Greetings Team,
Last week we talked about setting standards for yourself. I would like to continue on with a similar idea this week, Team. That idea, is once you get good at something, maybe even great...you can AND must get better. To quote Vince Lombardi, "Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we catch excellence."
The idea, Team, is to not sit on your laurels. To "always be happy, but never be satisfied." To always aspire to be more than what you are, and not get comfortable with the level of success that you have achieved. As a martial arts athlete, we constantly have to set the bar higher for ourselves. In our diet/nutrition, cardio, and martial arts skills. We can never let complancancy be our friend...it always has to be our enemy.
I truely make this a goal of mine, Team. Each and every week on the Mats I try to provide you with Top Notch training and classes. Each week my goal is to somehow, someway make each class better than the last. It is important for me to be the best at what I do...for myself, and for you. To accomplish this you always have to take a look back in the mirror. You have to look at what you have done well, and what you can do to improve. If you do this often enough, you are sure to keep getting better.
This week I would like to encourage you to pick a time at the end of the week, and take a look back at your Victories. What did you do well? Both on AND off the Mats. Then, take a moment to jot down a couple key things you can do to improve upon next week. If you make this a weekly habit, Team, you will always make strides toward "PERFECTION". :)
What's the biggest room in the World?
The room for Improvement!!
Hope you got some benefit from this today, Team!
ALL THE BEST!
COACH
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Hold Yourself Accountable
Greetings Team,
We've been talking a lot lately about getting the most out yourself. today, let's talk about the idea of holding yourself accountable. When you don't get the job, Team, you have to take responsibility.
Holding yourself accountable can apply to so many things we do in our lives. It can apply to our diet. It can apply to working out. It can apply to how hard we push ourselves during training. It can apply to being a good friend or teammate. And it certainly can apply to holding yourself to your word. When you hold yourself accountable, you don't wait around for someone to scold you. You scold yourself.
I have found that guilt can be an amazing motivator. When you don't give it your all, you should feel guilty. When you feel guilty, it's hard to sleep at night until the wrong is made right. If you have that kind of standard on doing your best in any given situation, you definately will get more accomplished. We need to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to try our best....not be the best...just try. When we don't live up to this rule, then we should feel guilty. And again, guilt is a very powerful motivator.
The key here, Team, is setting rules for yourself. Certain guidelines that you HAVE TO FOLLOW. We all have some already. Don't we? Some of us have the belief of NEVER being late. Because it's a rule, we pride ourselves on being timely. If we are late, we are furious! But, if you don't have that rule, we tend to make excuses for our tardiness. "Lots of traffic." "Got up too late." And so on.... The point is, Team, we need to create key rules for ourselves to follow that ensure we optimize our efforts. When holding yourself accountable is a rule, we will feel guilt when we don't follow through. This in turn will get us more motivated to not REPEAT the mistake.
My encouragement for you this week is to start simple. You can start by following the rule of "My word is my bond." If you say you are going to do something, do it. A very admirable trait. If you don't feel you can accomplish a task, don't verbally commit. But if you do, GET IT DONE. No matter what. And if for some reason you don't, HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE. Let the guilt motivate you to not let it happen again.
If you can apply this one method of holding yourself accountable, Team, you certainly will be able to apply to other areas of your life!
Hope you get some benefit from this today, Team!
ALL THE BEST!
COACH
We've been talking a lot lately about getting the most out yourself. today, let's talk about the idea of holding yourself accountable. When you don't get the job, Team, you have to take responsibility.
Holding yourself accountable can apply to so many things we do in our lives. It can apply to our diet. It can apply to working out. It can apply to how hard we push ourselves during training. It can apply to being a good friend or teammate. And it certainly can apply to holding yourself to your word. When you hold yourself accountable, you don't wait around for someone to scold you. You scold yourself.
I have found that guilt can be an amazing motivator. When you don't give it your all, you should feel guilty. When you feel guilty, it's hard to sleep at night until the wrong is made right. If you have that kind of standard on doing your best in any given situation, you definately will get more accomplished. We need to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to try our best....not be the best...just try. When we don't live up to this rule, then we should feel guilty. And again, guilt is a very powerful motivator.
The key here, Team, is setting rules for yourself. Certain guidelines that you HAVE TO FOLLOW. We all have some already. Don't we? Some of us have the belief of NEVER being late. Because it's a rule, we pride ourselves on being timely. If we are late, we are furious! But, if you don't have that rule, we tend to make excuses for our tardiness. "Lots of traffic." "Got up too late." And so on.... The point is, Team, we need to create key rules for ourselves to follow that ensure we optimize our efforts. When holding yourself accountable is a rule, we will feel guilt when we don't follow through. This in turn will get us more motivated to not REPEAT the mistake.
My encouragement for you this week is to start simple. You can start by following the rule of "My word is my bond." If you say you are going to do something, do it. A very admirable trait. If you don't feel you can accomplish a task, don't verbally commit. But if you do, GET IT DONE. No matter what. And if for some reason you don't, HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE. Let the guilt motivate you to not let it happen again.
If you can apply this one method of holding yourself accountable, Team, you certainly will be able to apply to other areas of your life!
Hope you get some benefit from this today, Team!
ALL THE BEST!
COACH
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Are you Interested or Committed?
Greetings Team,
I wanted to talk to you today, Team, about the idea of being INTERESTED in or COMMITTED to achieving your goals. Once you make this distinction, it will be so much easier to have a clear path to achieving what you want. Moreover, you will take the ACTIONS necessary to getting there.
If you hear me ramble enough, I'm sure you know that I feel the vocabulary we chose is very key. Now, I don't just mean what you say aloud. I also mean the internal dialogue that we have every day. You know, the "little voices in our head." What those litte voices say is so important to the way we view things. If we can get more control over the things we say to ourselves, we can definately get more out of ourselves.
Let me give you some examples. If we are INTERESTED in achieving something, we tend to say things like: ~"I really need to work out again." "I should go back to college." "I need to start going to Jiu Jitsu more."~
The very nature of how we say these things gives us the option NOT DO THEM! If you say, "I need to get to bed earlier", that also mean you also may NOT NEED TO. As in anything, Team, if you give yourself the OPTIOIN to quit, chances are you will.
Let's change the vocabulary. If you are COMMITTED to a goal, have DECIDED that you will achieve it. You KNOW in your mind you will do what is necessary to get there. We tend to say things like:
~"I will win." "I am tired of being fat, I AM GOING TO THE GYM!" "I have to get better at kickboxing. I AM GOING to class 3 times this week."~
When we decide that we want something, we commit ourselves to the necessary ACTIONS to get there!
Team, if there is a Goal you have not made progress torward, you are not committed to it. You have not decided that you HAVE to have it. When you have that level of committment, you will do whatever is necessary to get what you want...won't you? Sure you will!
My encouragement for you this week is to DECIDE AND COMMIT yourself to a WORTHWHILE that you KNOW you want or need. Use good vocabulary and keep pushing forward! Trust me, YOU'LL MAKE IT!
Hope you get some benefit from this today Team!
ALL THE BEST!
COACH
I wanted to talk to you today, Team, about the idea of being INTERESTED in or COMMITTED to achieving your goals. Once you make this distinction, it will be so much easier to have a clear path to achieving what you want. Moreover, you will take the ACTIONS necessary to getting there.
If you hear me ramble enough, I'm sure you know that I feel the vocabulary we chose is very key. Now, I don't just mean what you say aloud. I also mean the internal dialogue that we have every day. You know, the "little voices in our head." What those litte voices say is so important to the way we view things. If we can get more control over the things we say to ourselves, we can definately get more out of ourselves.
Let me give you some examples. If we are INTERESTED in achieving something, we tend to say things like: ~"I really need to work out again." "I should go back to college." "I need to start going to Jiu Jitsu more."~
The very nature of how we say these things gives us the option NOT DO THEM! If you say, "I need to get to bed earlier", that also mean you also may NOT NEED TO. As in anything, Team, if you give yourself the OPTIOIN to quit, chances are you will.
Let's change the vocabulary. If you are COMMITTED to a goal, have DECIDED that you will achieve it. You KNOW in your mind you will do what is necessary to get there. We tend to say things like:
~"I will win." "I am tired of being fat, I AM GOING TO THE GYM!" "I have to get better at kickboxing. I AM GOING to class 3 times this week."~
When we decide that we want something, we commit ourselves to the necessary ACTIONS to get there!
Team, if there is a Goal you have not made progress torward, you are not committed to it. You have not decided that you HAVE to have it. When you have that level of committment, you will do whatever is necessary to get what you want...won't you? Sure you will!
My encouragement for you this week is to DECIDE AND COMMIT yourself to a WORTHWHILE that you KNOW you want or need. Use good vocabulary and keep pushing forward! Trust me, YOU'LL MAKE IT!
Hope you get some benefit from this today Team!
ALL THE BEST!
COACH
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
All Kids Learn to Walk...
Greetings Team,
I wanted to take a few moments today Team, to talk to you about the idea of never giving up. Sounds simple, I know...but please endulge me...I think it may just help you out. :)
As some of you may know, I am a big Tony Robbins fan. I bring this up with no intention of swaying your opinion on his material, but to simply state that the idea I am speaking about today, I first heard through his material. Let me share....
Infants wiggle around on their bellies for a long time. They keep trying to get to their knees, but fail. Numerous times...daily. And one day, sure enough, the get up on those knees. They begin to slide themselves along the floor. Victory!
Then as that infant becomes more a toddler, they begin to explore new horizons...literally. Crawling is no longer good enough. They grab at legdes, couches, and coffee stands. Anything to hoist themselves up with. Again, they keep failing. Miserably. Numerous times, daily. And yet again, they finally do it!
Yet somehow, that's not good enough, either. They feel the need to try to walk. So they give it shot. Timid at first to be sure, but they give it their best effort. They stumlbe, fall, and cry. They try again. Sometimes they get a few steps. Sometimes none at all. It doesn't deter them, howerver. They are relentless with their effort to master this amazing skill called walking. And bam! They get it...and never look back.
At what point would any of us as parents walk over to our child and say, "Hey! Maybe you should just give up. I just don't think this walking thing is for you"? We wouldn't, would we? We want them to succeed. And we know if they just keep at it, we KNOW they will get it. Encouraging them all the way. Picking them up each and everytime they fall. We tell them "good job", and "better luck next time." And that my friends is why our children walk. They never give up. And we help them along the way.
So I ask you Team, do you have this level of tenacity? SURE YOU DO! You walk don't you??! So my encouragement for you this week Team is to remind yourself that if you simply just DON'T GIVE UP, you WILL get what you're after. I KNOW you will.
Hope you got some benefit from this today Team!
ALL THE BEST!
COACH
I wanted to take a few moments today Team, to talk to you about the idea of never giving up. Sounds simple, I know...but please endulge me...I think it may just help you out. :)
As some of you may know, I am a big Tony Robbins fan. I bring this up with no intention of swaying your opinion on his material, but to simply state that the idea I am speaking about today, I first heard through his material. Let me share....
Infants wiggle around on their bellies for a long time. They keep trying to get to their knees, but fail. Numerous times...daily. And one day, sure enough, the get up on those knees. They begin to slide themselves along the floor. Victory!
Then as that infant becomes more a toddler, they begin to explore new horizons...literally. Crawling is no longer good enough. They grab at legdes, couches, and coffee stands. Anything to hoist themselves up with. Again, they keep failing. Miserably. Numerous times, daily. And yet again, they finally do it!
Yet somehow, that's not good enough, either. They feel the need to try to walk. So they give it shot. Timid at first to be sure, but they give it their best effort. They stumlbe, fall, and cry. They try again. Sometimes they get a few steps. Sometimes none at all. It doesn't deter them, howerver. They are relentless with their effort to master this amazing skill called walking. And bam! They get it...and never look back.
At what point would any of us as parents walk over to our child and say, "Hey! Maybe you should just give up. I just don't think this walking thing is for you"? We wouldn't, would we? We want them to succeed. And we know if they just keep at it, we KNOW they will get it. Encouraging them all the way. Picking them up each and everytime they fall. We tell them "good job", and "better luck next time." And that my friends is why our children walk. They never give up. And we help them along the way.
So I ask you Team, do you have this level of tenacity? SURE YOU DO! You walk don't you??! So my encouragement for you this week Team is to remind yourself that if you simply just DON'T GIVE UP, you WILL get what you're after. I KNOW you will.
Hope you got some benefit from this today Team!
ALL THE BEST!
COACH
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Get Addicted to Results!
Greetings Team,
I wanted to share with you today Team, another way to get the most out of yourself. As with most things, anything worth achieving requires a lot of hard work. But, if we get ADDICTED to RESULTS, we can FOCUS on the PRIZES we gain...not the HARD WORK to gain the PRIZES.
Why is it so difficult for MOST of us to have good levels of fitness? Why do we chose to be lazy? One might say, we are thinking about all the tedious tasks needed to be fit. Eating foods we don't like, working out like a dog, not being able to be a "normal" person. When we focus on all the negative things we have to do, no wonder we never begin or stick with our workouts! If, however; we focus on the body we will have from all the hard work, AND get ourselves truely EXCITED about it, we have a shot at sticking it out!
This is why training in the martial arts is a GREAT endeavor. We get addicted to learning. We get addicted to the discplined, focused person we become. We get addicted to the healthy body we are developing. When you are addicted to these results, it's safe to say you won't give up. We tend not to quit doing things that make us feel good. This is why it's hard to kick "bad" habits. Your brain may know it's bad, but unfortunately it feels good. If you learn to focus on Results, you will surely start to see that negative habits create negative results. Even if they feel good in the short run.
My encouragement for this week Team, is to look back at some of the goals you set in January. If you didn't set any goals, DO IT NOW! Once you look at them, create a picture in your mind of the RESULTS you'll gain from all the HARD WORK. If you can truely GET ADDICTED TO RESULTS, you have an AMAZING CHANCE of actually seeing them!
Hope this helps you in some way Team!
ALL THE BEST!
COACH
I wanted to share with you today Team, another way to get the most out of yourself. As with most things, anything worth achieving requires a lot of hard work. But, if we get ADDICTED to RESULTS, we can FOCUS on the PRIZES we gain...not the HARD WORK to gain the PRIZES.
Why is it so difficult for MOST of us to have good levels of fitness? Why do we chose to be lazy? One might say, we are thinking about all the tedious tasks needed to be fit. Eating foods we don't like, working out like a dog, not being able to be a "normal" person. When we focus on all the negative things we have to do, no wonder we never begin or stick with our workouts! If, however; we focus on the body we will have from all the hard work, AND get ourselves truely EXCITED about it, we have a shot at sticking it out!
This is why training in the martial arts is a GREAT endeavor. We get addicted to learning. We get addicted to the discplined, focused person we become. We get addicted to the healthy body we are developing. When you are addicted to these results, it's safe to say you won't give up. We tend not to quit doing things that make us feel good. This is why it's hard to kick "bad" habits. Your brain may know it's bad, but unfortunately it feels good. If you learn to focus on Results, you will surely start to see that negative habits create negative results. Even if they feel good in the short run.
My encouragement for this week Team, is to look back at some of the goals you set in January. If you didn't set any goals, DO IT NOW! Once you look at them, create a picture in your mind of the RESULTS you'll gain from all the HARD WORK. If you can truely GET ADDICTED TO RESULTS, you have an AMAZING CHANCE of actually seeing them!
Hope this helps you in some way Team!
ALL THE BEST!
COACH
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