He who would do some great thing in this short life must apply himself to work with such concentration of his forces as, to idle spectators, who live only to amuse themselves, looks like insanity.
– John Foster
With any physical training ask your doctor first before embarking on any program.
My old sensei would encourage us to train “with the intensity of a man whose hair was on fire”.
I often see people ‘training’ or working out. Just as often I have to shake my head and wonder. This is usually because what they are doing is so ineffectual as to be practically worthless from any real improvement perspective. Often times it is what they are doing that lacks the effectiveness; but more often what is lacking is intensity or engagement in the process. Yeah, you have seen them too…that guy reading the magazine on the treadmill at the ‘health club’, or the girl doing a zillion reps with the Barbie weights. Many people just go through the motions in life and this carries over into their training. They seldom truly engage in any activity, training or otherwise. The equation is pretty simple. Mediocre effort brings mediocre results (in everything). There is a tremendous well of potential out there just waiting to be tapped. Most people are unaware of this, or don’t know how, or maybe they just don’t care. I believe that part of what is behind this is motivation. People for the most part seem to have a very shallow pool that they draw their motivation from. It’s that simple equation again… Low motivation usually results in low effort, which of course yields low results.
Some days when I get up in the morning I do some stretching and yoga and joint mobility exercises. Because I am rushed I also have the television on to catch the news. Wrong! This is a perfect example of lack of intensity and focus. There is no possible way to get the full effect of training when your attention is divided like that. Proper training requires attention to detail and internalizing the effort. Multi-tasking is a farce; it is for people who want to do multiple things with mediocrity. Another sensei once told me that “practice does not make perfect… only perfect practice makes perfect”
Some say (and I am inclined to agree) that it is not necessarily the output that is important in all of this, but the input. In other words the spirit of engagement is really what matters. Train with people that are focused, dedicated, and passionate about their craft and their lives. I am not interested in training with people that are just going through the motions, or doing things for a distraction; only with people that are internally engaged and live their life with purpose.
Climb past the belay and leave nothing for the swim back.