I have been trying to memorize Mastery the last little while. I should know it in my sleep by now for the amount of times I have read it and use it for guidance. I seem to relentlessly procrastinate when it comes to my Sihing and I Ho Chuan requirements. Not because I don't care. Not because there hasn't been ample warnings from Sifu Brinker on the damaging effect of leaving them to the last minute and treating gifts as hoops and instead of tools. Is it because I have no work ethic? No. It's simply because my priorities and discipline are off balance at the moment in my training and this is the mindset I've arbitrarily set for my journey to mastery. Hence, accountability and discipline. Am I going to sit here and complain and moan about how hard it is and how I am just so busy? Am I going to put negative energy out there and blame every possible thing I can think of as to why I am choosing to stay stagnant or mediocre. No. To me this is not only disrespectful to my teachers, the school, and other students. But to myself. What kind of example or message am I sending through this practice? I am basically telling the world through my blogs that it is okay to not try harder and constantly make excuses even though I am signed up to a hard core challenge. I am behind in many aspects of my journey so far. So should I quit? Should I just sit down and cry about it until I wet myself ? Should I quit my job? Tell my family to beat it. Tell my friends to beat it. Pump up a big ball of negativity and walk around in it like a hamster. Not likely. I keep moving along and doing my best to adapt and follow through on my journey. So what do I do to keep moving ahead?
The first step to mastery is the removal of everything in your environment that represents mediocrity, and one way to attain that objective is to surround yourself with people who ask more of you than you would ordinarily give of yourself.
At the moment it is difficult to be at the kwoon as much as I would like to be in order to do this. So a great substitute is all of my teammates blogs. This is a very important tool to benefit those that can't attend regular classes. So when you don't blog you are of no help to people that need it and of no help to yourself. Although sometimes late and being a private person, I am blogging more than I ever have because I need help and I want to help others. Even though I don't like it or it makes me feel uncomfortable, I don't think I am special or I need to be allowed to not do something just because I don't want to, or it's hard. If that did happen, I am thankful that I have others on the team that will tell me to get over myself and do the damn requirement. I also read mastery and assess everything around me that is negative or damaging to my training and remove it. I have severed people from my life and have made many sacrifices to keep things in check. I consult people I hold as my mentors. I ask for help when I need it. I don't hide from everyone or just pretend that I am moving along and everything is just sunshine and roses. I am constantly making adjustments along the way and trying to do my best. I have moments of failure and moments of progress. Some things work and some things don't. When I am at the kwoon I try even harder because I am surrounded by likeminded people and teachers that expect more from me than I would of myself and distance myself from the politics. Each time I go to the kwoon I want to show some progression. The bottom line is commitment, accountability, adjustment, and following through. See you at the kwoon.
Correction is essential to power and mastery. - Stewart Emery
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