Great book review Elan. Zen In the Martial Arts is one of my all-time favorite martial arts books. There are many lessons in it that you can carry with you on your journey. Every great achievement begins in the mind. However, I don’t want that to sound like a cliche. If something seems overwhelming – like 50, 000 pushups – you’ll never accomplish your goal if it’s so overwhelming to you that you can’t possibly see the end. So you first have to break up the elephant into individual chunks; like individual projects. Once the goal seems achievable, positive thoughts come naturally. That’s a skill that takes practice. It sounds like you’re figuring it out.

That face!! 😍😍😍😍

Thanks Cathy. I am still a brown belt. Testing for black belt will be in 12 months January 2025.

Achieving a giant goal is simply a matter of accumulating small, daily victories. Like you said, it’s like taking one cookie out of the box at a time until there are no more left.

This is a great way to look at our task at hand. I especially like how you acknowledge doing a little at a time to balance things out.

Yes! Small things, done consistently over time lead to great results. Your insight on taking small bites is valuable too. We have to consider the longevity of our training too. We want to enjoy karate for many years to come–not just a single flash-in-the-pan year.

You’re absolutely right, being thankful and giving to others is good for all involved. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

I get this same feeling around the holidays. The combination of the cold weather and the feeling of being blessed with good food, shelter, health, and a loving family and community really puts things into perspective about how lucky I am.