Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Shut up and drive the car...

Author Richard Andrew King writes, “We can’t expect perfection from results.”



Voltaire said, “Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hands of time.”



Richard Bach reminds us, “There is such a thing as perfection and our purpose of living is to find that perfection and show it forth.”



Vividly I remember being a white belt in combat Karate. Learning to punch a bag properly seemed effortless until the minds eye began to figure out the real world destination of what was truly being accomplished.



The design of the bag only seems tear drop like to a passerby but to a student of boxing, kicking, better health and martial arts what comes across as a tiny and easy to control leather item fades quickly only to return as a mountain.



Perfecting the perfect punch can’t be accomplished in a day, week or month; especially since it involves more than the knuckles linked to a fist full of fire. There can be no steam if energy is a no show. Pushups…hundreds of them. What is a pushup but a punch? Julio commanded his students to forcefully push aside a lack of breathing, body aches and burning wish to quit to do more pushups.



Now it’s time to master the hips. Where were they pointed when the punch was delivered and did your foot pivot properly while delivering?



Does practice make perfect? Not according to Mr. King, “Practice only makes a habit. Perfect practice makes perfect.”



During the average work week; how often do you assume the performance given is perfect only to hear the method is completely off track? It’s what you do everyday! Nobody has ever brought it to your attention until now. Practice makes habits.



Being someone who accepts imperfection, Richard King instantly labels my way of living an injury waiting to happen, “Acknowledging we have flaws is to excuse our flaws. It sets the bar extremely low. The goal should be to connect each flaw then climb the ladder to a better way of living.”



Accept the challenge, start your day with a desire to beat what keeps you weak.



Stop searching your heart for failures and learn to recognize the individual corners of every mirror; if you don’t aim for the target you can’t hit it. Growth requires attempt. Perfecting the perfect punch is a never ending process of learning.

I can’t imagine what my neighbors think when they spot me in the front yard with my arm held out, fist clinched tighter than a granite boulder. From where I’m standing I see the curve of the index finger meeting the middle while deeply studying the behavior of the inner arm to see if it’s firm by way of accepting impact which now involves the shoulder, back, abs and the core development of soul purpose.



By accepting your flaws, weaknesses, shortcomings and limitations you’re teaching the deeper sides of the personality that makes up your presence how to overcome them so that a happier self can grow from the dry beat up soil of who you were yesterday.



Julia Cameron spends a lot of time educating creative people how to recognize the perfectionist. A perfectionist is never happy. They do, redo then do again and again only to learn the day is over and nothing was accomplished. The end result is a gut full of self hatred because no day passes that you feel good enough to be available for better things.



Mr King says it best, “We are what we think. If you’re convinced that you can’t…then you can’t.”



Never forget the sweet golden rule taught to a martial artist…wherever your head is…so is your body. When you learn to master balance the next step is always a direction of choice.

I will always believe in you first…



arroecollins@clearchannel.com

No comments:

Post a Comment