Tuesday, January 16 ????

Hey folk,

Bit of a detour for me last week. Went into White Plains Hospital for an operation Thursday morning, held over by popular demand till Saturday afternoon.

I know we're supposed to find an opportunity or a lesson in every bad situation, but I wasn't really up to soul searching for wisdom and meaning while lying in my hospital bed, iv's in both arms, staples, a drain...!?

For one thing, there isn't really time for reflection.

There is always another medical person coming in and sticking you with something, or measuring something, or asking you something, or taking more of your blood.?

So I didn't worry about panning through the sandy water to find some gold flecks of wisdom. I just wanted to get back on track.

And I know the pathway to doing that. Use it all the time because it takes so little effort and yet works for me.

It's the 'Do Nothing' approach.

So when my conditioned brain, Otto (as in "automated decision-making system") complains or worries or gets frustrated, that's cool.

I do nothing more than let him know that I hear him.

And then I redirect him.

Think of arguing with Otto as Karate, using your energy to block incoming blows, and this path as Aikido, engaging Otto, and effortlessly redirecting his attention.

So I say, "I hear you Otto," and then, casually, "I wonder what Pathfinder (my non-conscious self) can come up with here to get me back on track."

"Hey Otto, what would happen if you just step back from all that noise, take in a deeper breath and release it so you can let go of everything, and then just looked and watched to see if and how Pathfinder can get me back on track?"

Otto's curious to see if Pathfinder can do something. And since it means that he's off the hook and not responsible, he's looking forward to see if Pathfinder succeeds or falls flat on her face.

(I always think of my brain as male and my non-conscious self as female. No political statement implied here.)

So that seemed to work.

Otto watched as every time someone came in and asked I could reply, "No sorry, I'm not nauseous. No, not dizzy. No, not really in pain, sorry."

It is weird that Otto felt almost apologetic that I was recovering without these symptoms. I found him searching for something that they could write down.

I mean after all, I had been cut open six places and part of me cleaved off, then the remainder patched together and sewn back up. (BTW: Kudos to my debonair and brilliant surgeon and his team.)

So yes, when I laughed, or coughed, or tried to sit up, my gut felt like I'd been punched...repeatedly, but only in that moment.

And I would also have a sudden unexpected cramp (probably from the gas in my system) ...but then that would disappear just as quickly.

And both those phenomena were occurring less and less frequently with less and less severity.

(Oh yeah, for some reason my shoulders would occasionally ache like I had some arthritis or had over-exercised them.)

So Otto's lingering complaint was, "I can't wait to get out of here."

(Curiously, it didn't occur to me to use the same approach to mitigate this resistance.)

Saturday afternoon Jeanne, my wife, picked me up from the hospital. We drove first to CVS to pick up my prescriptions.

There was a line. That was cool because it was moving. Then I got to the Pick Up counter and was told I had to go wait in the line for the Consultation counter because I had new insurance cards.

I asked if I could just pay for my prescriptions out of pocket because I had just been discharged from the Hospital and wanted to get home and take an undisturbed nap.

"Well, your prescriptions aren't ready," the clerk replied.

I looked at the clock. My prescription wasn't ready, and in ten minutes they were scheduled to stop for a half hour lunch break. No way I wanted to wait forty minutes or more.

"What the heck," I thought, "I'll get them another day."

It was only pain medicines, and since I wasn't in pain, why put my body through the stress of waiting forty minutes plus for something I didn't really need?

So we went home (and I haven't felt the need to go back yet).

Okay, so 'nuff said about that.

It's Tuesday on TRAC (The Road Ahead Cafe).?

I began my morning by road testing this week's 5 minute Clarity Meditation. It's lovely but I prefer my own purpose-driven mindful meditation. It combines clearing my mind with focusing my intention.

Then I kickstarted my work day at 8:00 pm by getting on a Zoom Group Focused Work session in our virtual Coffee House for an hour of uninterrupted work.

I've scheduled 15 minutes off work later at 3:00 to take a break, and to watch this week's TED Talk in The Best Life Theater. These are always interesting and you never know when one will really level up your day.

For my morning break I had raisins and nuts while reading this week's BEST LIFE BLOG. It features a good one from Eric Barker on the proper use of 'strategy,' for getting what you want. I liked that he makes things pragmatic and useable.?

Now I didn't take notes. We don't get on TRAC to take on more work.

We want to step outside our business and focus on our Self, the human behind our work, but we don't want that to turn into more work!

So I just enjoyed what I read with no effort to memorize or get what Barker has given. Whatever sticks, cool. Whatever doesn't is cool too!

January's focus on TRAC is about crafting our best lifestyle. Over twelve months we cover relationships, health, work, play and more, so it is quite a comprehensive journey.

The Spark Question this week is?

"Will I schedule some time today for my well-being?

But I was thinking that members might misunderstand the intent behind that question. ?

It is not about accountability. "Hey, will you or will you not schedule some time today?" That's harsh and Otto hears a subtext of "Because if you don't schedule some time, you're a bum!"

That's not how we do stuff here on TRAC.

Everything is about leveling up flow and fulfillment; using less effort but experiencing a more fulfilling journey and outcome. (I mean, a person could wander all over the internet and find these resources themselves, but we gather them all together in one place to make things easier for us.)

So the Spark Question is just about reminding Otto, "Hey Otto, wonder if Pathfinder is going to be able to arrange it so we end up scheduling some time for our well-being."

Not Otto's job. Let's see what Pathfinder comes up with.

Okay, I'm noticing that it is still snowing outside as I am on TRAC, in the virtual Coffee House, this time listening to soft jazz rather than the ambient coffee house background soundtrack.

I'm going to walk around to prevent blood clots, use my incentive spirometer to keep my lungs in tip top shape, and change my medical dressing. Then maybe a coffee and a bit of light conversation with Jeanne!

My best to you!

peter ????

Tip of the hat to my TRAC cohosts Rick Gabrielly and Frank van den Horst

Shout out to Tina Kadish , Philip Rutigliano, and CoachGlo Favreau, CCP ??