Intentional Improvement Monitoring in 2-Weeks Sprint (reflection 7)

Improving one's health and losing weight, I realized, needs to be a long term objective and has to be monitored consistently from my end - until it becomes a natural habit.

I am strong in recognizing my strengths and weakness in this area. I have set-up monitoring, 2-weeks sprint, to see what I have done effectively and when do I lose momentum.

I started monitoring things on a 2 weeks sprint last May 22.

It is tempting to put too many parameters to monitor. I decided to focus on 5-areas that are tightly related to one another.

My goal is to form new habits and behavioral change (using techniques learned in the various coaching programs I ventured into).

I began working on my nutrition plan as well by adjusting my meal based on what is available around me. This includes replacing or reducing rice consumption by eating uncooked vegetable (Korean style). After more than two weeks, I think I finally figure out what I need to do to start scoring on my "eat moderately" goal.

I have committed not to use any special supplement as what I am after is a long term practical solution.

My first 2-weeks sprint review exposed me to where I fall-off and how challenging it can be to bounce back. I decided to add a new parameter to monitor and see if it will work o neutralize the challenge.

I also accept the fact that I may need to do this for the rest of my days if I don't want to slide back to my old habits.

I will gradually add more items in my sprint tracking worksheet and remove others eventually as time goes by. Focusing on areas where I have not been able to discipline myself on.

Punishment or Adding Value: What emotions do the words "lose weight", "diet", "exercise" stir? (reflection 6)

When I think about lose weight, diet, exercise, these are the emotions that I feel:

• Pressure
  The need to measure up to certain standards.
• Guilt
  For indulging and neglecting myself.
• Shame
  For not being as cool as my previous body shape was.
• Sacrifice
  As exercising and dieting mean letting go of indulgence and the laziness just to focus on what you want to do now.

But definitely, I view exercise and diet as adding value because it can lead to better health if done correctly. There are many testimonies and learning materials pointing to such evidence.

I came up with a system of monitoring my progress and hope to share that soon in this blog.

Finding a Coach (reflection 5)

One of my challenges in going through a fitness journey is breaking through my thoughts, emotions, beliefs, inner struggle that one way or another affect my momentum - consciously and subconsciously.

My journey towards improving myself became more focused, intentional, deliberate in the past 2 years. I seek out mentors and signed up for programs towards improving my thinking and feeling.

In my growth journey, the authors I can seem to relate the most are Paul Martinelli, Tony Robbins, John C. Maxwell, Brendon Burchard, Marshall Goldsmith, and Brene Brown. To the point, I can already blog about this and share it.

I like Tony Robbins and signed-up for Robbins-Madanes. I had to process my fitness concern beyond the physical and understand myself better.

I like Brendon Burchard and know his high-performance habits teaching will help me make the changes ingrained in my system.

I like Brene Brown as she is very open in discussing vulnerability and imperfections. I agree with her, you can't say you have courage if you are not vulnerable. However, I will dare greatly towards improving myself.

I also appreciate Paul Martinelli's coaching in the John Maxwell Team who gives great introspection on thinking.

I appreciate John C. Maxwell and Marshall Goldsmith as their teaching help me focus on the bigger picture - not only for myself but for others.

In the process of improvement, I am ready to go through failure as part of the process but that should not stop me improving each time.

(p.s. you can check out the books - kindle/audio/paperback - I read here.)