Community Concepts (Jan 2022)
01/06/2023
Dojo Philosophy for Everyday Life
As I return to thoughts about resolutions and goals again after another year of battling to recover my health, my business, and my community from the ravages of the pandemic, I feel drawn again to revise this message about striving for others. This central premise of Cuong Nhu Martial Arts deepens the more we lean in to it and are challenged in our pursuits.
Cuong Nhu’s first code of ethics – Cuong Nhu Students should strive to improve themselves and their abilities in the martial arts in order to serve the people.
What does it take to make you strive? Striving is not just hard work, or the daily application of your labor. The definition of the word intones a vigorous struggle. In class we point to the sweat dripping from the nose, and the muscles shaking with effort to the edge of failure. Striving is the certain path to improvement. It is the pain that comes with transformation, but it is pain, and most shrink from it. What motivates you to see past the trial to the growth beyond it? This year, after my previous year of making strides to recover from being bedridden after a Covid hospitalization, I faced a plateau that was well below my previous performance level. It led to questioning the well laid plans of my life. Sometimes this kind of wall in our path wakes us to a deeper truth. What were my plans meant to accomplish in the first place? My own health and happiness. The security and health of my loved ones. With my new perspective, are there other ways to reach the goal that will break through this plateau? With a new plan came new motivation and renewed energy that launched me forward again.
Facing challenges with others will increase followthrough. Getting your friends and family on board with the changes you want to make is crucial to success since they create the atmosphere in which you apply the choices you’ve made. Consider making these choices as a group to begin with. In the end we’ve all got similar core goals even though they filter down to smaller goals that seem very different. Your particular group can come together to combine and pursue them in ways you might not imagine on your own but that will be far more motivating to pursue.
When you share a goal with others you’re more likely to show up even when it’s hard. Getting members of my community to take on some of my goals with me meant that I could show up for them and they could show up for me. Even if our goals for exercise, diet, and planning were different, the struggle to show up and strive is the same. Knowing you’re expected and needed by the group is one of the most powerful motivators to show up. Knowing your community is working hard by your side will give you power to push yourself beyond your own perceived strength.
In order to serve the people. Identify the deeper goal of your desire to change. If you want to be in better shape, don’t focus on the shallow reasons, because they’ll be easiest to discard when it gets tough. It’s easy to let yourself down. Find the deeper motivation that puts striving in context and share it with those around you. Connect your growth to your ability to serve your community. You could make a goal to call one member of your community each day to check in and catch up. You could make a goal to bake five loaves each weekend and deliver them to five people that need a boost. Join with others in your efforts to see them multiplied and to stay motivated as a group. When your goals lift up those around you, they’ll energize instead of exhaust you. They’ll keep you centered on your community, the true wealth of your life.