The human body is a miraculous creation capable of many great things. Next year at this time, you will be a new person. Literally! All the cells of our bodies are replaced every 12 months. How come we look the same year after year? Maybe even worse as time goes on. It's because our minds get in the way! We start a new regimen with high hopes of achieving our vision. We hit the workouts and the diets hard making it our number one priority. Time goes by with little improvements, but we're determined to finally make a change. More time goes by and we see even less improvements so we begin to slow down a little bit. We start missing workouts and slipping up on our diets. We start saying, "Monday, I'm going to hit it hard again." Somehow Monday seems to have come and gone and now it's Thursday and you haven't trained once. So you settle for mediocrity.
Imagine that you have a vision in your right hand. Hold it up high. In your left hand you have reality. Hold it down low. Connecting your two hands is a rubber band. Peter M. Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, calls this your creative tension. Your goal is to bring your left hand, reality, to your right hand, vision. The vision hand is up high for a reason. It symbolizes the top, a mountain peak so to speak. The reality hand is symbolic of your present state, at the bottom of the mountain preparing for your journey. Too many times in life do we strive to bring the reality hand to the vision hand, but rather give up, letting the vision hand come to the reality hand. When we do this, we're quitting. We're settling for mediocrity. Mr. Senge says, "Most people's lives are like the food in my freezer. Not quite bad enough to throw out and not quite good enough to eat."
We live in a life controlled by the dynamics of cause and effect. Why do people smoke? Because they're not going to die the moment the cigarette touches their lips. Why do people eat those Krispy Kreme donuts, even though they're so high in fat and partially hydrogenated oils? Because they don't see the effects at that exact moment. I guarantee that if at the moment you swallow that delicious donut your pant buttons pop open with each bite, you'd reconsider. Since that doesn't happen, we continue our eating habits, waiting for Monday to come.
Okay, so how do we get out of this viscous cycle? It's easy! I hope that puts you at ease a little bit. And it's hard at the same time. Unfortunately, there is no potion that will transform you or make you workout. I read a book recently, called Good to Great by Jim Collins. It's about the qualities of a company that make it successful. Many times during the book I kept finding myself thinking about these companies like our bodies. Basically Mr. Collins research shows that great companies are not built overnight, but rather over time. They also experience many setbacks that help make them the great company that they are. When this crawl, walk, run approach is taken, a great company becomes "Built to Last." Our bodies are no different. If your mindset is to transform your body with ease, and be sent on your way, you'll be sadly mistaken.
You must make a new lifestyle for yourself. Not a diet. Not a workout. A lifestyle. Have you ever heard a person in great shape say they're out of shape? Does it make you sick? This person probably hasn't been training in Taekwondo as often as they like or maybe they're in an off season, but an athletic person is never really out of shape because being conditioned and healthy is a lifestyle for them.
You may have made a committment to your Taekwondo training. Make this a priority like you make brushing your teeth a priority. You brush your teeth probably because you know and have experienced the effects of cavities.
You need to supply the personal commitment to start leading a new lifestyle. Diligent Taekwondo training can be a big commitment. It's easy to do if we cancel all of our daily appointments, miss out on family time, etc. Usually, when we do this we're bombarded after several weeks of neglecting the important things in our life. Do not make Taekwondo training a hiatus from the rest of your life. Just like eating steak, cut the fat out. Your day should consist of what matters most. Try using a planner or some other time management system.
Good luck to you!
Respectfully,
Master Richardson
Chief Master Instructor
The Academy of World Taekwondo
http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com
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