Taking It Back and Bringing It Forward

There are times when results just do not reflect the effort being put into an endeavour. Progression paralysis can hit at anytime. It can be frustrating when you are doing everything you can physically do to improve yet your outcome does not meet your expectations. Sometimes we forget that knowledge is not the same as skill. Sometimes what we are doing is not the problem. Sometimes the problem is how we are thinking.

In kung fu, much of what I teach today is knowledge I have had for decades but did  not have the experience to fully understand it enough to be able to pass it on to my students. I have learned that knowledge plus wisdom equals skill. Book smart is more knowledge, street smart is more skill.

Experience you acquire gives you the opportunity to turn the lessons of yesterday into the new lessons of today. If you only take your new experiences and only apply them moving forward, you are missing out on so much knowledge that could benefit from your newfound wisdom.

After every class I teach, I remind my senior students that they have just acquired enough knowledge in the last hour to keep them busy for the next decade IF they take their new insights and apply them to all their old lessons and bring them forward with with this new perspective. Old knowledge is new again.

“Learning how to learn is life’s most important skill.” - Tony Buzan (b. 1942)

Level the Playing Field

We are all the same. No matter our race or religion, we are basically the same. Our values, despite what the extremists on either side of an issue may say, are all the same. Being the same is not the equivalent of being equal.

Being caucasian and born in Canada, I have won the lottery. Through no fault or merit of my own, I was born in the best country on the planet and am not a visible minority. I have never known hunger, persecution, or real fear. This is not the case for much of the world’s population. For most of the planet, the second they enter the world, they are literally fighting for their survival. Food, shelter, safety, everything I take for granted, are not so easy for most people.

It’s easy to say “no free rides” and insist that everyone earn their own way. What is not easy is recognizing that we all do not enter the world on a level playing field. Recognizing the fact that none of us had done anything to earn our birthright goes a long way in empathizing with the dire situation much of the world’s population find themselves in. Wanting a better life for your family is an inherent wish for all mankind. For some of us this is not even a concern because of the luck of your birth location.

We are all the same but we don’t all have the same advantages.

“Safety should be a birthright” - Clemantine Wamariya (b. 1968)

Eye For Detail

A dream is a goal without a tangible plan, and action without mindful intent is just chaos in the wind.

“My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

Self Help

There are many self-help programs out there. Each one has its own angle of approach in helping people reach their goals. One thing they all have in common is the word ‘self’.

No program in the world is going to help you unless you actually do the work. A mentor can only do so much and is pretty much relegated to the sidelines as your coach and cheerleader. They can show you the way but you have to make the journey yourself.

Usually the only thing standing between yourself and your goals is yourself. Success can just be a matter of getting out of your own way.

“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” - George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)