Progress

I’m halfway through my second consecutive UBBT and as some of my students approach their black belt grading, I have been reflecting upon the value of the UBBT process. The relentless march of time is something we do not have any control over but we do have 100% authority over what we do with our time.

I shudder when I think about the amount of time I have wasted over the past twenty years - always waiting for significant ‘free’ time to apply to my kung fu. Raising my children and running my business all while working a full time job, pretty much guarantees the term ‘significant free time’ will never apply to me. The power of incremental progression has become the lynchpin in my training regime.

Over the past couple of years I have been able to annex over two hours a day to apply to my kung fu. A schedule like mine only provides for snippets of free time several times throughout the day but by applying myself consistently during these seemingly insignificant intermittent intervals, I end every day several steps closer to achieving mastery.

My daily meditation regime continues to be an integral part of my training success. Meditating gives my mind the focus to recognize the multitude of opportunities as they present themselves that allow me to progress incrementally everyday. After a couple of years of small daily progress, I have achieved significant improvement in areas that have been stagnant for a long time.

If only I had applied myself this way twenty years ago....

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” - Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)