Step in the right direction.

Once a man was lost so he decided to ask for directions.  The person he asked happened to be the philosopher Socrates.  The lost traveler asked, “Excuse me sir, do you know how to get to Mount Olympus from here?”  The wise philosopher Socrates simply replied, “Just make sure that every step you take is headed in that direction!”

There are things that we want to do and there are things we know we need to do.  The difference is that our wants stem from the reactiveness of our emotions, moods, conditions, circumstances, or environment.  The other, that is our awareness of what is right, stems from our conscience, our governing values and a deep sense of simply knowing, “This is the right thing to do.”

Whenever we hit the wall and skip going to the gym, eat the wrong things, make a bad decision because emotions are raging, or we do whatever was easier than “doing the right thing”, it weakens our character as it ignores our conscience.  We know what to do but we don’t always do what we know to be right. This is taking the step in the wrong direction, straying off course from the path to a goal we set; a goal we deemed was important. 

What if we can strengthen our character by subordinating our feelings to our values.  Just imagine, what if we act courageously from our conscience and step in the right direction? Naturally our actions would be congruent with our values and a deep sense of integrity is felt and strengthens our character.  It unleashes our human potential.  We have a choice of which direction to take.  Do we choose the path to mediocrity or the path to greatness?

What was your goal upon getting started in the martial arts?  How does one get to the ability to focus, a high level of fitness, to be self-disciplined, the confidence of self-respect, the perseverance of a champion, self-mastery and the self-defense prowess of a Black Belt?  Just make sure that every step you take is headed in that direction. 

Sensei Dan Rominski

TheDOJO