New Beginnings in 2009

First of all, congratulations to all who participated in the 5,000 kicks to Christmas kickstravaganza! Whether you did 100 kicks, 1,000, or 10,000, pushing your training to new limits and accomplishing a goal you maybe didn't think was possible is great training. It is important to expect more from our mind, body, and spirit every day.

Our minds grow sharper as they are tested. Our bodies adapt to changes we force on them, for better or for worse, so it's important to make sure the adaptations are for the better. And our spirit, our will to endure, is perhaps the most important aspect we train. What allows us to push our bodies through the threshold of exhaustion, pain, and external limitations? What allows us to push our minds past the stumbling blocks of fear, of doubt, and the desire to quit, our inner limitations? It is spirit, effort, and an iron will.

So what does this all have to do with the new year?

Each year it is a custom in America for people to make new year resolutions, to set up a series of goals they will strive to achieve. These resoultions are well known for two reasons: they are often extremely lofty goals, goals that would drastically change the quality of life for the owner of the resolution and their family, and they are, 98% of the time, completely abandoned by about March (sometimes sooner). The idea of resolving to be better, more productive, less lazy, more kind, less cranky is a good idea, we just have a problem with following through with consistent actions.

Does the fact that resolutons are hard to keep mean we should not attempt them?
Of course not.
So let's do it...

My new year resolutions have been broken up into 2 basic categories. I have physical goals, things like building the height of my vertical leap, the amount of weight I can lift with a variety of exercises, and flexibility markers like the straddles, splits, and others.
The other goals are goals of behavior, attitude, and morality. They are goals to search for truth, to be positive and encouraging to everyone, and to follow God more and more closely every day.

The training we receive from karate gives us great tools for all of these goals. Not every goal, mind you, but many of them, and the tenacity and resilience you have all shown in class and at rank tests tells me that anything you hope to accomplish this year could be done if it is at all possible (like if you resolve to become a black belt this year, that might be a problem). And the great thing about training, about resolutions, and about growth, in general, is that even if you don't succeed this year, as long as you stick to your goals and your plan, you will accomplish what you set out to accomplish. With intelligent effort, it is only a matter of time.

So make those resolutions. Set goals, make plans, and make them lofty and outrageous. Challenge yourself, push yourself, try something you've never tried before, and grow your mind, body and spirit. From lump of coal to diamond is simply a matter of pressure and time. The time is alrady ticking, start adding the pressure.