We talk about “there is Kung fu every day” but dreaming about Kung fu is a whole different level.
I have dreams about Kung fu. And in the most recent ones I am analyzing techniques with other black belts. Now I wish I could remember all that was in the dream because I’m sure there was lots of good stuff discussed. But I only remember parts of t (which is also great).
Going to tryout some of these insights.
Challenges has always been a great motivator if you join. In the past, I had the plank challenge, the squat thrust challenge, and few more. These were great to keep me accountable and motivated to practice in areas I needed to.
But if you do not join a challenge, you are missing an opportunity. If you are serious about your training, you should really join these challenges. If you are struggling with your training, you should really join these challenges.
Challenges are not easy. If they were, we would not call them "challenges" :-). You have to work in order to progress.
Join a challenge!
How do you evaluate art?
It can be hard because a piece of art can seem to be exceptional to some while ordinary to others.
Kung Fu is an art and we could be evaluating the same technique differently.
But there are some fundamentals that are not debatable and in my opinion can be easily measured. And cannot be faked.
My back is hurting more in the last couple weeks. It was getting better but now it is going back. What is good is that I know I can get it to a better place. And I will.
$$$ - if I paid for it, I will use it. So if I paid for a gym membership, I will use it to make sure I make my money worth it. If it is for free - it is easier to stop and quit.
Although it is nice to get free services and free items. It is more motivating when you actually paid for them. Like - I should use my running shoes that I spent good money on. I should go to the gym because I am already paying.
Might not be the best way to get motivated - but it works for me.
One of the ways that help us to reach our goals is to make sure someone is holding us accountable. I find that I need someone with "authority". I can't just have a family member or a friend to keep me accountable to keep me going and stay on track with my goal. But a health professional, or a manager at work will work great. I need someone I can be "scared" of. Not just anyone.
It was raining early today and as I was driving on the slippery road I was thinking about how easy it is to lose your grip and slip into the ditch.
Literally but then also in Kung fu. It is too easy to stop practicing and fall into the ditch of mediocrity. It is way harder to get back on the road. Wheels spinning in the snow...
I kept saying to myself- stay on the road. Stay on the road.
I used to hate horse stance. It was always so hard. A game changer for me was after I started working on my hip flexibility. Being able to open up the hips allows me to do better horse stance for a longer time.
Still hard but feels so much better. I have so much more to work on my flexibility but I’m on the right track.
One of the things I hate the most is favoritism. When people get better or different treatment just because they are more liked.
Why do we like some people more than others? Because they are like us? Because they are not like us? Because we see great potential or because there is almost none.
I want to treat people the same way regardless of their (fill the blank). I hope I do.
When I put a practice plan I know what I’m going to do and I probably avoid the drills I don’t really like.
Random practice like the advent challenge are great way to do training I wouldn’t normally do.
Sometimes you just can’t make it. Right? Then it is ok to just give up.
Just writing this makes me feel so mediocre.
Why can’t I do it? No reason. Lots of excuses. But it doesn’t matter. I have to push through. This is who I am. Not giving up. Do the best I can.
So now I have 20 more power of the instep to do. I still have time to do it and maybe even more.
I’ve been thinking about growth quite a lot in the last little while. If you noticed that.
Sometimes, you’re not ready to learn something. It’s not that you don’t want to learn but sometimes you don’t have the capacity to completely comprehend the lesson.
There were times I was thought a lesson and only after I had the same lesson few years after I truly understood what the lesson was about.
And then it takes even more time until you’re actually able to implement what’s in the lesson. Growth is a journey. It takes time.
We always want more. I want a bigger house, a faster car, a tastier steak... But we do need to be happy with what we've got. This is true for our physical needs but not for our learning. As mentioned yesterday - self improvement is an on-going journey. You always want to get better. To have more knowledge. Develop better skills.
But even with growth we sometimes need to pause (not stop) and reflect on everything we got. I want to try to be able to reflect more on where I am. I think this is also part of my growth.
This will allow me to see what I have achieved and also help me have a better understanding of what are my next steps.
The more I learn the more I realize how much I don’t know. This statement, while true, can be perceived negative and stop you from learning more. But if you change your perspective and take it as an opportunity to keep on learning, then it is positive. The more I learn the more opportunities I have to keep on learning.
