"Learn how to turn frustration into fascination. You will learn more being fascinated by life than you will by being frustrated by it." -- Jim Rohn
This week’s focus is the Habit of Giving your Best Effort.
Whether we are talking about Martial Arts classes, study habits or work…you will always succeed at a higher level if you develop the habit of giving your best effort.
Nobody achieves greatness by being lazy or giving a half hearted effort.
If you study the training of Champions in any sport, you will see them putting in hours of dedicated practice and giving their best effort to get better.
When you give your best effort and consistently push to exceed your previous best, you will get better and you will improve.
Never allow Minimums become your Maximums.
When you push yourself to your current maximum, and then strive for 10% improvement or better, you will constantly raise the bar on your personal best.
You will take yourself to new levels of excellence.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you get in the habit of giving a minimal effort and accepting less than your best, this can also become habit.
If you’re not careful, before you know it, your minimum will become your maximum.
Look at everything you do, on and off the mat, think about how you can give your best effort and do it better.
In the dojo...what can you do to pick up the pace to improve your skills and conditioning?
At work...can you arrive a little earlier, stay later, improve your effort and increase your overall contribution?
Habits we Train...are Habits we Gain!
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Health & Fitness Tip}>F.I.T.T.=>Frequency/Intensity/Time/Type
One of the reasons you see many top UFC fighters in such tremendous physical condition is because they are constantly working out in similar fashion as you might see a trained Navy Seal go through.
FREQUENCY - How often you train will certainly make a difference in the level of health and fitness you will obtain and maintain. As you learned in last weeks tips, we encourage you aim to do something for yourself everyday.
INTENSITY - To obtain your maximum level of fitness, you must gradually build up the level of intensity in your workouts. This is true in your strength training, cardiovascular and your flexibility. The better conditioning you develop, the more intense you'll be able to train.
TIME - Like classes in the dojo, as you improve in your skills and conditioning, the more you'll be able to go longer and stay stronger. Think of the time length of rounds when you first begin sparring, you usually find yourself tiring within the first 60-90 seconds. As you learn to preserve your energy and improve your fitness, you'll be able to last must longer.
TYPE- This is the type of training you're doing. You may choose running, elliptical, stair climbing or swimming as your choice for improving your cardiovascular endurance. There are many ways to improve each aspect of your overall health and fitness.
The F.I.T.T. formula is an excellent way to keep your training challenging and fun while seeing positive, progressive results and improvements.
Train Hard...Work Smart and enjoy the Rewards of your Success!
Respectfully,
Sifu Chí
Some people train hard, some train smart, the goal should be to train harder and smarter. This is the best way to insure positive and consistent gains in your martial arts training and in life.
Most aspects of Martial Arts training is very measurable and predictable.
Flexibility, strength, endurance and skill level, are all measurable and vital areas of progress and growth for a BLACK BELT CHAMPION.
The results and benefits you obtain, are a direct reflection of the actions you take and the attention you give each area. Champions strive to make positive progress and continually take action to move forward, eventually leading toward bigger and better gains.
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"To get more heat from a fire, you must first put more wood on it!”
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Train for Gain by allowing enough time to warm-up and get focused on training. Once warmed up, get into the game, play it all out and pay close attention to your form and detail. The devil is always in the details!
Train for Gain by understanding the concept of progress-vs-perfection. Meaning that before we can ever be great at anything, we must be willing to start the learning process. Part of this process is making mistakes, correcting them and practicing the correct skill, over and over again.
Train for Gain is understanding the ratchet effect. This is when we take three steps forward and sometimes take two steps backwards. Understand that we are still ahead of where we began.
Train for Gain by listening to your instructors and coaches. Always be coach-able, stay curious and eager to learn and improve yourself. Most important, keep your goal clearly in mind, and train hard for gain and you’ll always get better!
CHAMPIONS TRAIN FOR GAIN!
Champions are achievers, in and out of the dojo. They strive to be their best in every area of their life. A true Champion in the Martial Arts is always striving to get better and better, on and off the mat.
Why is it so common to see a Black Belt Champion become an achiever outside of the dojo as well? One of the key reasons is that the Martial Arts instills the desire to become the best you can be. As a Champion, you are always striving to take yourself to the next level.
No matter how great of a Champion you become, no matter how many Black Belt Degrees you hold, the biggest room in the world, is always the room for improvement.
Junior Champions are striving for academic excellence and to be the best kid they can be, at home, at school and in the dojo. They may not be perfect, however, they are far better than the vast majority of the kids you see hanging out at the mall, or playing endless hours of video games everyday.
Adult Champions are striving to be achievers and leaders in their career and business life, as well as at home with their family. They let the stress out at the dojo and then deal with real life much better. The best must always get better and achievers are always searching for ways to improve themselves and the results they produce.
Life is so much more fun when you are excelling at it. Look at your Martial Arts training as much more than just training for another belt, losing weight or getting in better shape. Look at as a success conditioning program that is preparing you to excel in life.
Here is a great affirmation to repeat as part of your mental conditioning program:
I'm a Champion…I'm an Achiever…I am a lean and fit Black Belt Machine, I'm on the Quest to be my Best…ASAH!
Human psychologists tell us that as much as 95% of what we do everyday is based on our habits, good or bad, positive or negative.
Everything we think, feel, do and achieve is the result of our habits.
From the time we wake up in the morning until our heads lay rest on our pillows at night, the vast majority of our actions and results are based on habitual behaviors.
Champions develop successful habits so they can accelerate their progress in life.
If you want to be a Champion, in the Martial Arts and in life, you must develop the habits and attitudes that will get you from where you are now, to where you want to be.
A habit is nothing more than a conditioned response that is developed through practice and repetition. You can choose new habits, you can even replace negative habits with positives.
For example, you decide you want to be healthier, happier and become more physically fit.
If you start to eat healthier foods, you begin to fill up on the healthy foods and have less room and desire for junk foods. If you train in class 2-3 times per week, plus you practice and exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes on the days you are not in class.
Follow this regimen everyday for the next 21 days, with practice and repetition, you begin to develop new habits of excellence in your physical life. Habits such as this will allow you to do more, have more energy and become more than you would if you didn't make a choice to improve your habits.
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Pat Riley, coach of 2006 World Champion Miami Heat, says:
"If your not getting better...your getting worse!"
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It's the same with our habits. If we are not working to improve them, they can easily regress into comfort zone habits and/or we may even begin to develop negative habits that can do more harm than good.
It's been said that bad habits are easy to form, but tough to live with.
Good habits are tougher to develop, but a lot easier to live with.
Champions Develop Successful Habits.
Currently, what are your best habits that you would like to magnify and multiply?
If you could pick one or two new habits you'd like to develop in the next 21 days...
What would they be? How would they help to improve your life? Why is this important?
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“Habits we Train are Habits we Gain” - Kyoshi Steve LaVallee
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Many years ago, I decided to develop the habit of E-T-R=>Early To Rise!
At first, it was very tough because I was basically a night owl at the time. The biggest challenge I had was the activities was doing in the late evening hours were not as productive as the activities I would focus on first thing in the morning.
At first, I tried getting up earlier without going to be any earlier. As you could imagine, it didn't work out too well. Then, I applied some PIGHEADED DISCIPLINE, DETERMINATION AND DRIVE to make a change in my habits.
Eventually, it became habit to go to bed earlier so I could join the Five O'clock Club.
That one habit change has made such a huge impact and difference in my life. I read more, plan more, train more and always seem to have more time for myself than I ever did before.
Once I accomplished this, I began to work on my reading skills. I bought a course on speed reading course and another one on accelerated learning skills. What a difference in my retention and ability to learn and absorb more of the good stuff.
Because I was getting better and being rewarded for my efforts, it became easier and more enjoyable. I compare it to doing roadwork, when you first start running, the pain is much greater than the gain. Then, after you've been doing it for 3-4 weeks, you begin to feel the benefit and you are rewarded for your effort.
I once heard that we first form our habits, then our habits form us.
I believe this to be true and my own experience backs it up.
Believe me, I am far from perfect. However, I do seem to be getting better in many areas and I am now ready to take myself to the next level in every aspect of life and business.
Business philosopher, Jim Rohn says you shouldn't wish that life would be easier, you should strive to make yourself better.
If you and I continue to make ourselves better at the game of life, we are bound to score more victories than losses. Everyone wins when that happens.
ACTION T-N-T=>Today-Not-Tomorrow!
- Take a good look at your current habits and daily rituals. Especially the first half hour and the last half hour of your day. Are you starting and finishing with positive input?
- Do the same with your work habits. Look at your habits and rituals for the first half hour and the last half hour of your start and finish of your workday.
- Improving these areas by as little as 10% could lead to huge improvements in your progress and growth over the next 1-3 years. Give a shot for the next 21 days and see if you can develop the habit of self-analysis and self-improvement.
TO Your Success,
Sifu Charles Chi
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