Purpose

Knowing and understanding the purpose behind the things I do or want to accomplish will help me to develop clarity and drive motivation. 

There are numerous tasks I do everyday that are done on automatic pilot, never asking myself why. A menial routine task can still hold value and importance though. The key is to know and understand what that is. Why? I believe that's because just doing holds less value than being mindful, present and aware. And the time spent on a task or goal when we are in the moment and aware of the bigger picture gives those precious moments value.   

Why is this habit, routine or goal important to me? How does it benefit me or others? And with the answer comes another question. When I dig deeper I can create the desire and motivation to push myself through challenges and help reduce poor decision making. Going beyond the obvious answer helps to add value to my life and the choices I make. 

Knowing my purpose can create an impenetrable force that guides me.

Sparring, applications and board breaking is freaking me out a bit. My sparring has been improving because of the time spent during class and open training. I know that applications and board breaking will improve as well with time and effort. All of this has been more front and centre because of the Tiger Challenge. I know it is past time to address these aspects of my training. If I apply the concept of purpose to this I can set myself up for success.  So I am asking myself questions and figuring out the whys that will have more meaning to me.

Why do I want to work on sparring, applications or board breaking? 

I want to earn my black belt this year is a big why, but not necessarily the most important one. 

Another why is to build confidence, control and the ability to adapt etc. The problem with these whys are I know them to be true of everyone. They do provide a degree of motivation but I’m unsure at this point if they are enough to push me forward to where I need and want to be.

So I dig a bit deeper:

I want to experience that sense of accomplishment, knowing that I put in the effort to overcome the fears and develop a certain level of skill and control. At the end of the day I want to be proud of myself for the time and effort I put in whatever the outcome.  I want to be the best version of myself and know that I earned my black belt. 

I don't want to have any regrets!