A big part of having a practice, whether it be creative, martial, spiritual, what have you, is accepting the fact that it will not always be easy.
It will not always be convenient.
We will not always feel like we are making progress.
There will be many days where we will feel stuck, frustrated, or even like we are moving backwards.
It is important to keep in mind that this is part of having a practice.
In fact, this is why it is called a practice.
We are practicing.
And, we must continue to practice, especially when it is not easy, especially when it is not convenient, and especially when it feels like we are not making progress.
The goal of a practice is to be consistent, to keep showing up, and to put in effort day in and day out even when we do not feel like it, especially when we do not feel like it.
Over time, if we do not give up, we will notice that something has changed.
We will have changed.
This, after all, is the point of having a practice.
We begin in search of change.
If we want consistent change, that is, if we want the change to stick, we have to continue practicing.
And, if our practice is worthwhile, this process will go on for a lifetime.
Just like everything around us, our emotions are in a constant state of change.
In this way, they are not much different than the seasons, nor should we expect them to be.
Happiness and sorrow, excitement and frustration, love and pain, will all come and go throughout the days, months, and years of our lives.
Our feelings are part of us, but they are not us.
There is more to who we are than our emotions.
For this reason, we should not allow ourselves to be ruled by the way that we feel.
Instead, much like we prepare for the summer heat or the winter snow, we should be prepared for our feelings to change.
This means not only acknowledging that they will change, but also taking note of what causes them to change and the affect that these changes have on us, on our words, and on our deeds.
The goal is not to be unfeeling, but to be more than our feelings.
The fact is that a life worth living requires that we feel very deeply.
But, a life worth living also requires that we speak and behave in a way that is consistent with what is true and constant.
We must learn to be more reliable than our feelings.
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 & Bodyand Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
Consistency will carry us through when enthusiasm lets us down.
At some point, no matter what path we are on, we will eventually find ourselves tired, frustrated, and disheartened.
This will happen with personal projects, educational pursuits, professional aspirations, and relationships.
Regardless of how enthusiastic, motivated, or driven we once were, at some point, we will struggle to want to move forward.
Our enthusiasm, like all emotions, inevitably wax and wane.
The joy and excitement we experience when things are new and going well is simply unsustainable as our circumstances, environment, and relationships evolve, and as we evolve.
Change is the constant. Our feelings about that change are not. Nor can or should we expect them to be.
If we want to thrive, we must focus on the consistency of our actions matching the consistency of change.
Enthusiasm will come back in its own time.
It is up to us to show up with or without it in the meantime.
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 & Bodyand Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
If we want to know what works and what does not, if we want to know what matters and makes the most difference in our lives, we must first begin with some degree of consistency.
By establishing a consistent baseline of values, principles, and behaviors, it becomes much easier to determine the causes of our success or failure.
Consistency gives us the ability to add or subtract new ideas, new input, and new actions into our lives in a way that allows us to test their affect on us, on the way we feel, on the way we perform, and on the way we interact with others.
By starting with consistent controls, we can add or subtract variables to or from our lives and produce some relatively reliable data points with regards to efficacy and outcome.
The easiest way to do this is by first with limitations, restrictions, and boundaries on the aspects of our lives we wish to examine and improve.
In other words, if we want to get down to the causes and conditions of our success or failure, we must remove that which is nonessential and then add things back slowly and deliberately.
This is true whether we are talking about diet, exercise, productivity, or even creativity.
By first eliminating all that is not essential from our lives, we are then better able to determine for ourselves what truly matters or does not, what is necessary or is not, and what adds benefit or value to our lives or what causes undesirable negative consequences.
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 & Bodyand Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
Meditations on God 