Sunday Story...Hoping and Wishing

Sunday Story…Hoping and Wishing



I really want to get healthy…I really want to lose 30 pounds…I really want to get good grades…I really want to get a college degree...I really want to make a million dollars…I really want a committed relationship…I really want to play professional ball…I really want … Hopes and Dreams are important. They are the stuff that gets us up in the morning and out the door. And most of them never come true. The fact is most of them never get on the launching pad, let alone launched.



I recently had a conversation with someone who was very worried about his health. And rightly so. He is on diabetes medication, 30 to 50 pounds overweight, and not working because of his health. Most of his health issues are life style related. In other words he caused them by the way he chose to live his life. This means he can change them by changing the way he lives his life. We all know someone like this. He said “I really want to get this under control. I really want to lose this weight.” When I mentioned that his diet played a big issue in the problem and he might have to change the way he ate and the things he ate you would have thought I suggested he tear off his own arm and devour it. “I can’t do that! I won’t eat that. I hate zucchini, vegetables are not for me!” My comment was simple…”then you really don’t want to solve the problem yet do you?”



You can have anything you want in life. Provided the following things are true:

1. You are sure of what you want. 100% sure. Not I think, maybe, sort of, kind of sure. 100% written in stone, do or die sure. You believe you deserve this thing with your entire being.

2. What you want is aligned with your purpose in life. Go back to #1. Part of being 100% sure is in knowing what your purpose in life is and knowing you are living your purpose.

3. You are willing to accept the lessons you must learn on the road to getting what you really want.

4. What you really want serves you, the people around you and the world.



I get where none of this stuff is easy folks. And at the same time it is not rocket science either (except when it really is rocket science). It takes effort. It takes work. It takes growth and that ain’t easy. D.H. Lawrence (famous English writer) said, “Are you willing to be sponged out, erased, canceled, made nothing? Dipped into oblivion? If not, you will never really change.”



After you figure out what you really want then you must take action. And that action is going to hurt. Getting in shape is not easy, even if your favorite magazine claims to have the 7 easy exercises to a flat tummy. They are lying to you to get you to buy the magazine. Lose 30 pounds in 30 days the easy and painless way. Sorry not going to happen. You are going to have to change something…and that something will result in you being uncomfortable and maybe craving things and maybe even really wanting to go back and quit. The status quo is easy. Watching TV is easy. Eating ice cream and donuts is easy. There is no easy button. There is only burning desire. A fire in your belly that gets you up in the morning, keeps you up at night and has you dedicated to a single goal.



Where is all this coming from today? Among the many things I do, I also practice a thing called Brazilian jiu-jitsu. You may have seen some part of it practiced on the UFC fights or other places. It is a difficult game that relies on physical attributes like strength and size combined with technical ability to perform certain movements all pasted together with the principles of physics and human movement and then validated on the mat in a physical contest. It takes practice. Lots of practice. And I have been doing it for 3 years and it seems I am going backwards. I regularly “roll” with men 20 years younger than myself who outweigh me by 20 to 50 pounds. And I am thinking of quitting today. I am wondering what I am doing and why. And when I might have some hint that I know what I am doing. Intellectually, in my mind, I know the knowledge is coming. That it may in fact already be there. The fact is that I may be 1 roll away from the piece of self knowledge that opens the next door. If I quit now that door will never open. If I stop and take a vacation it will take that long and then some to find the key to that door. And I still want to quit.



Relentless Focus and Transformation. That’s what it says on my T-shirts. Am I living my purpose if I quit? What part of quitting now, after 3 years of getting mounted like a dude ranch horse, of getting whipped like a junk yard dog, would indicate any measure of focus? Transformation hurts folks. Transformation is a black eye and a cauliflower ear. Focus is keeping your eyes on the prize. Am I focused on what I really want or am I refusing to eat my vegetables? Am I sure I want to transform? Am really sure? This isn’t just about jiu-jitsu folks. This is about your career. About your marriage. Your relationship. Your education. Your life. Your soul. Transform and soar into now places, open new doors, see new vistas. Or not. Watch TV and live some other life. Your choice. Me?

Let’s roll. See you on the mat.



Namaste



John

“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”

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