Last week, the question of the week in the dojo was, “What is a quick decision you made that changed your life?” When I initially started thinking about this, I was trying to remember bad decisions I had made. There were plenty. One that sticks out was from when I was visiting Paris at 8 years old. My family and I were in the metro headed to see Napoleon’s grave. As we were pulling up to a stop, my mom told us, “Alright, the next stop is ours!” The door opened and I waited excitedly as people shuffled on and off the train. At the last second, I jumped out and the doors closed behind me. I looked back to see my family pulling away on the train and the horrified look on my mom’s face as she frantically gestured for me to stay put. I was scared. About 20 minutes later they came back and picked me up, but I was scared.
The first decision I had made to jump out of the train was impulsive. Something pretty bad could have happened. I made the second decision just as quickly. My 8 year old brain determined that I couldn’t trust anybody, and put it in stone. This changed my life.
I’m sure you can think of several of your own decisions that you wish you had taken a bit more time on.
Action
In the words of the ancients, one should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths. If discrimination is long, it will spoil. When matters are done leisurely, seven out of ten will turn out badly. A warrior is a person who does things quickly.
-Hagakure: Book of the Samurai
In last month’s blog I talked about the importance of patience. Some people take patience too far, however, and take forever to make decisions. Often we get paralyzed by the attempt to make the “right” decision. There isn’t always one right decision. Sometimes we just need to respond well.
I tell my Tai Chi students all the time to practice what you know, even if it isn’t perfect. By working on the principles, you can still improve. The details will come with time. By sitting around and worrying about how your Tai Chi is flawed, you only get worse. Make a decision about how you are going to practice a posture and don’t be attached to it. Simply practice to the best of your ability.
When I first came to Sifu Brown’s dojo in Michigan, I signed myself up for a kung fu class. I wasn’t very enthusiastic. When I actually did the class, I was instantly hooked. I knew right away that I wanted to practice. In fact, I was concerned that I would spend too much time in the dojo, so I waited to actually become a student until 3 months later. I still wish I had those 3 months back.
It is important to focus on being decisive and making a decision quickly. The other part of the equation is taking action quickly. I have people come in to the dojo several times a month and tell me, “I’ve wanted to practice martial arts since I was a kid. Now I’m 40 (50,60) years old. Isn’t it too late?” Of course I tell them it’s not too late. But just imagine how good they would be already if they had just started all those decades ago! We waste so much of our time and potential with inaction.
You can decide in an instant that you want to get in shape and lose weight. Many people do, especially when they get diagnosed with diabetes or have a heart attack. We even know how to do it: eat healthier food and exercise. Where we get tripped up is in taking action. So many people just look online to see what kind of classes are in their area, then stop short of actually signing up for that intro.
When facing what seems like an overwhelming task like learning a new form, losing 50 lbs or completing a huge project, it can be difficult to take the first step. Yet that is all there ever is to focus on. Turn the nervous energy and fear of failure into action. Rather than thinking about everything there is to do, simply act. In this way, we live in the moment. We are happy. We get things done.
There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man’s whole life is a succession of moment after moment. There will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment.
-Hagakure: Book of the Samurai
