Hikone Castle and Personal Improvement

 The Japanese love their castles! These castle shots are all from Hikone Castle, one of the highlights from Lake Biwako.

This is the final part of my five part series. The best for last? You decide!

Those of you who know me well know that I am very committed to becoming a better and better person. This is definitely a work in progress as I will be the first to admit that I have a long ways to go! Below are the primary categories for my ongoing efforts.

RELATIONSHIPS

In many ways, this may be the most challenging area for me. I recently started re-reading the engaging book, Atomic Habits. The author, James Clear, has started an app that helps with the development and implementation of habits. One of the habits I am working on is keeping my cool when I get frustrated, especially when interacting with those closest to me. Sound familiar?

BODY FAT PERCENTAGE

With all the exercise I get, you would think I would not have to worry about what and when I eat. No such luck! I have had a tendency to each some rich late night snacks just before going to bed. I have made an Atomic Habits goal to change that tendency. 

Funny story! Back in 2019, I told Setsuko that there were no scales that could measure body fat percentages. She disagreed with me. Unbeknownst to me, she was right! I bought the Tanita Body Fat Scale and have used it ever since. 

I was shocked at my first readings. Almost 26% body fat! I was able to reduce that to 17% in 2021. Unfortunately, my recent readings have been 21-22%. My goal is to get that below 20%. No more late night rich snacks!

ACCEPTING ADVICE

Many years ago, my mom made an interesting comment about me. She said that I was just like my father in that I had a way of taking the difficult and challenging pathway through life. Put differently, she was insinuating that I was fiercely stubborn and independent. While that has its advantages, it can be easily become a weakness when it comes to accepting help and advice. Yes, this is another Atomic Habit in process!

READING AND RESEARCH AND CURRENT EVENTS

This is a real success story. It all started when Yahoo put out the word that my Yahoo customized home page was going to disappear and I should try their new format. I took a look at it and did not like it! That pushed me to investigate new possibilities. I hit the jackpot!

I discovered a company titled protopage: https://www.protopage.com/

I was looking for a home page that would be user friendly for accessing a variety of new sources. It does that and so much more! Here is a summary of how I have customized these pages.

1. Home page: to do list widgets that are categorized
2. A link to my climate page that has 6 different climate new sources.
3. A link to my News 2 page, which includes widgets with links to 7 different news sources, including The Christian Science Monitor and NPR.
4. A link to my News page, which includes widgets with links to 6 additional news sources, including the New York Times and the Washington Post.
5. A link to my World page, which includes 3 different news widgets, including The Japan Times.
6. A link to my Sports page, which has 4 different sports widgets.
7. A link to my Interesting/Nice page, which includes 5 different widgets, including "All That's Interesting" and "Heroic" from Brian Johnson. 
8. A link to my Reference/Personal Development page, which includes my personal development goals and the weather.com site for Fuchu.

In short, this has given me a way to list and track many of the important areas and interests in my life. I cannot say enough about the quality of this site! Please let me know if I can answer your questions about this great site!

LONGEVITY AND HEALTH

So far, so good! I will turn 69 this coming August. Below is a list of the steps I am taking to try to get to 100 years of age!

1. Exercise daily.
2. Weight training 3-7 times per week.
3. Consistent stretching. 
   
4. Consistent weekly workouts that get my heart rate out of the "comfortable" zone for 5-10 minutes.
5. Attention to my diet and related habits.
6. Consistent mental challenges from teaching and my climate work.
7. Regular reading that expands my horizons and challenges me to think about our world as it exists today and and as it existed in the past.
   
8. Social time with Setsuko and with my friends.
9. New challenges, including learning Japanese and obtaining my TEFL certificate for teaching English as a second language.
   
10. Continuing to develop my music skills by playing the guitar and singing and playing the piano.
11. Continue to work on improving our marriage by supporting Setsuko and her efforts.
12. Give back by volunteering and donating to worthy organizations. 
13. Go to bed early and get at least 8 hours of sleep. 
14. Continue to work on becoming a better and better person!

Well, I guess I have my work cut out for me!

On that note, I wish you all a Happy New Year and a great start to 2025!

All the best,

Bob