Mastery

Do you ever wonder why people go through life in an unhappy state? Why do they accept mediocrity? I have been working towards improving me and how I live my life for enough time that I am not really sure how not to be. I have a hard time imagining being dissatisfied for a long time and not doing anything about it. I know that when negative thoughts start creeping into my head that I need to figure out how they are getting in and rectify the problem. I can't begin to imagine what my life would be like if I accepted mediocrity and didn't strive to improve myself and the world around me. I am not saying that my life is perfect and that I don't make mistakes, I am saying that I am not going to accept everything as it presents itself in my world. I am going to question, explore, investigate, and change all that needs to be in order to achieve mastery.

"Correction is essential to power and mastery. You see, we are all ordinary. But a master, rather than condemning himself for his ordinariness, he embraces his ordinariness and uses it as a foundation for building the extraordinary. Instead of giving up, like ordinary people do, a master will use his ordinariness to correct his errors, which is essential in the process of attaining mastery. You must be able to correct yourself without condemning or invalidating yourself, accept results and improve upon them."

This quote is from Mastery by Stuwart Emery and these words have been helping me create the direction in my life for a while now. It has not been easy, especially the accepting part, well, and not condemning has been a bit challenging, and maybe the embracing part. Okay, so it has been challenging and sometimes down right hard. I am determined to achieve my mastery in every corner of my life, I will succeed.

Until next week, work hard and have fun.

Bullies! Who needs them?

Each time I sit down to write (possible make a video) about bullies and how to guard against them, I find that yet another one has wound it's way into my space. I am confronted with the many emotions that come along with an attack and I am challenged to separate myself from those emotions so that I can do what I set out to do. I realize as I write this that I am in exactly the right place to be writing about bullies. I can't wait until the storm has passed and then analyze the situation and gain some perspective, I need to write now while I am in the throws of it and can identify first hand what is happening.
I don't think that I am quite ready to explore my emotions on this, I have been trying to put them into to words for the last half of an hour and have not been successful. I have learned from writing this that I need to put some serious time into identifying my emotions and explaining them and dealing with them.
Until next week, work hard and have fun

Attack

I don't understand when people treat others with less respect than they deserve. I believe that all people deserve respect 100% of the time. I don't think that just because you don't agree with someone, you should talk down to them. If you have more knowledge, it is your job to teach not degrade. I also don't understand why when someone gets in trouble (caught doing something that they are not supposed to) and they try to shift the focus to everyone else, pointing out their errors and mistakes.
I am sitting here in a cloud of confusion. I returned to work, refreshed, relaxed and ready to commit to my work and I have been confronted with criticism, judgment and accusations. I am not really sure how to handle it. I know that I have done nothing wrong, save a few errors that are my normal, and I am feeling attacked from most fronts. What is one to do, hide until it blows over, confront the issues with confidence, quietly go about my business until the storm passes. I prefer to do anything but confront, I also know that what doesn't kill me will make me stronger. So confront it is.
Until next week, work hard and have fun.

New and Old

All day I have wondered what I am going to write about this week. I feel like every topic is a re-run of something that I have already written about. That is exactly what this journey is about, doing something over and over again until you get it right. I once heard a pastor speak about lessons being presented to you over and over again until you understood the message and acted upon it. Well, that is what my journey is about, learning, trying, testing, practicing, exploring over and over again, until I figure out the answer.
This week has been challenging because I have bronchitis once again. It is not as bad as it has been other times, but still requires me to modify my activities. Instead of two to three hours of hard core fitness and forms, I went slowly. I didn't complete as many reps, and I didn't perform any cardiovascular fetes, but I did mindfully practice for the same amount of time that I usually do. This is a step in the right direction.
I returned to work this week, after a month of being away from there. I did not enjoy the change in schedule and not seeing my family as much. I did enjoy seeing my clients and my team mates. I feel much calmer at work than I have before, I am sure that it has happened gradually but due to my absence, I am really noticing it. I am finding that I am not getting excited about things that I can't do anything about. This is a definite improvement.
I work really hard in my group of training mates to ensure that everyone feels supported and has everything they need to train hard core. I continue to be amazed that I am lucky enough to be a part of this group. I encourage everyone to reach out to a training mate and see if they want to work together, want to be your partner, want to practice together. The risk is well worth it.
That is what is new and old with me, until next week,
Work hard and have fun!

Many blessings

I was reading about Mr.Kreb's personal victory this weekend and it got me thinking about the amazing people that we surround ourselves with each day at kung fu.
The next time that you are lined up and waiting for class to begin, look at the people standing beside you. These are the people that will eventually inspire, encourage and challenge you in ways that you never imagined. I am constantly surrounded by people who encourage me and expect more of me that I do. These are my kung fu people. They come in all different belt levels and they all come from Silent River Kung Fu. Be open to the people that you train with and allow them to influence your sphere.
I feel blessed to be surrounded by so many like-minded people. I have been encouraged to change what I have always done to make it better. I have been challenged to question how things are put together so that I can take them apart and study them. I have been supported so that I can grow in trusting my judgment and in learning to accept my ordinariness in pursuit of mastery. I am inspired by each person that I encounter that learns the value of setting goals (some of them outrageous! seriously? the DEATH RACE????) and pushing themselves to take the steps to accomplish them.
Take a moment to appreciate the many benefits that you receive as part of our kung fu family.
Until next week, you know what to do, just go do it!