Today, I tested one of my 8 year-old martial arts students for his green belt.
At the end of each belt test, it’s customary to challenge the students’ spirit by having them do a series of hard exercises.
Today, before the start of the spirit test, I asked him, “What would you rather do: push-ups or sit-ups?”
He said, “Push-ups.”
So, I had him to do max sit-ups instead.
…If we always had things go the way we wanted them to, how would we ever build spirit?
Indomitable spirit is built precisely by doing things that are the kind of hard that we wouldn’t have picked if we had the choice. Because if we had the choice, we’d always pick the hard that was the easiest. And while the “easier” hard is better than no hard, it’s the “hard” hard that trains spirit to be indomitable.
…And I think this is something that life knows, too.
P.s. I finished uploading quotes from The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk. You can read my favorite 55 quotes here.