We do not always have the time to do the things we want to do.
What we must do should take precedence.
While those things we must do make our lives possible.
Those things we want to do make our lives worth living.
We have to find a balance between these.
We have to find the time to do what we want after we have done what we must.
This will require organization and discipline.
When things are going very well, we must remind ourselves that this can and will change.
We do this not to be sullen or morose, but so that we may enjoy our good fortune for what it is.
It is temporary.
No one is guaranteed all good days.
Nor is everyone guaranteed all bad.
Things change.
And, they often change quickly and without warning.
That is why we must learn to embrace and enjoy the moment we are in.
Good, bad, or indifferent, this moment is what we get and what we have to work with.
Furthermore, knowing and accepting that our current circumstances, relationships, and mood will change allows us to prepare for when it does.
By understanding preparing ourselves for the fact that this moment, this velocity, and this trajectory are temporary, we give ourselves room to pivot when things change.
It is easy to be blinded by a desire for or fear of permanency.
But, neither of these feelings help us to face or prepare for the truth.
The truth is that nothing stays the same forever.
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 Kogen Dojo Self Defense Academy where he teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
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It is okay to enjoy something purely for the sake of itself.
There is a lot in this life that we must do.
There is a lot that requires us to be practical, efficient, frugal, prudent, and disciplined.
Not everything we do has to have some underlying reason, purpose, or motive, however.
Some things we should do simply for the sake of the joy we experience from doing them.
Joy, itself, is reason enough.
Joy is purpose enough.
Sometimes we need to excuse ourselves from pragmatism, even if just for a moment, so that we can allow ourselves to experience joy for joy’s sake.
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.
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 & 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.
Do the difficult thing first, but do not stop there.
As children, we want to have fun. We want to play. We want to do what is easy, what feels good, and what makes us feel free. We want what we want immediately, with no compromise, and we want to be able to change our minds on a whim with no consequences.
We must be taught to do that which is difficult, that which is necessary, that which is for others, and that which is for the future. We must be taught to think beyond the moment, beyond ourselves, and beyond immediacy and want. We must be taught to be disciplined, considerate, generous, and to do what we must in this moment so that we can do and have what we want in the future.
While these lessons are vital to our development, equally important is the lesson that all of the work, the discipline, and the drudgery should be for something, that it should serve a greater purpose, that our time is valuable, and that we are doing that which is difficult not for difficulty’s sake, but to improve the quality of our lives, our circumstances, and our relationships.
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.
Meditations on God 