Chances are, at some point in your time as an martial arts instructor you have heard a child say "you're not the boss of me.” For me, this comment always raises an interesting question: “Am I the boss of me?”
Ask yourself, are you the boss of you? Your first response is probably similar to mine, “Of course I am the boss of Me! Who else would be?” The truth is though, that most of us let our urges, impulses and emotions be our boss. I believe that being the boss of Me means that I am is in control, patient, compassionate and disciplined with Me. I think we can all improve with a little extra effort on this mindset.
I believe the best way to gain better control of your life is to mindfully work on your self-discipline. Self-discipline is merely doing what you should do, regardless of if you want to do it or not.
I once heard a story about a gentleman who, upon finally realizing that he wasn't in control of his life, decided to do a self-challenge. He dedicated to getting up every morning at 4 AM for one year to go out in the backyard and move a pile of rocks from one place to another spot. Each day he would get up again and again, moving the rocks back and forth from the original spot to the other spot. The point of this exercise was to try to develop a higher level of self-discipline. He knew if he could get himself to follow through with this meaningless exercise then he could get himself to do just about anything.
This test of self-discipline was a success. At the end of the year this man's level of discipline and the level of control that he had over his life had increased tenfold.
So the question I have for you is, “What is your ‘pile of rocks’?” What personal discipline can you practice with yourself, your staff or even your students that will help you to be in control of your life?
Once you decide what it is, commit to it. I am sure you will see the results.
