Communication

I have been thinking about the paradox of technology and communication. We have the ability to speak with someone face to face on the other side of the world and message each other back and forth instantly. This is great, it makes the Earth feel like a much smaller place and allows you to keep in touch with friends abroad easier.

The problem I find with all this is we are slowly losing the experience of true face to face communication. When you are around people nowadays, it is more difficult to remain in the moment and engage in conversation with them, without the distraction of an incoming email or text message. Everyone has their phone on them and it is just too easy to zone out of where you are and check it.

I decided during the holidays this year to consciously leave my phone in a jacket or another room while visiting friends and family to remove the distraction entirely. I am there to visit THEM, not send messages to others.

I recognize the importance of being able to get a hold of someone when you need to, but do you really need to every waking moment? No. If someone can't reach you right away, no big deal. This is why voicemail was developed, very few situations require your immediate attention.

Have a happy new year everyone! Remember to stay present and celebrate with the people around you, they are around you for a reason. 

Try Again

I received my EMR test results last week. I passed the written test, but failed the scenario. This confused me as I was confident about the scenario and not so much the written.

To be honest, it took me a little time to process this. I have been attempting to wrap my head around what I could have done differently. Then I realized there is nothing I can do about that now, all I can do is apply for a retest and study hard.

It is in the past, the past is merely images in your mind of what happened. The present is the only true reality. I will do my best to create the reality I want for myself.
When at first you don't succeed, try and try again.

Enjoy your holiday break everyone! Remember, it is a break from the kwoon, not a break from kung fu. Keep practicing your best!

Personal Requirements

Enrollment into the I Ho Chuan includes coming up with your own personal requirements, these help define the journey as your own. They are a way for you to become creative and achieve something you may have wanted to all your life, just with the added bonus of having accountability to your team.

A good amount of thought should be put into your personal requirements. It should be something that creates a positive impact on your life, a unique experience or new skill are good examples.

My favorite personal requirement from this year was my motorcycle trip through the U.S. and Canada. It was a spiritual experience that I am proud to have shared with my dad. To travel 20,000 km in less than two weeks on a motorcycle is no small feat. The general response when I tell someone about it is "Why?, That is just insane!". My thought is why not? It's one of those things that you attempt just to say you could. I will cherish my memories of this trip.

The personal requirements have also been a great tool to motivate myself to read more. I have read more books in the past 4 years than I have my entire life beforehand and it feels amazing!

Dig deep into what you want from your requirements. The more that you put into them, the more you will get out of them.

Positivity

I felt very successful this week. My confidence has increased, thereby increasing my ability to complete what I want to do on a daily basis. This increase leads to further confidence. I believe much of this success has been the result of slowly working on cultivating positivity. 

The more positive you feel about what you are doing, the more mindful you will be. This does not mean that if you make a mistake you can just dismiss it. Acknowledge the mistake, correct it and move on. Don't continue punishing yourself for the same mistake countless times every time you are reminded of it. 

This made me think of "Mastery" by Stewart Emery. I created an audio recording of it and have been playing it daily for the past several months. I am closer now to memorizing and understanding it than I ever have, I should have done this long ago. It has been a valuable tool to my success and mindset indeed. 

Engagement

This week I have felt an urge to increase in my engagement in kung fu. Now that I don't need to study during every free second, I can commit more of my mental energy back to the kwoon.

I inquired about applying for next years IHC team only to realize I was a MONTH late. I knew I was late, but didn't fully comprehend it. This is not my first rodeo, so to speak, I know when to apply for the team. It always comes the same time every year. This made me really think about how much I let my engagement slip, how much I take it for granted.

I realize complications happen in life and things will slip your mind, but if you recognize that something is important and beneficial to you, you will not forget about it, ever.

I have been in the I Ho Chuan for almost 4 full years in a row now, it just became another part of my life. I became complacent and I think I am not the only one. We get into this mindset that we don't have to worry about it because in our minds it will always be there.

I don't think we always realize the amazing privilege we have to even train in kung fu, let alone to have a chance to have a dedicated group of people to train with and rely on through our path to mastery. Nor do we realize just how easy it can be to lose something as important as the I Ho Chuan due to a lack of engagement and participation.

I recieved a mental splash of cold water. I woke up from the haze I was in and am now ready to do what needs to be done to be as engaged as possible.

We signed up for this, promised to follow the requirements set in plain writing for us. Chinese new year is just over two months away, let's pull ourselves together and show up to class. Don't feel guilt or focus on the past, what is done is done. We can only do what we can from this point forward.

Manditory week or not, I hope to see you all on Thursday for demo practice. Let's make this right!