Photo credit Wayan Vota

Opening their eyes and looking up at the sun, they now knew that every day, the sun will rise again.

I was asked to do some teaching again at my martial arts dojo by my teacher. This happens quite often and teaching has become an experience that I have had to get used to, feeling my own way into it.

When I first started I would see the new students and looking at the material I was to teach, know that there was thousands of points they would eventually need to know.

I used to correct every movement. I would show them one thing, then when they made the next error I would show them how to do that correctly. By the time I had done this for two minutes they would already be beginning to go into overwhelm.

My teacher would come over and tell me, ‘Don’t correct them, just keep demonstrating the basics and let them practice’. My urge to help them was simply more than anyone can assimilate at one time and so only half mangled aspects of anything I said remained.

Today was different.

When teaching I picked one motion to focus on. This become the one most important thing that this student will remember, the rest will be a haze to build on in the future.

At the end of my quick stint of teaching I noticed how different it felt. I was no longer trying to cram everything into one moment. I was letting the student learn at their own pace. After all, this is how I do my coaching, why would martial arts be any different?

They felt happier because they knew I was satisfied with one element of focus and this drive would only build in the future and help them master other aspects.

The Most Important Lesson in Daily Life

What does this mean in our daily lives?
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While cleaning up my desk I noticed one of my medallions. Picking it up I thought it was my australian iaido champion medal but to my surprise it was not. It was actually my jodo encouragement award.

This got me thinking. I remember when getting this award I was confused what I was being awarded. I knew I didn’t win so why was I being called up to get an award?

After receiving the encouragement award one of the seniors explained that it was an award that signified that the senior japanese sensei’s had seen great potential in me and my efforts. That this was actually quite an honor to receive!

Standing in my room looking at this award I wondered.

Why doesn’t society give out encouragement awards?

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Those of us on the productive front like to live in a world of todos. Constantly ticking off task after task and getting a little buzz each time.

Then if we are wise we also take the time to look at the bigger picture of our projects and keep track off some of the big things we are wanting to achieve over our lifetime.

Yet when stuck in traffic or waiting in a shopping que we still find ourselves getting frustrated. Sometimes we would even go as far to say that it is a waste of time. After all haven’t we all been through school and then university learning how to do things faster and more efficiently!

Productivity rules in the modern world.

I say we should kill productivity.

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Animated Perspectives on Time Perspectives

Here is a great and entertaining video about how different time perspectives impact our lives. It uses some different categories to the ones I referred to in my post on time perspectives and it is a great elaboration.

Some things that jumped out at me immediately were around:
Pace of Life
How we view time changes how we [...]

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The Selfish Fear of Hurting Others

Many would hold their tongue to avoid having another feel hurt.
Many would avoid having a difficult conversation with another in order to preserve their happiness.
Many would not stand for what they care for so as to protect someones fragile view of the world.
I want to tell you two things. The first is:
Not wanting to hurt [...]

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Time to Create your Perception of Time

Everyone has a way that they look at time. How you look at time has a huge effect on how you experience your time in it.
What we want to do here is to show you how to best look at time in order to change your life. More specifically we want to use our perception [...]

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How your Life Rules can Damage your Relationships

Everyone has rules that define what is acceptable in living their lives.
Is it ok to leave cleaning the dishes to later? Is it ok to talk ill about others?
It is our differences in beliefs and life experiences that provide incredible growth experiences. But when we are blind to how we apply our own life rules [...]

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