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Category: Being Disciplined

The Pulls

Published on October 4, 2023

I aim to upload 2-5ish quotes to MoveMe Quotes (here) every day.

This afternoon, I noticed in myself a real trouble focusing while reading. I felt my mind going a mile-a-minute and felt that modern day pull towards screens and dopamine hits.

I wanted to share posts.

I wanted to check email.

I wanted to refresh and see what I missed.

So, rather than entertain each and every pull, I made a paper and pen list instead.

This strategy has helped me on many occasions by freeing my mind from the “pulling” thought (writing it down means my brain doesn’t have to remember it any longer) and has kept me from rabbit holing—which is precisely what email, social media, and websites are designed to do… keep you there. Even when you only intend to be there for a quick moment.

The next time you’re trying to do screen-free work and you feel a similar type pull, rather than do the digital thing right away, try writing it down with good ol’ fashion pen and paper instead. Create an ongoing list, stay committed to the non-screen task, and finish the written down task(s) later—when it can all be done in one fell swoop.

Non-screen type tasks get increasingly easier the longer you stay away from screens and get increasingly harder the more you give in to the pulls—regardless of how “quick” they end up being.

Push yourself to resist the pulls.

P.s. My website is fixed. My landing page is no longer an incredibly frustrating “404 Error Page.” My apologies to those who landed there.

The Luck In Being Prepared

Published on September 23, 2023

For the martial arts demo team I coordinate, our next performance opportunity was scheduled to be six weeks from now.

…Until I got word that there was another opportunity next weekend.

Many of them, for the past six weeks were focused on other things and were waiting for good ol’ procrastination to kick into effect—even though I’ve been encouraging each team member to have something ready sooner.

Lo and behold, when I announced the opportunity, only a handful of them were ready.

And the handful that have been putting in the work are going to get to capitalize on the opportunity.

This is what “luck” is—when preparation meets opportunity.

The prepared team members are going to get “lucky” with the experience they’ll gain from this last minute opportunity whereas the procrastinating team members won’t.

Don’t wait for the opportunity to arise to start preparing. By then, it’ll be too late. Start preparing now and jump ahead of the procrastinators by capitalizing on opportunities the second they come onto the radar.

The Noise of Paradise

Published on September 8, 2023

The 50k run I completed last week was composed of four laps in and around Burning Man city.

The absolute hardest moment of the run happened when I was completing my third lap.

Just as I turned the corner and the checkpoint/finish line came into sight, I saw a group of around 50+ people celebrating, cheering, and lounging after having completed the run.

…They finished an entire lap ahead of me.

…And I had an entire lap to go.

…As in I had to deliberately choose to go back out into the heat, windstorms, and longgggg stretches of uninhabited desert WITH the agony of already wrecked ankles and knees when what was right in front of me looked nothing short of paradise.

…I seriously considered stopping.

….I seriously questioned my life decisions.

…I seriously wanted nothing more than to collapse and complain and lounge.

…But, something inside me told me to just keep moving.

To slowly, slowly, move away from that finish line—my checkpoint—and let the noise of paradise fade into the background… until it subtilely disappeared.

And not long thereafter, it did.

…And I was back in it.

…Undistracted by the sounds of other people’s victories and the visions of other people’s reward. I no longer had other people’s voices in my head nor did I have their relieved faces in my sight. I was free from the temptations of comfort that were trying to pull me more and more forcibly back towards its favorite zone.

…And I was running my own race again.

This was the key decision—the crux point—that got me through.

This was the moment I actually finished the race.

No Hesitation

Published on July 25, 2023

When teaching self-defense, the goal is to get students to eventually perform with no hesitation.

Seconds matter in self-defense and any time spent hesitating, remembering, or doing mental negotiations could make a life-changing difference.

I’ve been thinking about this lately and how it applies to everyday life, too.

Using self-defense skills against physical attacks should (hopefully) be a rare, if ever type of ordeal. Using self-defense skills against everyday lifestyle attacks is an all-of-the-time type of ordeal—and thus, could prove to be invaluable to consider.

What are everyday lifestyle attacks? I’m talking about things like:

  • Whether you should workout or skip.
  • Whether you should eat the donut or intermittently fast.
  • Whether you should wake up after the first alarm or snooze.
  • Whether you should go to bed early or watch one more episode.
  • Whether you should spend more time on social media or spend more time reading books.

In the midst of these mental negotiations are valuable seconds that tick away faster than we ever realize. I just recently spent 1 hour in this hesitation state deliberating between go to bed early or watch one more episode. And this is just the tip of the iceberg for what accounts for time wasted in hesitation for both me and countless others.

The mantra I’ve been practicing, when I catch myself in this mental negotiations space is: no hesitation. And, like in martial arts, I try to discipline myself to start doing the desired action ASAP without any second thoughts.

Going, I’ve learned, is one of the best means for stopping. And the longer we stay stopped, the harder it is to go. Going quicker… is an excellent strategy to consider.

The Best Way To Stop Is To Go

Published on July 4, 2023

Loud noises scare my dog.

And when she’s scared, she’ll press into me insistently until she’s cradled and reassured that all is okay.

Leave her un-craddled and it’ll only get progressively worse. Don’t cradle her enough and she’ll persist and press into you until it is enough.

Telling her to stop being scared or pushing her away only exacerbates it.

However, give her a bone with some peanut butter on it? Or take her for a walk that’s filled with stimulating scents and smells? And she’ll forget what she was even scared about because she’s too preoccupied on the new experience / thought process.

…Assuming, of course, that it’s not a persistent loud noise or one that really shook her.

The takeaway here is an important one. Tell your mind or the mind of another to stop thinking or doing a thing—and it can’t help but continue thinking or doing the thing. Give the mind something else to focus on, however—something that’s captivating enough to consume a majority of its available mental resources—and you can’t help but stop thinking about / doing the other thing.

The next time you find yourself having negative self-talk, trouble with self-control, trying to help somebody who’s stuck thinking cyclically about something they no longer want to, etc—use this strategy of going to get them (or you) to stop.

The Almonds Guy

Published on June 22, 2023

I’ll never forget the day I met The Almonds Guy.

There I was, a young and dumb teenager, out partying with my young and dumb teenager friends, in the middle of some local woods, doing young and dumb teenager stuff, when all of a sudden…

This guy walks onto the scene.

…Not too much older than us—early college maybe. Built. Wearing a football jersey that struggled to fit his biceps (which were the size of my head), who was casually eating from a can of… almonds.

Now, mind you—there were a lot of young and dumb teenagers on scene… maybe 30+. And all of them looked just as young and dumb as the next. But, this guy? …He stood out.

He wasn’t drinking. He wasn’t smoking. He wasn’t there for any of it. He was just roaming, laughing, connecting, and… getting his protein on.

I was completely captivated by it.

So, naturally, I stayed close and listened to this out-of-place figure speak what felt like his sermon. And at one point, somebody (finally) asked why he wasn’t partying like the rest… he smiled and said, “My body is my temple. And I treat it as such.”

I didn’t realize it at the time, but this hit me at my core. And later became an image I would base the image of my highest self around.

What’s strange though is I never saw or heard of him again. Nor did I ever hear my friends mention anything of him again. I never even got his name.

…And sometimes I wonder if I ever really did meet The Almonds Guy?

Or if The Almonds Guy was something that met me…

Managing Unwind Time

Published on June 3, 2023

On weekends, I like finishing my days with a TV show.

It’s a great way for my productivity focused mind to unplug and idle for a while. Maybe you can relate?

Here are three rules I’ve created for myself to keep this in check, though: 1) I will only ever finish my days with a TV show, 2) It’ll only ever be on weekends, and 3) I only allow it if I’ve finished all of my other priority tasks for the day.

There are two reasons why I’ve created these rules for myself: One, they are undeniably addicting—even for a self-discipled black belt like me. And two, if I don’t get my priority tasks done because I wasted too much time watching TV, I’ll undoubtedly feel regret.

That said, there’s still the question of how to stop once you’ve started watching—which is no easy feat.

First, I always assume the episode will end with another hair-pulling cliff hanger. Another episode will never make the “hanging” better—only equally hanging off a cliff or more so.

With that mindset established, here’s what I do when the episode is actually over: 1) Don’t stare at the “next episode?” button. Clear the button and let the credits play. 2) Turn down the volume and get your mind focused elsewhere asap. Even if that means checking a social media feed. 3) Once you move your mind away from the cliff enough, you’ll eventually reclaim footing back in reality and have a MUCH easier time turning the show off.

At least this is what works for me.

I’m curious: What works for you?