COMMITMENT

It’s a proven phenomenon that gym memberships explode at the beginning of the year. Why? Because many people take the arrival of 365 brand new days as an opportunity to make some changes in their lives. New Year’s resolutions around getting in shape, losing weight, and feeling better about ourselves often translate into trotting down to the local gym and signing up for a membership.

Of course it’s also a proven phenomenon that the majority of those resolutions go by the wayside after a month or two. “I’m going to get into shape!” turns into “I’m really too tired to go to the gym,” and 67 percent of those who sign up for a gym membership never bother to show up.

The coming New Year means that a lot of us will be making New Year’s resolutions about a lot of things—losing weight, doing better in school, being nicer to the people around us. It’s a great idea to be committed to something, to make a promise to ourselves and to others to improve and to be better people.  But commitment without follow through is like tea without water—you only have half the ingredients you need for success.

If you’re among the millions of people who will make a New Year’s resolution this year, be sure you’re doing it the right way. Don’t just make a promise, make a commitment. As the old joke goes, if you want to understand the difference between involvement and commitment, consider a plate of eggs and bacon: the chicken was involved; the pig was committed.

So, how do we move from making a promise to ourselves to being fully committed to carrying it out? Here are five tips for making—and keeping—a successful New Year’s resolution. And, the best part is, you don’t have to wait until the new year to start putting this discipline into place in your life!

Set realistic goals

Rather than saying to yourself, “I’m going to run a marathon tomorrow!” Set a goal to start running a short distance every day, and to increase that distance every month. If you start out running a mile, by the time the next new year arrives, you could very well be in shape for that marathon you dream of.

Keep a record of your progress

Nothing succeeds like success, and seeing your progress documented on paper (or your laptop) will help you see how far you’ve come. As you track and review your progress to your goal or goals, remember: it’s progress, not perfection. Be gentle with yourself.

Work with someone else

Most of us can lie to ourselves, but we find it a lot harder to be dishonest with a friend. If you’re looking to lose weight, find a buddy who shares your goal and let him know you want to work together. Make an agreement that you will share your progress, your challenges, your victories and your pitfalls honestly and without any judgment. Having someone else to work with and be accountable to is an incredible motivator—for BOTH of you!

Use technology

There are a variety of software applications available to help you create, track, update, and maintain goals of just about any variety. If your goals involve fitness, consider adding a “fit bit” to your tech arsenal. These tiny devices track your workouts and send results right to your smart phone, tablet, or computer so you can aggregate and review your results in real time.

So, make big, hairy, awesome goals in 2015 and be sure to keep them (at least a few)! Remember:

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.”

― Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Happy New Year!

Cultivating Kansha

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

For many of us, the holidays are a good time to think about gratitude. Thanksgiving brings us the opportunity to enjoy time with friends and family around a table brimful of good food and cheer; the winter holidays that follow underscore the many reasons we have to be grateful.

Sometimes, however, gratitude can be difficult to summon up. We wake up with a headache, the coffee maker breaks, the bus is late, and the dog pees on our shoes. Nothing, it seems, is working out and life is just a big bowl of bummer.

A man was once talking with a friend, complaining about his life. “Be grateful,” admonished his friend.

“But I’ve nothing—NOTHING—to be grateful for!” retorted the man.

“Well, let me ask you this,” replied the friend. “Are you on fire right now?”

Flummoxed, the man replied, “Well, of course not!”

“Well, start with that,” said the friend with a smile.

Even on the worst of days, we can always find something for which we can be grateful. A great way to cultivate gratitude is to start a daily gratitude list. Keep a notebook beside your bed and, every day when you get up, write down a thing or two about which you’re grateful (pro tip: If you can’t think of anything, just be grateful you’re not on fire). These can be simple things like “I woke up this morning,” or “my bed is warm.” Gratitude doesn’t have to be for huge wins or enormous benefits. The little things that make life worth living are certainly worth our gratitude!

At the end of a week, take a moment to review your list. There should be, if you’ve been diligent, a reasonably long list of things that you’ve been grateful for during the course of your week. As you continue to keep your gratitude list, refer to it from time to time—especially when you’re tempted to think that you’ve nothing about which to be grateful!

How does gratitude play out in the Dojo? It’s pretty simple when you think about it. If you’ll recall from our discussion about the relationship between Kohai and Sempai, there is an underlying sense of gratitude that should exist between both the eager student and the willing teacher. The student is grateful for the lessons learned at the feet of a masterful teacher; the teacher is grateful for the opportunity to hone her skills and remain sharp so she can be the best teacher she can be.

On and off the mats, we can always find a reason to be grateful. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wisely said, “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

Without gratitude, we cannot fully appreciate the people and circumstances that have conspired on our behalf to bring us to where we are today. Gratitude is foundational for a happy and fulfilling life, and it’s equally important for the Martial Artist who wants to have a full and meaningful practice.

Mindful Martial Arts

“Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.”

― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Before you continue reading this post, take a moment to try an experiment. Close your eyes for a minute and pay attention to the thoughts that are going through your head.

Chances are, when you place focused attention on your mind, you’ll notice a lot of different thoughts flying through your mental landscape: concerns about a homework assignment, remembering to take the car in for an oil change, dredging up a days-old argument with a loved one. Thinking (even a lot of it) is perfectly natural and very useful—it’s what our brains are really good at doing!

The problem is that if you’re thinking of one thing while doing another, you’re really not doing a good job with either one. If you’re so wrapped up thinking about the next episode of your favorite television show when your girlfriend is talking to you, you’ll end up in hot water with her when she realizes you really aren’t paying attention! At the Dojo, if you’re too busy worrying about tomorrow’s math test to focus on the instruction Sensei is offering, you are missing vital information that’s critical to your development as a Martial Artist.

What to do about all this thinking? Fortunately, there is a meditation practice for everyday life called mindfulness. Mindfulness practice is about being fully aware and fully present, right now. The regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow are not what concern the mindful warrior: it’s far more vital to be fully engaged in the Now.

Mindfulness practice can be used for a lot of things. We can practice mindful listening, mindful talking, mindful walking, even mindful dishwashing—anything, really, that you do in the course of a day can be done mindfully. Simply focusing on the act of breathing in and breathing out while we do something—like brushing our teeth—can bring us fully into the present moment and enhance our experience of what’s happening, right now.

There’s plenty of science out there suggesting that mindfulness is extremely beneficial for athletes of all kinds. Mindfulness exercises specifically designed for athletes have been shown to improve concentration and performance. Mindfulness, it turns out, is good for mind and body.

At the Dojo, we can practice mindfulness with a simple exercise:

“Breathing in, I am aware of my body in the Dojo. Breathing out, I am grateful for my Sensei’s instruction.”

A simple exercise, but once you begin working mindfulness into your Martial Arts training, you’ll soon find that you can apply it to everything you do. Our friends at Kicksite have a bit more to say on the subject, and we encourage you to check out their recent article about mindfulness and the Martial Artist. If you’re looking to expand your mindfulness practice, a great starting point is available here.

So, the next time your feel yourself distracted during class, or not paying attention to the conversation happening around you, take a moment to reset and practice mindfulness. Breathe. Concentrate. Become aware. Your life will be made immeasurably better—and your Martial Arts discipline that much stronger—when you do!

“As an archer aims an arrow, the wise aim their restless thoughts, hard to aim, hard to restrain.”

~The Dhammapada, “Mind.”