Often people have an idea in their mind, but if you ask them to articulate it, they get some kind of a mental constipation. Goal is not clear. And if you are shooting at nothing, you will get it every time.
I’ve heard a statement from several different coaches, and I read it as a quote from some of the most successful people in history. It basically says, If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.
What visualization does, it creates in our mind an image of exact goal we are trying to reach. Whether you are playing basketball or golf, throwing darts, shooting the gun, or trying to achieve some life goals, business or personal, career, fitness, or whatever, it really helps to imagine yourself achieving these goals, in your mind, first.
Now let’s look at every day life. Let’s pretend I have an argument with a person who loves to scream. Most of the time subconsciously, my opponent will try to pull me into the screaming zone, where he is a pro, and I am a guest.
There is an ancient game that exist in many countries. In the US it is known as paper-rock-scissors game. Perhaps everybody knows it. But today we will look at this game as a manual to our daily communication.
Martial arts are about developing inner balance. Yes, there’s interaction with a partner that some people perceive as fighting. However I’ve been observing every day conversations - at the store, or at the office, or just between neighbors - that have much more violence then any of the martial arts I’ve seen.
Our brain is a very complex computer. It is a controlling device of a very complicated machine which is our body. Our brain has no moral judgement or common sense. Our mind does, but not the brain. So, if we ask ourselves “Why I am feeling tired?”, trust me, our brain will come up with a very elaborate and logic explanation.
I’ve been practicing Yoga, Martial arts, Tao Yin, Qigong, Taoist and Zen practices and many other things. Not that I am practicing every discipline one hour a day. There will be not enough hours in a week to study everything. But all this knowledge helps me to develop a better picture and understand how one philosophy relates to another.
Why don’t we just love each other? Why don’t we say some good words of appreciation now? Don’t wait for the right moment, because the right moment may be one day too late. Think about that.
So, what’s the best fitness system in the world? That’s easy to answer: the best system is the one aligned with your goals and your personality type. Ultimately, that’s the one you will stick with. If you don’t know, get yourself a coach. I can recommend a couple if you need.
Here’s my point: we all walk our Path. Our Path may cross somebody else’s Path. They may interlace or go together for a while until they part. We learn what we can and we share what we know. This is life.
Perhaps many of you have heard the saying “When student is ready, teacher will appear”. I agree with that. I’d like to combine this statement with another one: “When you know how to listen, everybody is the guru.” So is it the teacher who appears, or is it just me who finally recognizes the teacher?
I’ve heard from many coaches that success happens when the opportunity and preparedness meet. I learned from John Maxwell that many people are saying, "when I get the opportunity I get ready.” And that is one of the biggest mistakes. That’s one of the reasons people fail. You don’t get the opportunity and then get ready, you get ready and then get the opportunity.
We are educated, programmed, trained and conditioned to perform certain tasks in a certain way. While we are growing up we are literally learning the ropes. Any alternative thinking inconsistent with the main trends in the society, often gets ridiculed. As a result, many people don’t even know they have a huge potential. They are supermen inside capable of much more then they think they are.
You may think you have the best vehicle in the World. Nothing wrong with that. It may actually be the best vehicle for the job it was created for. However, if you goal is to get to Hawaii, for example, you may get disappointed trying to drive your Lamborghini across the ocean. I don’t think you even need a coach to figure out that you should change your transportation in that case.
If we have some kind of an invisible ceiling above us, maybe it is a job that does not allow us to reach our potential, or maybe some other circumstances, life, family, etc., or maybe it was a series of failures that caused a lack of belief, then if we get a real opportunity we may not believe that there’s no ceiling above us. That ceiling was just an imaginary limitation we have in our mind.