COURAGE

To become a true master in Tae Kwon-Do one must have the courage to dream the dream and then take action.

Courage is the resistance of fear, the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear. It is the capacity for taking action despite your fear. You see fear and courage are brothers; fear has to be present for courage to exist.

All of our dreams can come true, if we just have the courage to pursue them and life shrinks or expands in proportion to our courage. When we use courage we can keep on going long after we think we can't. The light of courage brightens even your darkest moment.

Hope, faith and courage are often heard together but have very different meanings.

Hope is wishing something will happen. Faith believes something will happen. Courage is making

something happen. It's like a muscle; it is strengthened by use.

Courage is that one quality of mind and spirit that enables us to face difficulty, danger, and pain without fear.

To develop our courage is just a choice. Understanding that it gets stronger each time we choose to exercise it.

When we get the action signal of fear we need to feel it, accept it and at that moment choose to visualize a positive outcome.

The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do with courage. Life is death without adventure, adventure is nothing without risk. So if you do not risk you do not live life.

Respectfully,

Master Dan

Happy New Year!!!

   Happy New Year everyone… There are two directions you can go this year. One is positive and the other is negative, so what is your choice. At the end of 2012 what way will you have chosen? Positive…I thought so or you wouldn’t be here right now.  The first step is always a definite chief aim at your goal. What level will you be at the end of the year?

   To start with we all need to know the goal setting dance. Which is - Know what you want, take action, daily habits towards your goal, be willing to do what’s necessary, with the attitude of gratitude and remember to enjoy the journey.  (If you want to see the actual Dance stop by the Academy any time and I will show it to you personally!!)

   When you know where it is you want to get to you will need a map to get you there. We use the acronym - M.A.P. which is a “massive action plan” Your plan must include the goal of course, but it also should include what you have to do to get it as well as things you need to do (like train 2-3 times a week) that can be broken down to 1% improvements everyday towards your goal. You cannot fail to reach your goal unless you quit.

   As martial artists we must break our training down to four (4) 10 -12 week cycles throughout a training year. This puts a time limit on reaching our goal(s). You will be amazed at what you can achieve in this short time. The natural breaks allows the necessary time for your body to heal between cycles.  The same thing can be used in your work place.  Plan a mini vacation take and extra day off and get excited about that time for reflection and celebration of all that you have achieved up to that point.  When you break your large goal(s) into daily habits you choose to always take action over procrastination and being an eager student or instructor of life and put positive energy in to the growth of our academy.

    Fill out a Goal Sheet, make it into a business card that you can pin or keep anywhere. Look at the daily and reflect back to the reason WHY you wanted that goal in in the frist place.  If it was to lose weight why did you want to loose weight.  "I need to get healthier!' ~ "WHY do you need to get healthier?" "So that I can do more things." ~ "Like what? Be specific!"  When you can attach an emotion to the goal... I need to lose 20 lbs so that I do not develope heart disease like my father, so that I can spend more times being active with my family...those reasons add leverage to the goal.  You will be more likely to stay the path, even after you slip, it will power you to get back at it.  When you look at your goal card daily it reminds you to just do 1% a day and you will be successful.

If your goals are “out of sight then they are out of mind!”

                                                              Respectfully,
 
                                                                     Master Dan Zaleski