A NEW NORMAL

WEEK OF 12/9/24

 

A new normal.

That’s kind of what we’re all looking to create with our work, right?  To create a new normal state of improved health, wealth, and happiness?

But what happens when we start to achieve a new normal in our lives?  Do we recognize and appreciate it, or conveniently forget how we accomplished it and allow ourselves to slack?

There is an insidious truth here hiding underneath our accomplishments:  that we often achieve “new normals” in our life, but then stop doing the work that noramlized it in the first place.

Results require work.  Plants require water and light to grow, savings accounts require deposits to mature, and health requires discipline to be maintained.

Although this dynamic exists across the spectrum of healthy efforts, it’s most notably called out in Jiu Jitsu, where we’ve dubbed it the “Blue Belt Curse.”

The student finally sees recognition and results for their hard work.  Whether that means they develop the confidence to look a punch in the eye, they drop 10-20lbs, or they simply find the discipline to develop healthier habits.  

Often, once a student sees those initial results, they relax a bit in their training.  Since they’re already 20lbs down, they don’t necessarily see the need to continue working.  They have “reached their goal.”

The problem is, the new normal exists only in the state of work and discipline which created it.

Complacence is the real enemy here.  We must always recognize that results stem from work, and that our work is never done.  Martial arts does not have a destination; it is about walking the martial path, so that the discipline and work ethic you develop from the training can begin to work into other areas in your life.

So if you are feeling a little complacent today, no worries.  It means you’ve accomplished something.

But it’s also a great sign that you, YES YOU, need to get back to work.