We need habits, not resolutions.
Much more than our decisions, our actions determine who we become. The more that we do something new, the more we change. The easiest way to change who we are and who we become is not to resolve to do so, but to actually do so.
Usually, this is a gradual process. We change, transform, and evolve slowly, over time, not all at once. We change in increments.
These incremental changes are the result of accumulated actions and behaviors in a chosen direction. Self-improvement is best thought about like a developed skill, than an innate talent. If we want to improve in some aspect of our life or character, we must practice.
Practice, repeated over a long period of time becomes a habit. Habits, formed and maintained over long periods of time, become transformative. We become what we do repeatedly, repeatedly.*
*This is not a typo.
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, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.
Artwork by Ana, except where otherwise noted.
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