I love solo hiking. I'd like to find a way to get some of this for myself this year. 
• Add one new fitness-oriented activity to my world. I can experiment my way into this--line dancing, a martial arts class, archery, etc.
• Hang with friends more often as a regular thing. Stop thinking about this and just do it.

 

2. At work, I care about just 2 things

• Partnerships & Accessibility. That's it.
• When a niggle arises where I'm tempted to feel ire or weigh in with my over-heated point of view, I will ask myself 3 things.
• Will caring about this...
  • Get me outdoors more?
  • Help me hang out with friends?
  • Make an impact on accessibility?

 

3. Finish the remodel in one piece and then party down

• It will take focus and positive energy to get through this and stay on track with eating and taking care of myself. 
• 10 weeks in a 10-foot trailer has the potential to take a toll unless I work to stay upbeat and positive. A sense of humor will be needed at all times. 
• Things will come up, some stuff will happen, pivots will be made at the last minute. I want to stay chill and go with the flow.
• I've wanted this for more than 15 years, and finishing it will be a huge achievement. I want to celebrate with a big ol' pickin' party and take the new kitchen and bathroom out for a spin!

 

 

POWER WORD FOR 2023: Flow

• Time to take all the learnings and progress from the last year and let that infuse me with a sense of peace.
• I'll approach my goals this year with a sense of flow and calmness. Like water, I'll gently guide myself toward the direction I want to go, and let that momentum carry me forward. No need to paddle hard, the flow of the gentle current will take me there.
• I've written my word at the top of my daily to-do list, on my weekly financial check-in sheet, and on a sticky at the top of my screen.

 

 

All righty, Rebels! Stay chill, stay groovy, walk the straight and narrow and stay strong and true!

 

 

[XBlackWidowX]

Great goals. I love the idea with the power word! How is it going?

[Seabright]

Friday, Feb 3

 

Welp, I'm successfully avoiding perfection! Yay for me!

 

Self-Care

• I went to my first Tai Chi class in XX years last night! No one in my Yang family lineage in my area, so had to drive up to the big city---1 1/2 hours each way. 
• I had a GREAT night's sleep last night, and slept all the way through until my dawn alarm clock started to glow. The first time in weeks. Tai Chi-related? Mmmmmmmmaaaybe.
• Took several short walks this week between meetings, did my form several times, and finding that I have more energy overall. Woo hoo!

Caring about stuff

• Have had some back-slippage since last December as far as the caffeine intake goes, which is a bummer since I'd been caffeine-free for almost a year.
• I notice that I'm starting to let work stuff bother me again. No bueno.
• I kept reading my 'these are the only two things I care about at work' goal again and again, but it didn't help.
• Whiskey shots didn't help either.
• Time to address the caffeine intake!  My feeling is that it's directly tied to caring too much about the wrong things.
• I need to lean into the not-being-perfect-me and tell myself that it's okay to be tired and brain-foggy at work for a while. It will go away and I'll feel a whole lot better.

Remodel

• Was told by the uber-expensive tile supplier that they would be happy to assist with final ordering....for a fee of 5% of the total order price. 
• To which we said, "Pppphhhhffffft." Or words to that effect.
• Went somewhere else, found something very similar with similar trims, for a fraction of the price and the lead time.
• Dropped the dream of frameless shower doors and went with a curved curtain rod. Yay for staying in the budget!
• Embraced the fact that we will be living in a 10-foot trailer for 8 weeks and started to dig in on how to make that work with our indoor kitty. 

Other stuff

• Realized this week that the coughing was just so much better compared to where I was this time last year. I'm not out of the woods, but it was significant that I didn't have to step outside during my tai chi lesson for a coughing fit. Win!
• Got together with a friend and worked up 'The Parting Glass' in three-part harmony, all the way through. So fun and inspiring. 

Next week

• Pick one tiny teeny tiny itsy bitsy little thing from my work to-do list and do it. Just one little teeny tiny thing. That's it. Just one.
• Work on remembering the 40. 
• Finalize the bathroom floor and get all this stuff ordered.

 

See ya next week, you fabulous rebels, you!

[Seabright]

Wed, Feb 15

 

So much muchness! Onward!

 

Self-Care

• Committed to 6 months of Tai Chi and asked Sifu for a digitized version of the 40 so I could watch it while practicing. Picked up a sword for the first time in a looooong time. Didn't hurt myself!
• Signed up at a gym. Wait...what??? Fact. Had my first visit with the trainer who was fabulous, listened, and got me started on things I could do. Slept the first night without hip pain in a looooong time. Didn't hurt myself!
• Weighed myself and things have snuck in an awkwardly upwardly direction over the last few months. Time to get back on track. I blame Lara and her bars.

Caring about stuff

• Pretty good week in the not-caring-about-stuff department. I even gave a short talk on it. 
• Was in a meeting where things were definitely headed in a direction I wasn't crazy about. I asked myself how much it mattered, if it was really any of my business, if opening my mouth would influence the outcome at all, and a few other questions. Decided it was best not to care---and I felt so much better about it! Quite the revelation.

Remodel

• Ordered all the tile! 
• Now onto light fixtures and knobs and pulls!
• Way over budget!
• Just realized that we have to pack up all our stuff and store it somewhere! Which means cleaning out the basement!
• Hilarity ensued.

Other stuff

• At work was told that my office was becoming a 'flex space' and I had to move all my stuff out by next Wednesday. Oh, fine. FINE.

Next week

• Work on the 40, hard core,  every day.
• Go to the gym 2 times next week.
• Get something done at work. Anything. Anything at all.

[Seabright]

Fri, Feb 24

 

I have to say, reading my Big Why and Internal Motivations now and then really helps me stay focused. I just read an email I sent to myself listing these things--made me feel really good to remember that it's all about those baby steps.

 

Self-Care

• I've driven up to SF for my Tai Chi class twice since I signed up. It's quite a drive! Worth it, though, especially last night when I was the only student there, along with TWO instructors. Talk about personalized form correction!  Slept great last night. 
• At the gym, I took advantage of my 2 sessions with a trainer, and then went on my own for the first time on Tuesday. I told myself all I had to do was go, walk in, do 2 things, and leave. I ended up doing more though. 😉 These sessions are now on my calendar for Tuesdays and Fridays. Based on last Tuesday, I can get there, do the thing, and then get back home in approx 40 mins, and that's with stopping for a lottery ticket at Mr. B's Liquors on the way back. Win!
• Trimmed waaaaaaay back on the Larabars this week, substituting applesauce instead. Still had a couple, but nothing compared to my 2-a-day habit. Also declined a second beer. Baby steps.

Caring about stuff

• Coached someone on my team in the art of not-caring. Not sure he was convinced, but it really solidified my own not-caring-so-much-about-absolutely-everything status as the correct direction to take. 
• Found I did care about something deeply, though, and instead of mentally grousing about it I took action and just put forward a prototype for an alternate approach. We'll see what people think---I can't control that part, though. At least I did the thing and maybe got people thinking.

Remodel

• Finally signed the contract!
• Sent the deposit for the countertop!
• Took next week off to start sorting through belongings in prep for packing things up!
• Gosh, after 20 years, this is really going to happen!

Other stuff

• My birthday is on Monday. Happy birthday to me!
• For the first time in a long time, I haven't focused on my weight during this birthday milestone, and instead have focused on the life changes with Tai Chi and the gym. 
• I'm feeling pretty good about all of that. 

Next week

• Work on the 40, rain or shine.
• Go to the gym 2 times next week.
• It's a vacation, so do something vacation-y. We were originally scheduled to head to Anza Borrego with our little trailer, but with rain and snow and low temps, we bagged that idea. Maybe we can sneak in an afternoon sail if the weather clears up.

[Seabright]

Wed, Mar 15

 

Took a vacation in there, sorta. We couldn't actually get to our desert Anza Borrego destination due to all roads there being closed by snowstorms, so glad that we had already bagged that idea. So weird. Instead, watched lots of Eureka and took plenty of naps with kitty Dolly. Big win for Dolly!

 

Self-Care

• Driving up to my Tai Chi class in SF in the howling wind and rain made me feel unstoppable! 
• Up to about 15 minutes of standing meditation at a time.
• Learned a new form. Turns out, in the last 30 years that particular school added 3 forms that people learn BEFORE the 24 (short) form. 
• Practicing all 3 forms on the back patio when it's not raining. I can hear my hip sockets cracking and protesting but they'll get over it.
• Multiple trips to the gym for my little baby gettin'-to-know-ya-again-hey-there-muscles workout. 

Caring about stuff

• The director-level person that I had specifically decided to not-care about is leaving the company, last day Mar 23. 
• Had to remind myself to not-care when someone overstepped with an employee of mine. Kept my cool, not-cared, and gently fixed the issue so that it won't happen again.
• Challenged to not-care right now, though. I'm back in the workplace office and the sun is shining directly into my eyes, searing them out of their sockets, and since it's high-tech, there's no simple way to just freakin' lower the shades. 

Remodel

• Kitchen almost all packed.
• Pre-construction meeting set for this Thursday. 
• OMG!!!
• Convinced spousal unit that the first week or so will just be an experiment while we figure out what works. 
• No rain for the next few days, which will really help.
• Still need to pick out paint colors.

Other stuff

• Getting into the swing of coming back into the office twice a week. 
• I'm a trained professional and this does not phase me.
• I also sorta like being here. I just don't like driving to get here. 

Next week

• Demo starts on Monday! I hereby vow to keep my cool and not-care.
• Time to get out my wooden sword and start working on re-learning how to handle it. I'll have to get over the fact that there will be a bunch of construction workers around who will be able to stand right there and watch me. Argh. Maybe I can bundle up and do stuff way early?  Experiment!
• Go to the gym 2 times next week. Maybe add a third set of everything if I'm feeling it.

 

Onward!

[Seabright]

Fri, Mar 24

 

Rain, rain, high winds, floods, rain, the levee broke, hurricane-force wind, some more rain, the main water line in the trailer sprang a leak, rain, yard too flooded to work in,  horrific drive through the mountains, and then more rain, again, too, as well, also.

 

It's been quite a week here at Seabright Industries, a Santa-Cruz -based global conglomerate.

 

Self-Care

• Ye gods. Tough week.
• Did get to the gym on Wed and going again this afternoon. 
• Showers! Hot showers!
• Morning meditation and journaling took a backseat to tending to the needs of a howling, terrified kitty. It's tough to be smol. 
• Kept my cool the whole time, though.
• Yay for me!

Caring about stuff

• Started to care about something quite vigorously, then reminded myself to not-care. 
• Spoke out a single time, and then shut up. 
• This is so very hard for me, but I do feel a difference in my overall anxiety level and how others respond to me. 

Remodel

• Yowzah!
• Kitchen & bath demo complete.
• So cool to see studs made of 3-inch-thick pieces of old-growth redwood, built over 100 years ago, standing the test of time. 
• Framing rough complete.
• Plumbing rough 50% done.
• Already.
• Holy smokes! This is what happens when you prepare for a year and carefully, carefully select your contractor. These folks work 4 10-hour days, followed by a Friday off when a sub comes in and does their thing. Careful planning and scheduling, all materials at hand, they've done this a million times, in our town, on houses as old as ours.
• Speed, baby! Speed!
• Rain interfered with getting all set up with our trailer-and-kitchen-tent living alternatives, and wreaked havoc with planned routines. 
• Water leak in the trailer! Argh! Using porta potty in the driveway while the spousal unit works on a tricky fix. We are trained professionals and this does not phase us.
• No rain for the next few days, which will allow us to find our balance again. 
• Everyone still upright and taking nourishment. 
• One week down, 7-9 more to go!
• Win!

Other stuff

• Volunteered to do something at work. Regretting it.
• I just have one more thing to do with the above and then it will be done.
• Almost done, I tell you!
• If I can only stay focused today....

Next week

• Get back on track with all my routines: standing, journaling, tai chi-ing, gym-ing, going-into-the-office-ing.
• And bathing. 😉

 

Walk the straight and narrow, Rebels, and stay strong and true!