Keep Right, & Whatever You Do, Keep Moving Forward

"You can't fail. The further you fall, the greater the opportunity for growth and change." -Julie Newmar

I really enjoy reading some of Gordon Byrn's blog posts. Although I have never met the man personally--we do share mutual friends--he seems like a pretty enlightened, and highly achieved human being. Based on what I know of the man, he is the type of person that I strive to be.

Some of his thoughts can be quite difficult for me as his material is basically about looking at our bad habits, the things that we don't do well, and working towards eliminating these things. I like to think of it as trimming the fat. Some times my strategy for dealing with my "challenges" is to work harder. This makes things better about half the time. Sometimes more work is necessary to get things done better and more efficiently; however there are other times that I need to re-evaluate so that I can to see what isn't working and then strategize how to best deal with the issues at hand. Irregardless, it can be pretty hard to look right at yourself, and say, "There are things that I am not good at." As much as it pains me to admit this, awareness of these things is the only way to make changes for the better. Denial is simply us being weak enough to not fully grasp what it takes to become stronger or knowing good and well what we need to do in order to change; however not taking action to do so.

One of the things that I have noticed with most people who want to improve their fitness efficiency and effectiveness is that they take lessons. Then they go back to their workouts and continue to practice their old habits. I find this rather odd, but it does make sense. What we perceive as us doing something right isn't really right at all.  I see it in myself, which is probably why I can see it in others. With this new found awareness, my plan right now is to only practice what I know and have confidence I can practice "correctly."  In short, I'm not going to go back to old habits just to make simply get through the day, my workout, or any activity whatsoever.  I'm going to focus first on the right way of the technique; for right now, time is a secondary concern.

Anyway, as I make these changes, it's going to hurt. I understand that in order for me to grow in my physical performance I must grow in my mental performance.  I'm going to be frustrated, I'm going to want to go back to my old style and habits, and I'm going to be upset that I'm not getting better fast enough. Too bad! I must keep on focusing on the small changes and take each day at a time. But the good news is that if I am willing to negotiate with my resistance to change, I will improve, and things will get better. I simply need to persevere through consistent practice no matter what my schedule throws at me, what happens at work, at home, or what arises in my day. Today I will focus on changing myself.