Habit Building 101 - Don't Look Now! You Could Already Be a Success!

Someone (I think it was Earl Nightingale) once defined success as the progressive realisation of a worthy goal.


Or put a little more directly - success is about getting what you want

. Hopefully what you want is worthy but really you are the best judge of that.

The key for me with this quote is that success is not just the getting of the goal but also the actual steps you take to get that goal.

That is, if you are pursuing your goals you are already succeeding.

The process of self realisation is already a success and therefore something to be positive about.

I find this a comforting thought.

It's About Action

You will notice that this definition of success does not talk about how big the progress has to be - it just has to be progress.

This was brought home to me by a quote from Confucius I saw recently:

It doesn't matter how slowly you go as long as you don't stop.

Okay, this is not directly relevant but I think still on topic.

It's not about the speed, it's about the consistency of action.

Success in Kendo - Comes in Small Steps

One of the great joys for me with Kendo is that you can see the rewards of practice and persistance. 

You see it most obviously in a better cut or more generally a better gi-geiko or shiai result.

This result is the product of many factors - well actually three:

• Ki - spirit
• Ken - sword
• Tai - body

Coalescing into one whole. (Yeah, you probably knew that was coming.)

Arguably this is a state of perfection that is will rarely be achieved.

But for me this really doesn't matter - I know I will never really achieve this state at least not consistently- what matters for me is the pursuit of this state.

To achieve this state I need to focus on a number of factors including:

• my footwork
• my core strength (posture)
• my cutting: hand position, stroke/swing, timing, shinai position
• my awareness of my opponent; and 
• my awareness of myself: what am I thinking, am I thinking
• my breathing (am I breathing?)
• my projected spirit (kiai, kensen)

(And I don't think this list is exhaustive)

This will only come with consistent practice, focus, awareness AND patience.

It is probably the last bit or absence of this that screws me up the most.

It's About Patience

How do you practice patience?

• Try to learn something - really - just try and learn something. 
• Set yourself goals - not as sticks to beat yourself with but yardsticks so you know when you have made progress
• Keep track of your performance ("yardsticks"as noted above)

Examples:

My attendance at the gym.

I go regularly, I check into Foursquare each time so I (and any poor sod on Facebook who friends me) can see my attendance.

I weigh myself - not because I am a masochist - but because getting my weight down is a goal, also I need to know my weight so I can get a more accurate calorie consumption estimate.

I make a note of my calories that I consume. Right now I am using machines which calculate this so it is easy. (I also wear a heart-rate monitor and strap which helps). Yeah the machines give me estimates but as long as they are consistently accurate or inaccurate I can still see my progress.

How does this relate to patience - simple:

Training is frequently painful ("the burn")

But I progress and while I am training I tell myself I am progressing, making a difference

And it is the self talk, the messages that help me develop patience.

They also help build the mental toughness and reference points for later training at the dojo AND when I am doing other work: 

Basically because I know I can do it at the gym, I know I can do it at my desk AND at the dojo!

Here's to your success and mine.

Have a great day.

Ganbatte!