“Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first
necessity for progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man, and I will show you
a failure.” Thomas Edison.
Well the year of the horse I feel was neither thoroughly
satisfying nor a failure for me. In reflection,
there were some very glaring misses with some very life changing
successes. I am not sure if this is the
right way to approach the I Ho Chuan, but I really believe some goals are of
higher importance than others. In a
sense I would have felt a great deal of failure if certain items were not
accomplished. From that perspective I am
happy with what was completed this year.
I place a high amount of importance on my personal
goals. For me, over the last three years
in the I Ho Chuan some of my greatest life successes have been a result of
these. This year was no exception. Time at the youth camp proved to be one of
the highlights of my year, and has led to a continued commitment in that respect. I am very grateful for that.
Every year I am faced with the same challenge of extended
periods away from the Kwoon. While the situation is similar year after year,
quite often the circumstances are very different. Last season was a year of solitude and field
camps, this year proved to be even a greater challenge due to larger time
commitments, and tons of driving from job to job. The only thing consistent was
inconsistency. Even with that though,
the formula remains the same. Keep up
with the pushups and situps, continue with the journaling, maximize sleep and
eat as healthy as possible under circumstance.
Stray from that formula and engagement falls off the rails.
My weapon in retrospect was good and bad. For me, the weapon selection is highly
important, and the rope dart was very risky knowing that space is at a premium
when on the road. The weapon took a
tremendous amount of my time this year at the sacrifice of some of the other
requirements no doubt. Looking back I would not have changed my decision
however.
Looking forward into the year of the sheep, I am really
excited. After three years, I think I am
at a place now that I see the forest for the trees. I am not afraid of failure, just more aware
of its presence and less inclined to make excuses. Failures force you to reflect, which I think
is critical in the process of mastering anything. In reality though, it is the successes
that add value. The no quit policy I think is there for that main reason. No
matter what the circumstance, no matter what the outcome, at the end of the
year you will come out better than when you started. Knowing you did not quit, is a success in its
own right.
