Motivation

I attended a conference a couple weekends ago and it was focused on fear.  At the end of the presentation the audience was questioned as to what was their greatest fear?  The most consistent answer was failure.

I find this a very odd answer indeed.  If failure is a fear of so many individuals, why is mediocrity so overwhelming.  You would expect to avoid a great fear of failure, the drive to be exceptional would be there indeed.  The answer of course, is that fear is not a good long term motivator.

Fear manifests itself in stress.  Stress leads to anger, resentment and doubt.  All things that are really not conducive or healthy in our life.   So I began to think, well if fear of failure is not a good motivator, then success must be.  Success must be the driving force to motivation.

But this doesn’t seem true either.  Some of my greatest achievements in life have come from huge failures.  Success without failure will not motivate.  Why does walking to the store not seem to drive our motivation to exercise, but signing up for a half marathon will?  The answer is that success that comes too easy seems shallow, unearned and boring.  Alternatively, failure without any success eventually destroys motivation also.

What seems to make most sense then, is that motivation is not the result of either failure, or success, but rather a combination of both. Success does drive motivation, but only after cumulative failure.  This becomes important when we are setting goals for ourselves.  Setting goals that we know are easily achievable will not serve us in the long run.  Setting goals that are extremely difficult is fine, but we have to be really careful to go through a process of self reflection and identify the progress and successes we are making along the way.

Reflecting on where I came from, dreaming of where I am going.

One January I stepped foot into Silent River for the first time and took in my first class.  I remember going through the stances and even learned a couple kicks.  That very night I bought a Gi and committed to what has now become nearly a nine year Kung Fu journey.  At the outset my intentions for joining the martial arts were to keep in shape so things didn’t start to get too soggy as I approached my thirties.  Staying active was my main goal, and recall commenting that I never really wanted to commit to getting a black belt. 

The journey has been a mixture of highs and lows, but through the times one thing was constant.  Kung fu was here to stay.  The longer I was involved the more it got woven into my fabric.  It went from a mere exercise regime to something that demanded more confidence, control, engagement, improvement, reflection, perseverance and leadership.  It demanded time and sacrifice but in turn offered things that I liked in my life and wasn't willing to give up.  At every low point of engagement I would find a window or glimpse into what my life would be without Kung Fu, and frankly didn't like what I saw.  And so I continued.

A few years later and here I train with just a little over a month to go before grading day.  I don’t think a person ever feels ready for such a thing.  In fact if I had just one more year, I bet I would have to slow down my punches so Bruce Lee could keep track, or maybe hold a horse stance while reading a couple chapters of War and Peace.  Maybe if I trained for just one more year I would run into the forest and come out riding a deer.  I am really not sure what that means, but it sounds like it would take lots of cardio.

But saying maybe next year is nothing more than setting an arbitrary limit.  It is acceptance of what has been achieved as being good enough, and that is not what this is all about.

Moving past the Awkward

You don’t need to be great to get started, but you do need to get started to be great. There is a lot to be said for learning a new weapon and getting a form together.  It is really cool to see where everyone is at with their weapons, but what is always really awesome is seeing how far each will come in a couple months.

Basically at the point of just getting comfortable with the weapon itself.  And while I am certainly behind on where I should be considering beta version was due last class, I am not nervous about the direction I have to go.  At least the Sai’s are finally past the stage of incredible awkwardness.  Now is the fun part.  I like the idea of visualization for my form development.  I guess everyone has their own approach, but what I find works best for me is visualization.  I start to with an opponent, add a formidable weapon and envision an attack.  I let my body do what feels natural and let things come together in that respect.  I am not sure if this is a good approach, but it is just what has worked for me in the past.

On advice from Sifu I was able to find the right person for helping in a particular move I was working on which has helped maintain balance and make the motion more fluid and functional.  Thank you Sifu’s.

Well now that the awkward stage is over with, the first display of incompetence in front of the I Ho Chuan group is over, I am really looking forward to making some headway on my chosen weapon.

Developing a Growth Mindset

I recently listened to a TED talks presenter that was speaking on the concept of mindsets.  In his presentation he revealed the differences between what was coined a fixed mindset vs. a growth mindset.  Essentially we all approach problem solving in one of these two methods, the difference being each has a different perspective on intelligence and performance.  A fixed mindset reasons that success is a by-product of ability and natural talent.  A growth mindset differs in the fact that it equates success as the result of reflection, correction and willingness to learn.

The difference in mindset is best summed up in two sentences.  I can’t do that vs. I can’t do that yet.  It is suggested by the presenter that this view on intelligence/performance is critical in our success, where studies have shown fixed mindset thinkers resulted in an unwillingness to grow, to be challenged and led to stunted performance.  Growth mindset alternatively resulted in people that sought out more complex challenges, and had a higher capacity for learning.

Naturally I reflected on my own attitudes toward performance and found that in many circumstances I was a fixed mindset thinker.  Looking at some very noticeable challenges that face me in my Kung Fu training I often equate my inability to move forward to a God given lack of talent.  This way of thinking stunts progress.  In your own training, have you ever said, well I am just not a side kick guy, or, I never had the flexibility for that.  This my friend, is a fixed mindset way of thinking. 

The more I thought on this, the more I realized I had heard this exact concept before.  Mastery, by Stuart Emery outlines this exact concept of developing a growth mindset. If you haven’t, I would encourage you to read this, or review it and follow the link and listen to this TED talk.  See if you too can draw the parallels between a growth mindset and the concepts of achieving mastery.

Does the sentence “correct, don’t protect” ring a bell. A “protect” attitude is a fixed mindset thinker.  A “correct” attitude is a growth mindset.

Of course our Kung Fu training requires hard work, grit, determination, but perhaps these are just the product of the mindset in which we approach our training.

http://youtu.be/pN34FNbOKXc

Gratitude

I am currently reading “Walking a Tiger’s Path” by Margitte Hilbig.  There is a lot to be taken from this book.  This read, combined with a Kung Fu magazine that I have read to tatters and an article regarding Kung Fu early origins in North America really hit home how lucky and fortunate we are to be studying Kung Fu. 

In this world where entitlement seems to be the norm, I was humbled by the relatively short history that Kung Fu has had in North America.  The fact that we can study Kung Fu in a place like Silent River is a real privilege. A privilege that would not have been available to me a mere 50 years ago.

It makes me appreciate what I have.  It makes me want to learn about our lineage and history.  It makes me want to train even harder.  It makes me want to thank the pioneers of Kung Fu in North America including the Sifu’s that take the time to train us. To them we all owe a great debt of gratitude.