New ideas are often rejected, not just out of fear, but out of laziness.
The law of inertia applies not only to objects.
It applies to us as well.
When we are at rest, we tend to want to stay at rest.
When we are in motion, we tend to want to stay in motion.
Once an idea, belief, or behavior takes hold of us, as long as appears to be working in our favor, we do not like to change.
Change requires effort.
Change threatens inertia.
It require us to move if we are at rest and it requires us to pause or pivot if we are in motion.
For this reason, it is far easier to continue to do what we have always done and believe what we have always believed than it is to consider a new idea, attitude, or action.
In fact, the mere consideration of something other than what we currently believe or do requires effort.
It is far easier to dismiss that which is new or different outright than it is to entertain the possibility of having to change.
The dismissal of new ideas requires nothing from us.
It allows us to stay the same.
Curiosity, on the other hand, is demanding.
To be curious is to be engaged, involved, and open to the possibility that we are wrong.
To be curious is to embrace change and the opportunities it offers.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
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