Sustainability

Sustainability - able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed

This is a concept that I've been giving a great deal of thought to lately.  The definition above is not the first one that popped up when I googled it but it most certainly matched where my thoughts have been.


Mastery is a relentless journey.  It is a destination that cannot every be truly reached and it is extremely easy to get off in the weeds of mediocrity.  It is life long journey.  I plan to live a very long time and, therefore, my journey then will also be very long.


Our society is very driven by instant gratification.  We want it all and we want it now.  In our drive to have it all now, often little thought is given to sustainability.  We see that in our environment, in our relationships, in our health, in nearly every single area of our lives.


Considering the choices we have all made to be in the IHC, physical health is obviously a priority to each of us.  For those of us who are still queue belts, we are working towards our next belt with the ultimate goal of becoming a black belt someday.  For years the thought of that "someday" was safely tucked away in the "that'll never happen" place of my brain.  As I get closer, I am finding that I am starting to look at the requirements to grade and thinking about how I could start preparing.  I know that I need to lose some extra weight, gain strength, stamina, flexibility and quite honestly a belief that it is possible.  Yet in all of this, I recognize that I am not a spring chicken any longer and that this journey needs to be addressed in a sustainable manner.  I do not want a black belt at all cost.  I do not want to be completely used up or destroyed in the process.


I recognize that I am participating in a martial art.  I know that injuries can and do happen.  I look around the kwoon and there are injured people everywhere.  I have my own issues that I am already dealing with in my hips and knees.  I recognize that pain and aches will be a part of the process.  I am working to recognize when a pain is a slap an Advil on it and carry on kind of pain and when a pain is a better get that checked out kind of pain.  I had a great talk with Sifu Hayes last week on this topic and he has given me some action items that I am working on pursuing.


Anyways, that has been where my thoughts have been especially focused over the past week.  Now off to keep moving forward in a slow, steady, sustainable fashion!  Off to class I go....

Mastery in the Day to Day

I've been doing a great deal of reflection around the process of mastery and what it means in my life this week.  It all started with a podcast that I was listening to last week while driving around.  I've developed the habit of turning one on when I'm in the car, especially if I am alone but even sometimes I subject my kids to them...  I can't tell you where I was driving or even the name of the podcast but I distinctly remember some of the statements that were made about mastery.


A good place to start on any journey is a definition.  Definitions like comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject were what the internet was giving me.  At first that definition felt a little less than inspiring until then I used the great google machine to look up comprehensive.  The definition of comprehensive is complete.  Then I tried to apply that definition to the mastery of life.  Yup, that would be why we focus on the process and not the destination because I honestly don't believe we can ever have complete knowledge or understanding of anything.  So here we are on a journey towards an unreachable destination.


Then enter the thoughts from the podcast...  They were discussing how everyone says that they want to live a life of mastery and many start out on the journey but few continue down the path.  Based on my experience with the I Ho Chuan, that seems to represent what I see time and time again.  We all start the year super excited and then many fizzle.  This is in a group of people who believe they want mastery so badly that they were willing to sign up to do some pretty crazy requirements and pay money to do them.  This is in a group that has tremendous support networks built into it.  The podcast described the actual journey of mastery in several very unattractive terms such as boring, tedious, monotonous...  Not very attractive for sure but really very accurate. 


In a society that is filled with shiny opportunities, it is hard to do the hard work of mastery.  The shiny is always ready to pull us away from the hard work mastery requires.  The thought of mastery may be shiny which is why many are attracted to the concept BUT it is in the day to day that progress is made.  It is in dropping to do those push ups and sit ups.  It is in doing the form reps.  It is in writing down each and every number.  It is in this daily steps that many people get lost and fall off.


So how do we keep on the path?  How do we fight the shiny that society throws our way?  For me, the most valuable tools have been tracking my numbers and reflecting on my journey both in my personal journal and in my weekly public journal.  By no means has my journey been characterized by consistency - currently my numbers are not even close to where they need to be.  BUT I keep picking myself back up and putting myself back on the path.


For those of you who are nailing your journey this year - keep up the great work!  You inspire us!


For those of you who are struggling right now - reach out, dust yourself off and start again.  Pick just one requirement and go do it now (and then record it somewhere).  Together we can keep heading in the right direction.

Small Tweak, Huge Benefit

One of my personal requirements since I started this journey years ago was to keep a daily personal reflection and prayer journal.  It was to be my daily check in with myself.  A time to look at my successes, to look at where I am falling short and to make a plan for correction.  Keeping a daily eye on where you are and where you want to be helps to keep life a little more on course.  Even when it is off course, you know exactly where the issue is.  No hiding....


I have found over the past year or so that a pattern has developed in my daily journals.  One of my character attributes is that I set very high standards for myself.  This is a benefit in the sense that it I am always wanting to grow and learn to improve myself.  There is a not so awesome side to this too though.  I am not always realistic when setting expectations for myself.  Really, why can't I do it all, perfectly, right now...  As I reflect back looking at my journals, there is a great deal of negativity.  I wake up ready to face the day.  I make a list of things to get done that no mere mortal can accomplish.  I obviously do not even make a small dent in it.  Then I journal about how I failed again.  Not a great way to close a day.  Not great thoughts to be filling my mind with as I drift off to sleep.  Then I would get tired of the cycle so I would take a break from journaling.  Then I would get upset with myself for that as well.  Negative, negative, negative....


This last week I've been experimenting with journaling in the morning instead.  I have to say - I am loving it!!!  Mornings are so filled with hope and promise.  This gives me a place and space to work through my thoughts when they are in a positive light.  This allows me to look at my day very proactively.  I am working through my tendencies to over plan and over expect.  I am working through how to be more realistic with myself and then be kinder to myself.  I am working through the managing my emotions during the stresses of life (especially the stresses I place upon myself trying to be perfect).  This is allowing me to set a positive intention for my day and gives me a place to go back and really look at it.  If I want to sit and journal again at night, the option is still there.  I am finding though, that the lens that I use to look at my day is a little less clouded with negativity when I look at it after a good nights sleep.


Just a small tweak but over the last week, I have seen huge benefits already.

A Battle Cry!

The possibility of mediocrity exists for everyone, because being mediocre simply means choosing- whether consciously or unconsciously- to be the same as you've always been. Mediocrity has nothing to do with how you compare to other people; it's simply a result of not making a commitment to continuously learn, grow, and improve yourself. Whereas being extraordinary- which leads to extraordinary levels of success- is a result of choosing to learn, grow, and be just a little bit better each day than you've been in the past.  - Hal Elrod in The Miracle Morning

 I'm not going to lie.  The past few weeks have been really tough for me.  Physically, I have not felt this good in probably close to 15 years.  Mentally, though, I've been a hot mess.  In my mental messiness, many of my requirements have taken quite a beating.  Then, I was beating myself up about that, which only leads to more mess.  On and on this cycle goes...  I know that many of my fellow teammates have also fallen into this cycle at some point in the past or are even struggling with it now.


One of my requirements that I have been able to stay on top of though is reading.  The Miracle Morning has been on my reading list since last fall, even before Mr. Beeler started singing it's praises.  This past week, I did finally move it to the top and start reading it.  I am finding that one of my biggest personal obstacles is the honest belief that I will get to it later and then later doesn't seem to happen.  The thought then is to rearrange my morning so that there is not need to run out of time later because the things that need doing are taken care of.


In my messiness and personal self beatings, the above quote was like a soothing balm.  I know that my forward momentum towards mastery has been taking a slower trajectory than I hoped or set goals for lately.  One thing is for sure though, no matter how hard or messy things are, I have not given up.  Every single day I have my goals in my mind and I am making intentional progress.  I may not be making enough progress to successfully complete them all but I am working on it daily.  My hope is that this quote can maybe bring some peace and comfort to others who are also struggling with the trajectory of their journey.


Here's to never giving up!