There are many roads to the mountaintop. Some are easy, but take a lot of time. Others are quicker, but much more difficult to tread. What matters, regardless of the road you choose, is that you keep going. Don’t turn back. Do not give up. Finish it.
As a martial arts instructor, I get a lot of students asking me for advice on many different things. I feel obligated to stick to things that I know are true, fearful to not send them in the wrong direction. See, I am very aware of how little I actually know. I mean, let’s be honest, I teach people how to hit each other for a living. I am no sage. However, I do have a handful of experiences and a bit of success that gives me perspective on how to reach a goal. With that, I still try my best to stay mindful of the fact that I am in a mentorship role, and that I have a responsibility to be careful with what I say.
With questions like:
“How do I lose weight?”
“How do I get stronger?”
“How do I improve my relationship?”
“How do I become a black belt?”
I try and stick to the most basic truth: Be consistent…
As a martial arts instructor, I get a lot of students asking me for advice on many different things. I feel obligated to stick to things that I know are true, fearful to not send them in the wrong direction. See, I am very aware of how little I actually know. I mean, let’s be honest, I teach people how to hit each other for a living. I am no sage. However, I do have a handful of experiences and a bit of success that gives me perspective on how to reach a goal. With that, I still try my best to stay mindful of the fact that I am in a mentorship role, and that I have a responsibility to be careful with what I say.
With questions like:
“How do I lose weight?”
“How do I get stronger?”
“How do I improve my relationship?”
“How do I become a black belt?”
I try and stick to the most basic truth: Be consistent…
Weight loss is one of the toughest of these subjects I encounter. Body image issues, fad diets, and societal pressures make it so. I need to make sure that I am not adding to the mix of negativity and potentially hurting someone in a bad state. With that said, I always stand by one truth: consistency is what works. Intermittent fasting is a very popular style of eating. Do I think it works? Yes, if you stick with it. The Keto diet is super popular right now. Does it work? Yeah, it totally works, but you have to stick with it. Do calorie restrictive diets work? Well, yes, as long as you are being healthy about it, and you stick with it. There isn’t a magical weight loss hack. There is no secret that will be answered if you sit through an hour-long infomercial and pay some fee. You just have to start doing it, and then keep doing it.
Those people you see at the gym in amazing shape aren’t lucky; they have dedicated hours of their week, every week, to get to where they are. They didn’t start going to the gym on January 1st and stop by mid-February; they kept going. These people have had some setbacks, an injury, or perhaps a tragedy in their life, but they went back.
Yes, there are techniques and methods out there we should research to get the best results, but those will not replace the work. You need to be making the right choices over and over again. Yes, some people have it a lot easier than others, whether it is due to their genetics, available time, or resources. Regardless, none of those things matter as much as dedication. There are people in the best shape of their lives that cannot afford a personal trainer, and there are others with the means to hire a private chef, but are unhappy with themselves. It is always about the work. It is about the long term, no matter the excuse.
So, for those out there who are struggling with some kind of goal, find a plan that you can stick with and then sticking with it. I’ve been in the martial arts game for a long time. I was never talented and am far from being a natural, but I put in hours and hours of time each week to get better. That is the only key that I know applies to us all. It is a simple truth, but it doesn’t make things less difficult. Good things come at a cost. Success takes a bit of sacrifice every day.
Yes, there are techniques and methods out there we should research to get the best results, but those will not replace the work. You need to be making the right choices over and over again. Yes, some people have it a lot easier than others, whether it is due to their genetics, available time, or resources. Regardless, none of those things matter as much as dedication. There are people in the best shape of their lives that cannot afford a personal trainer, and there are others with the means to hire a private chef, but are unhappy with themselves. It is always about the work. It is about the long term, no matter the excuse.
So, for those out there who are struggling with some kind of goal, find a plan that you can stick with and then sticking with it. I’ve been in the martial arts game for a long time. I was never talented and am far from being a natural, but I put in hours and hours of time each week to get better. That is the only key that I know applies to us all. It is a simple truth, but it doesn’t make things less difficult. Good things come at a cost. Success takes a bit of sacrifice every day.
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