Qualities of a Black Belt

Intensity is probably the most difficult quality to develop in a prospective black belt. It is one of the qualitative qualities that tends to be more of an abstraction for most people than something they can specifically define. More people have failed to pass their black belt grading because of a lack of intensity than for any other reason.

Intensity is not about what you do. In fact, what you are doing is completely irrelevant. Intensity is about how you do whatever you are doing. It is about your focus and your effort. Intensity can be taught on the mats but it has to be developed off the mats so that it permeates itself into all aspects of your life. If you want to earn a black belt, intensity has to be present in everything you do, not just your training.

If you are withdrawing and not engaging, you are extinguishing intensity. It is difficult to stimulate intensity if you never venture outside of your comfort zone. Staying in the present moment and proceeding boldly is the kindling that fuels intensity. Always be aware of where you are and what you are doing.

“The best training program in the world is absolutely worthless without the will to execute it properly, consistently, and with intensity.” - John Romaniello (b. 1982)

Positive Action

A lot of people are struggling with motivation right now. Yes the pandemic has intensified a lot of issues for a lot of people, but these motivational issues have always been here and will always be here until they are dealt with.

Motivation is a chicken or egg proposition. It is a matter of changing your attitude so that you can take action to change your situation. Sometimes though, taking action will initiate the change in attitude that you are looking for. This is why I tell my students that if they do not feel like training, they need to train. This strategy is foolproof and it always works IF it is applied consistently. Always apply the strategy and it will always work. Only apply the strategy some of the time and it will only work some of the time.

Practice breeds competence and competence breeds confidence. Nothing changes a negative attitude faster than confidence. Never underestimate the power of positive action.

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

Acts of Discipline

One of my students introduced a “No Added Sugar Challenge” for the month of April so I spent the entire month avoiding eating anything with added sugar. I did not go out of my way to analyze the ingredients of everything I consumed, but I stayed aware of my commitment and was true to the spirit of the challenge.

I like taking on acts of discipline challenges throughout the year to keep me focused on mastery. The no added sugar challenge did not disappoint me. I found my focus on staying engaged in the challenge permeated into other areas of my life. April turned out to be a banner month of accomplishments for me.

No matter the magnitude, an act of discipline is never wasted.

“In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first.” - Harry S. Truman (1884 - 1972)

Two Weeks

Tomorrow my dad will have been gone two weeks. It definitely is not getting easier, in fact it still has not totally sunk in that I will not see him again. The one positive thing is that my mind is filled with mostly happy memories of him. I was scared that my only memories would be of his final years fighting COPD, dementia, and then him dying alone.  Small blessings I guess. 

My dad did die alone though, as are a lot of other people during this pandemic. Listening to people talk about being judged about their personal decisions or hearing people put a spin on the situation by trying to make what they are doing to be about freedom and censorship boggles my mind. Just because people do not agree with you does not mean they are not listening to you. However, you cannot demand that someone respect your decision or your point of view. Respect must be earned. Your personal opinions do not trump science and proven facts. 

My dad died alone and he did not have to die alone. He died alone because this province cannot do what needs to be done to control this pandemic. We are blessed to live in a free society. Those freedoms come with a price. That price is responsibility. Look out for everyone else and everyone else should be looking out for you. We are in this together. Inconvenience for the good of your community is not the suppression of your rights. Surely we all understand this simple concept. 

We need to get it together and start doing what is right. People are dying unnecessarily. People, like my dad, are dying alone. 

“When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.” — Edith Hamilton (1867 - 1963)

A New World

This past week has been a week filled with change. This week is the first week the world, for me, has existed without my dad in it. I have been preparing for this inevitability for a long time yet somehow I was not prepared when the time came. It is even more difficult today than it was when he died a week ago. 

My dad spent his final year mostly alone. The timing of the pandemic could not have been worse. It is frustrating that a man who spent his entire life in service of others was forced to end his days isolated because so many of us cannot wrap our minds around the concept that freedom comes with responsibility. I am gobsmacked at the irony of him dying alone while others are out enjoying themselves at an illegal rodeo the very same week.

“My father said there were two kinds of people in the world: givers and takers. The takers may eat better, but the givers sleep better.” — Marlo Thomas (b. 1937)