Meditations on God

Leading What Is Within
A leader’s job is to focus enthusiasm in the direction of the team’s objective.

Leadership is as much about listening and observing as it is about goal-setting, providing direction, and giving encouragement and corrective feedback. As leaders, we can have an amazing team, a foolproof plan, and a highly detailed, well thought out strategy, but if we do not know our team, understanding their personal passions, desires, and aspirations, we will have a difficult time getting them to fully commit to the goal we are striving to reach. In order for a team to be successful, each individual member must feel like his or her own personal interests are both acknowledged and accounted for along the way.

When we are passionate about a particular project, strategy, or outcome, we naturally want or even expect others to be equally passionate about it, but, more often than not, that is simply an unrealistic expectation. Once we understand that others will never be as enthusiastic about our goals or our interests as we are, we are left with only a few options. Obviously, we could choose to ignore this fact and go it alone or lead by force, but, assuming we see the short-sightedness of these strategies, we will want to lead in a way wherein others choose to join us on our journey of their own well-informed free-will.

One way to win people over to our cause is to do so extrinsically, meaning that we try to convince them intellectually of the value, righteousness, and benefit of our cause, but extrinsic motivation only lasts so long. A better, more honest and long-lasting way to motivate people is to tap into what they are already intrinsically driven by and toward, the things that they are naturally excited about and wiling to act on of their own accord, and to channel this internal passion and enthusiasm toward a mutually beneficial goal. The best leaders lead from within in this way, but this first requires empathy, that is, a compassionate understanding of who it is that is actually being led.

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.

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

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May 29, 2020

achievement, change, community, compassion, empathy, enthusiasm, goals, leadership, mutual benefit, parenting, passion, relationships, service, success
Aligning Consciences (The Group And The Individual)
Every group has a conscience, but we must ask ourselves whether that conscience aligns with our own.

Some extreme examples notwithstanding, each of us has a conscience, an inner compass if you will, that, if we allow it to, guides our attitudes, outlooks, and decisions. Whenever two or more people gather together for any purpose, a new conscience begins to develop between them. Each person brings his or her own experience, ideas, values, and morals to the group and, as these begin to commingle, something new emerges: a group conscience.

This new group conscience is not necessarily greater or lesser than its individual parts, but it is always different. When the group agrees on core principles, values, and codes of behavior, the group’s conscience becomes a powerful voice that guides the group’s decisions and actions, amplifying the power of the individual members. On the other hand, if the group is divided with regards to the fundamental beliefs that brought and keep it together, the group’s conscience will be confused, conflicted, and muddled, diminishing the collective voice of the group and the individual voices that make it up.

Whether consciously or subconsciously, when we join or start a group, we do so with the hope that there will be an exchange of influence. We hope to have some positive input over the direction of the group’s conscience, that the group will give our values, beliefs, and morality a louder, more powerful voice, but also that the group will give positive guidance and direction to our lives lives as well. When it becomes clear that a group we are a part of has a vastly different conscience than our own, however, when our conscience and the group’s conscience are so out of alignment that there is constant, unhealthy tension, we owe it to ourselves and to the group to go our own way.

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.

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

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May 28, 2020

collective, collective conscience, community, conscience, courage, family, friendship, group, group conscience, growth, individuality, influence, input, integrity, leadership, mission, purpose, self expression, values
The Duration Factor (On Stress And Pain)
Simply because we get used to something does not mean it is good for us.

Humans are amazingly resilient and adaptable creatures with a great capacity to work through stress and pain as long as we feel like we are making progress because of it. This survival mechanism can be extremely useful when we need it for some specific task, but, like every tool at our disposal, it is not intended to be a one-size-fits-all solution for every aspect of our lives. Simply put, we are not meant to push though every difficult, stressful, and painful thing we experience just because we can.

Stress and pain are our mind and body’s way of telling us something is not right, of telling us to slow down or not to do something. They are indicators that what we trying to do, if we do it in this way for a long enough period of time, could cause us injury or even death. Undertaken for good reason, under the right conditions, and with proper precautions, however, working through stress and pain can actually make us stronger, healthier, and more resilient, but only so long as these periods of work are bookended by a proper amount physical and mental rest, recovery, and nutrition.

Without reprieve, stress and pain over long durations actually make us weaker, more fragile, and vulnerable. While we may come to not notice it, if we experience the same stresses and the same pains constantly, day in and day out, we put ourselves in a position to be blindsided by other physical, psychological, and emotional dangers because we have become unhealthily desensitized to their warning signs. It is actually in the space between, in the periods of physical and mental rest, recovery, and nourishment, that we heal and grow.

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.

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

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May 27, 2020

drive, emotional health, goals, growth, health, improvement, mental health, nourishment, nutrition, pain, patience, physical health, recovery, rest, stress, success
Play More (To Be More Human)
“If we can play together, then we can live together.“
—Cas Holman, ‘Abstract: The Art of Design’

As children, play is our primary learning mechanism, both as a solo and a group activity. Play is how we learn to move, to experiment, and to socialize. As we get older, many of us seem to forget the importance of play as a gateway to personal and creative growth, stress relief, and interpersonal connectivity, but, in reality, we never stop needing it.

As the years go on, we take on, or are given, more and more responsibilities. The pressure of these responsibilities often takes precedence over our desire or our ability to simply let go, to have fun, to enjoy ourselves in the innocence, purity, and joyfulness that is play. On top of this, we get distracted and drawn in by outside forces telling us what play should look like as adults, that it should be organized, materialistic, or even chemically aided, but the reality is that play is whatever we want it to be as long as it is both fun and physical.

Play is a physically, emotionally, and psychologically, immersive, expressive, and freeing experience unlike anything else available to us as humans. It is an outlet for our bodies and our minds to express themselves without fear, preconception, or expectation, and it is also a source of input through which we learn and grow as individuals and as members of a tribe. Regardless of our age, gender, or social status, play is an essential and necessary aspect of human existence that taps into our primal natures as physical, creative beings and also as social animals.

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.

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

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May 26, 2020

adulthood, children, community, creativity, education, essential, experimentation, fun, growth, human nature, Inspiration, joy, learning, life, play, practice, primal
The Convergence Of Growth And Service
We must be careful not to grow beyond our ability to connect with those we aim to serve.

Paraphrasing the great Bob Dylan, whether in our personal, occupational, or spiritual lives, we all have to serve somebody. We also need to work on ourselves and work towards our goals because, referencing Dylan again, if we are not busy being born, we are busy dying. The trick is finding the balance point, the sweet spot if you will, where our personal growth and our service to others overlaps in a way that is both satisfying and sustainable.

If we have any kind of ambition or drive to be more successful or more influential in our lives, in whatever way we define those terms for ourselves, we must be capable of serving others in a way that they find useful and beneficial. Usually, this means that we have to have some unique ability, insight, or experience that is worth sharing. This typically begins by investing in ourselves in some way, whether through specialized education, training, or experiential learning, but very few of us are simply born with the talent, skill, or intelligence necessary to effect any kind of major change in our lives or the world around us without leveling up in some way.

There is a danger of losing sight of the forest for the trees as we embark on our journey of growth and self-improvement, however, because it is easy to become distracted by personal development, education, and accomplishment as ends in and of themselves. Growth can become almost addictive, drawing us in and telling us that fulfillment and satisfaction are just one more course, book, seminar, or promotion away. The truth is that if we want to find joy and meaning in our lives, we must not look at growth and service as divergent or even parallel paths, but as a closed circuit, an infinite loop wherein each leads us back to the other.

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.

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

If you found this post helpful or meaningful in some way, please feel free to Share, Comment, and Subscribe below.
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May 25, 2020

achievement, altruism, aspirations, bob dylan, desires, fulfillment, goals, growth, joy, meaning, satisfaction, self improvement, selfishness, service

Leading What Is Within

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Aligning Consciences (The Group And The Individual)

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The Duration Factor (On Stress And Pain)

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Play More (To Be More Human)

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The Convergence Of Growth And Service

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