When faced with a goal or a task that seems impossible, it is a leader’s job to see past all of the obstacles, all of the reasons it cannot be done, and to provide the vision necessary for others to see optimistically into the future.
A leader shares his or her vision of success with others so that they, too, believe that success is possible.
A leader gives hope where there was none before.
A leader does not use a lack of time, resources, or preparation as an excuse to fail because a leader sets his or her team up for success in spite of limitations, restrictions, or setbacks.
A leader does not say that his or her team is not ready for a mission. A leader ensures that they are.
It is exactly the moments of impossibility, of hopelessness, and of inevitable defeat that define a leader, for it it is in these moments that leadership manifests.
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
Artwork by Ana, except where otherwise noted
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Within us, we each have a different capacity for kindness. There is a maximum degree to which we can focus our mental-emotional energy on the well-being of others before we overextend ourselves and burn out. Being aware of this capacity, and its edges, is an essential aspect of self-awareness.
We owe it to ourselves, and those we are meant to serve, to discover the full depth of this capacity. To live beneath this capacity is to do the world and ourselves a grave injustice. It means not living up to our potential to be loving, helpful, and useful.
Living beyond this capacity, however, is just as tragic as living beneath it. Living beyond our capacity for kindness means that we give so much of ourselves to others that we have nothing left, nothing left for ourselves or for those who may matter most. When we cross our own boundaries, extending ourselves beyond the limits of what is healthy, we are no longer able to be kind anyway, and it is all for naught.
Positive change begins by asking newer, better questions. Inquisitiveness, then, can be seen as a positive trait. This is generally true, but there are times when asking questions hinders progress, rather than aiding it.
Sometimes we do not need to know everything in order to accomplish the mission, task, or goal at hand. In some cases, the need to know more is actually just a means of procrastination or resistance to the process, a way of injecting our ego, opinions, or prejudices where they are not needed or wanted.
Other times, having too much information too soon will actually slow us down, either when time is of the essence or when the ‘why’ will become evident as the result of the action, not before it. Knowledge without understanding can cause unnecessary friction, especially when we face something new or frightening wherein understanding is the result of hindsight not forethought.
Action has a greater potential to change our thinking than our thinking does to change our action. Too many questions prior to action can lead to conflict, both internal and external, inaction, or both. Our instincts are more reliable and powerful than our intellects anyway, so we are better served by quieting the latter to listen to the former if we truly value growth and progress.
