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.