Take a moment every day to reflect.
There is so much attention given these days to the hustle, the grind, and getting after it as a path to success, fulfillment, and freedom that it often feels as if we have missed some essential aspects of a meaningful life. Without taking a moment every now and then to take stock of what we have, how far we have come, and how much we have survived to get where we are now, it is easy to lose sight of all that there is to be grateful for.
As hard as we push forward through resistance, difficulty, and setbacks, we must also show ourselves some compassion and slow down sometimes to ensure that our bearing is true on the paths we have chosen. It is easier to evaluate and change course incrementally as we go than once we are so far along that we forget where we intended to get to in the first place and who we wanted to be once there.
-Robert Van Valkenburgh is a practitioner of Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Kogen Dojo