Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
#8
Yes yes I know that this was extremely late and it’s not going to be any good but at least it’s here.
Things that I can apply to non martial arts part of my life (wow that was really weird) is that sometimes you just can’t do everything at once you have to take small bites at first then after you get the hang of it then you can speed up (speeding up part optional). For instance the ten tigers program is very good at teaching me that you do have to take small bites (I mean trying to do 35000 pushups in one day dose not sound fun, I don’t know about you Steven but I’d rather just do 30 per day)
Another example is that it is a, shall we say, good idea to take good care of your body for instance for the instance, when I just stopped doing the ten tigers for eh…call it four months and then I tried to do ten pushups, I got really angry at myself because of how hard it was, but I couldn’t get enough motivation to do anything about it. Cause it just kept going through my head that it was too much trouble to actually do 30 pushups (and sit-ups but that’s implied) I actually tried to quit the ten tigers program, but when I got home that night I was so angry at myself for trying to do that. But now I think that it’s a piece of cake to do 30 and 30 and 5. In fact I already did 100 pushups and am about to do 100 sit-ups.
So there you go
Larkin
Things that I can apply to non martial arts part of my life (wow that was really weird) is that sometimes you just can’t do everything at once you have to take small bites at first then after you get the hang of it then you can speed up (speeding up part optional). For instance the ten tigers program is very good at teaching me that you do have to take small bites (I mean trying to do 35000 pushups in one day dose not sound fun, I don’t know about you Steven but I’d rather just do 30 per day)
Another example is that it is a, shall we say, good idea to take good care of your body for instance for the instance, when I just stopped doing the ten tigers for eh…call it four months and then I tried to do ten pushups, I got really angry at myself because of how hard it was, but I couldn’t get enough motivation to do anything about it. Cause it just kept going through my head that it was too much trouble to actually do 30 pushups (and sit-ups but that’s implied) I actually tried to quit the ten tigers program, but when I got home that night I was so angry at myself for trying to do that. But now I think that it’s a piece of cake to do 30 and 30 and 5. In fact I already did 100 pushups and am about to do 100 sit-ups.
So there you go
Larkin
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Learned From Failure
An important thing I have learned from failure is that sometimes, failure is needed.
If I am not on the path I need to be on, a failure can force me to reexamine my journey.
If I am not making progress on the path I need to be on, a failure can show me the changes I need to make.
Sometimes, barely succeeding allows me to keep following a very difficult path, whereas failing allows me to abandon that path to follow an easier one.
I've learned that even though it is a blow to my ego, and feels rotten, failure sometimes is exactly what I need.
The Struggle Continues!
TT Writing Assignment #9:
What is something important you have learned through falling short, falling behind, missing your goals, or outright failure?
To let go of guilt. Guilt gets in my way of getting back on track for improvements. It wakes me up in the night, just as surely as trying to sleep without completing my crucial tasks for the day. Unless I invent a time machine, guilt is useless except as an incentive to avoid it in the future.
To plan more realistically. It turns out that I cannot do everything, be everywhere, and fill gaps for everyone I love, even myself. And even if I actually can do everything, without a plan to achieve it, the deadlines just go zipping by without triggering any alarms. When I find myself failing, it's often because I haven't taken the effort to manage the details of the goals on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
To change. If I keep missing my targets, something is not right. The plan must not only be more realistic, it might have to change altogether. Change is probably the most complex and frightening component because who is to say that change is for the better? I so often feel that if I just keep getting up and charging at the target again, perhaps this time I'll hit it. Luckily I have a friend who points out, repeatedly, that that's the definition of insanity ... so now sometimes I can stop and think about what must change. Sometimes everything must change because the goal is false. Then I have to go back to step one again, and let go of guilt … But sometimes things must change because the goal has simply changed, as they do over time. Perhaps when I started the journey I only wanted to simple goals, and now they're more complex. Perhaps the path required for the achievement of goals is too lonely. Each day I change, and it's okay – and important – to inquire of myself if I'm still doing what I really want to be doing.
To ask for help. Even following simple steps can be too hard without friends and loved ones. I know that much of the thinking I have to do when I've fallen short or struggling must be my own, done on my own, acknowledged and worked through in my own head in my own intensely personal space. But it surely is good to have someone to whom I can turn for a bit of help with the questions rolling through my head. Sometimes I think I'm going crazy, or misinterpreting signals, or making decisions based unreliable reactions, or simply that I can't do it. I'm not capable. The voice of a friend can remind me to trust myself – simple, but not easy. Asking for help provides me with new or different information and can break the cycle of self-doubt that gets in the way of resetting my goals, or simply trying harder to reach them.
Case in point. I am behind in my Ten Tigers for legitimate reasons – or so I tell myself. But the motivation to catch up eluded me until the other day. With a little outside influence added to my own circular thinking, I was able to replace some negative thoughts with positive ones, create rewards where only failure weighed heavy. And now I'm within striking distance of not only pulling even, but pushing ahead. I've re-set my goals to allow for my need for off days, and raised the bar for performance.
And that's not the only struggle this writing applies to. Writing to these assignments makes me consider where I am right now, and follow my own steps to get in a better place. My muscles are sore, but my mind is okay. Thank goodness.
What is something important you have learned through falling short, falling behind, missing your goals, or outright failure?
To let go of guilt. Guilt gets in my way of getting back on track for improvements. It wakes me up in the night, just as surely as trying to sleep without completing my crucial tasks for the day. Unless I invent a time machine, guilt is useless except as an incentive to avoid it in the future.
To plan more realistically. It turns out that I cannot do everything, be everywhere, and fill gaps for everyone I love, even myself. And even if I actually can do everything, without a plan to achieve it, the deadlines just go zipping by without triggering any alarms. When I find myself failing, it's often because I haven't taken the effort to manage the details of the goals on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
To change. If I keep missing my targets, something is not right. The plan must not only be more realistic, it might have to change altogether. Change is probably the most complex and frightening component because who is to say that change is for the better? I so often feel that if I just keep getting up and charging at the target again, perhaps this time I'll hit it. Luckily I have a friend who points out, repeatedly, that that's the definition of insanity ... so now sometimes I can stop and think about what must change. Sometimes everything must change because the goal is false. Then I have to go back to step one again, and let go of guilt … But sometimes things must change because the goal has simply changed, as they do over time. Perhaps when I started the journey I only wanted to simple goals, and now they're more complex. Perhaps the path required for the achievement of goals is too lonely. Each day I change, and it's okay – and important – to inquire of myself if I'm still doing what I really want to be doing.
To ask for help. Even following simple steps can be too hard without friends and loved ones. I know that much of the thinking I have to do when I've fallen short or struggling must be my own, done on my own, acknowledged and worked through in my own head in my own intensely personal space. But it surely is good to have someone to whom I can turn for a bit of help with the questions rolling through my head. Sometimes I think I'm going crazy, or misinterpreting signals, or making decisions based unreliable reactions, or simply that I can't do it. I'm not capable. The voice of a friend can remind me to trust myself – simple, but not easy. Asking for help provides me with new or different information and can break the cycle of self-doubt that gets in the way of resetting my goals, or simply trying harder to reach them.
Case in point. I am behind in my Ten Tigers for legitimate reasons – or so I tell myself. But the motivation to catch up eluded me until the other day. With a little outside influence added to my own circular thinking, I was able to replace some negative thoughts with positive ones, create rewards where only failure weighed heavy. And now I'm within striking distance of not only pulling even, but pushing ahead. I've re-set my goals to allow for my need for off days, and raised the bar for performance.
And that's not the only struggle this writing applies to. Writing to these assignments makes me consider where I am right now, and follow my own steps to get in a better place. My muscles are sore, but my mind is okay. Thank goodness.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
I'm not perfect, entitled, or special.
The main thing that I have learned through failure is the importance of letting go of the ego. I recall the following statement, but I can't remember where I got it. It goes like this. A person says, "Why me?!, Why me?!, Why me?!" The answer is, "Why not you." I can relate failure to each my my careers; acting and teaching.
When I first got into acting around twenty years ago, I started off on a roll, no pun intended. I obtained a role in every play I auditioned for. It got to the point where I would just look at the list of the auditions, and simply pick and choose. One evening, I auditioned for the main role in an Agatha Christie play. I auditioned my butt off. I used a British accent, showed off every emotion one could possibly think of, and then shed a few tears for good measure. My friends who were also auditioning were blown away. They said that was the best work they had seen me do, and I was a shoo in for the part. Usually, I would get a phone call in a day or two offering me the role. The call never came. I was so conceited at the time, that I thought there must of been some type of error. Maybe the producer and director misread the contact number. I gave a ring, which was something I had never done, and was informed that the role went to another actor. I was shocked. It went to an actor who was a fellow student at the acting school I attended. I saw his audition and was bored to death. Yet, he correctly interpreted the character where I simply wanted to show off. It was an Agatha Christie character, and I treated it like a Stan Lee character. My ego was my true failure.
I began teaching in my early twenties. I was young and still full of ego. One day around fifteen years ago, I saw a student doing his math homework while I was teaching my English class. My attitude at the time was how could this person do this. Doesn't he know that he is missing out on me speaking, which is a wonderful opportunity. What in the world is this student doing?! I berated him, and he cried. After class, I apologized, and walked him to the counselor as he requested. The young man was devastated, and I was shocked and ashamed at what I had done. Later, the counselor informed me the student was having severe family issues, and not doing his homework was not helping those issues. I was the straw that broke the students back, or in this case, his spirit. I hurt someone's feelings because of my ego. All I had to do was simply ask him to place the math book away, and please focus on literature right now. Instead, I made a huge scene because of my ego. I'm ashamed of both of these moments of my life. I failed as an actor and a teacher. More importantly, I failed as a human being. On a more positive note, these failures are learning experiences.
I've learned that I'm not perfect, entitled, or special. I've learned this through failure and my martial arts training. Studying kung fu keeps me humble. It's great to see my fellow students and my teachers succeed and grow as better martial arts and human beings. Through hard work, I can become a better martial artist. It's a simple concept, but can be difficult to apply. Also, through hard work I can become a better actor, teacher, and more importantly, husband, father, and human being.
When I first got into acting around twenty years ago, I started off on a roll, no pun intended. I obtained a role in every play I auditioned for. It got to the point where I would just look at the list of the auditions, and simply pick and choose. One evening, I auditioned for the main role in an Agatha Christie play. I auditioned my butt off. I used a British accent, showed off every emotion one could possibly think of, and then shed a few tears for good measure. My friends who were also auditioning were blown away. They said that was the best work they had seen me do, and I was a shoo in for the part. Usually, I would get a phone call in a day or two offering me the role. The call never came. I was so conceited at the time, that I thought there must of been some type of error. Maybe the producer and director misread the contact number. I gave a ring, which was something I had never done, and was informed that the role went to another actor. I was shocked. It went to an actor who was a fellow student at the acting school I attended. I saw his audition and was bored to death. Yet, he correctly interpreted the character where I simply wanted to show off. It was an Agatha Christie character, and I treated it like a Stan Lee character. My ego was my true failure.
I began teaching in my early twenties. I was young and still full of ego. One day around fifteen years ago, I saw a student doing his math homework while I was teaching my English class. My attitude at the time was how could this person do this. Doesn't he know that he is missing out on me speaking, which is a wonderful opportunity. What in the world is this student doing?! I berated him, and he cried. After class, I apologized, and walked him to the counselor as he requested. The young man was devastated, and I was shocked and ashamed at what I had done. Later, the counselor informed me the student was having severe family issues, and not doing his homework was not helping those issues. I was the straw that broke the students back, or in this case, his spirit. I hurt someone's feelings because of my ego. All I had to do was simply ask him to place the math book away, and please focus on literature right now. Instead, I made a huge scene because of my ego. I'm ashamed of both of these moments of my life. I failed as an actor and a teacher. More importantly, I failed as a human being. On a more positive note, these failures are learning experiences.
I've learned that I'm not perfect, entitled, or special. I've learned this through failure and my martial arts training. Studying kung fu keeps me humble. It's great to see my fellow students and my teachers succeed and grow as better martial arts and human beings. Through hard work, I can become a better martial artist. It's a simple concept, but can be difficult to apply. Also, through hard work I can become a better actor, teacher, and more importantly, husband, father, and human being.
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