Leap Into The New Year and Make Good Things Happen

2013 to 2014 with leap quoteWhen you discover your warrior’s edge, the edge you get when you live by the principles and ideals learned from martial arts and warriorship, you understand that you have two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.

 

So what can a warrior learn from a cat? Well, how about from Lewis Carroll?

“Alice came to a fork in the road. ‘Which road to I take?’ she asked.

‘Where do you want to go?’ responded the Cheshire Cat.

‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered.

‘Then,’ said the Cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.’”

–  Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

We must accept the responsibility for changing conditions we don’t want and to make good things happen in our lives. To do so, we must first determine just what we want and where we want to go. This is what goal setting is all about. Determining what you want and where you want to go, and how you are going to achieve it and get there.  If you don’t know what you want or where you want to go, just like Alice, it won’t really matter, and you may end up in places you don’t want to be.

“The Doorman” in the book Fight Club said it this way, “If you don’t know what you want, you end up with a lot you don’t.”

Remember when Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel about focus in the Karate Kid movies? All of us who study martial arts and warrior ideals have heard how important focus is to our training and technique. It’s as important outside of the dojo or dojang too. Focus is extremely important, and goal setting is powerful, partly because it provides focus. It helps shape our dreams and gives us the ability to hone in on the exact actions we need to perform to achieve those things we desire in life.

“We all need lots of powerful long-range goals to help us past the short-term obstacles.”

–  Jim Rohn

Now, I don’t want to tell you what goals to set and achieve this next year and beyond, because one important thing about goals is they mean more when they come from within, and not from someone else. However, here are some suggestions for when you are setting them:

Determine your health and fitness goals. What weight do you want to achieve so you can do all of the physical things you desire? What physical accomplishments do you want to be able to perform? Where do you want your resting heart rate to be, or your blood pressure? How flexible do you want to be?

Make training goals. How many times a week will you train?  What will you train in?  Why are you training, to win a specific tournament, to better yourself, to learn realistic self-defense techniques, to be able to perform your job as security or law enforcement better?  You need to determine why you are training and what training will help you reach your goals. Do you want to improve with a specific weapon, or learn a new one?  You decide what and why and you’ll then make it happen.

Choose the person you want to be, and what will show that you are that person. It’s easy to say, “I want to be a good person.”  But what does that mean?  It will mean something different to each of us, with some common parameters, so you must decide what kind of person you want to be, and what actions will reflect being that person. Then make sure that is how you act.

Be sure to be balanced. I’ll be writing more about this topic, because I believe it is important for living the warrior lifestyle and living with the warrior’s edge. Right now, just be sure to make goals for a balanced life. Include goals for business, finances, physical, mental, family, spiritual, lifestyle, relationships, self, and anything else that is important to you.

Make SMART goals. You’ll see this many places because it helps your goals become powerful and achievable. Make your goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-sensitive.

And finally, I also want you to remember the quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” So be sure to include the “why” for every one of your goals and desires. When your “why” is big enough, you’ll find the “how.” This is why the goals need to be yours. You need the “why” to be your “why.”  And make it a big one.

“Nothing can resist the human will that will stake even its existence on its stated purpose.”

–  Benjamin Disraeli

Things continue to be tough for many people, and with the current happenings in the world, they may be getting even  tougher for some. And that is why today, more than ever, you need a little something extra. You need an edge…  The Warrior’s Edge.  Included in my goals to make good things happen in 2014 are writing, speaking, and developing programs to help you get that edge. My goals are to help you be safe and defend yourself if needed; to help you become fit – body, mind and spirit; and to help you live to the fullest by embracing the warrior traits and beliefs such as discipline, determination, honor, duty,  compassion, and others. I hope you will not only enjoy my blog posts, pictures, books, videos, audio programs, and live speaking and teaching programs, but will also use them to make yourself better and to achieve your goals. So Leap into 2014 and Make Good Things Happen!

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