Written by Happy New Year, everybody. First month of black belt challenge is over, just another 12 more to go. As for my personal goal I decided to go back to university and do some further education. I signed up at the University of Denver to get a certificate in Supply Chain Management. It will take roughly 12 months and requires to attend weekly online classes plus handing in a short paper every weekend plus writing on a project due at the end of each quarter. Of course this will add another level on the monthly workload and I am starting to feel the pressure. Besides work, life, kata, workouts, now some extra curriculum on top? What have I done?
I am thinking about it, waking up at night going through the next tasks, debating with myself on how to do it. This should be the life for the next 12 months?
However, each journey starts with the first step. Concentrate on what is immediately in front of you. Don’t give way to despair when looking to the overall tasks to be done during the year. Break it down week by week, show your progress, and stay motivated that way.
It’s easy to say but it needs constant reminding. 50,000 pushups, oh god vs. 127 pushups a day, doable.
Writing ten theses over the course of a quarter vs. writing one a week. It’s a learning experience that you get better at as you progress. During my second university class I asked the professor what the expectation for the final project is, how many pages, extend etc. You know what his reply was? Why do you care? Put it together while you progress during the course. Use your weekly parts and build your final paper. There is no need to know how it needs to look like and what the expectation is as it will be something that I create.
And you know what? It was a liberating advice. Do I need to worry about something in the future that I cannot control? Nope! Can I break it into little pieces that are achievable and do not look overwhelming? Absolutely!
The same principles that we apply while practicing Karate we can use for our daily life and challenges we face outside the dojo.
I just need to remind myself more often about it.
Yes! And what a greta goal sir! I’m honored that this is now a part of your black-belt test. If you aren’t using a day planner or time management system, I highly recommend the Franklin-Covey planner/system. There’s probably a fancy digital version now, but I personally found a lot of value during my test in sitting down each day for a few minutes to prioritize time in writing.
Terrific goal, Dirk-san. I appreciate your motivation, discipline, and pursuit of both self and professional improvement by challenging yourself and seeking to increase your knowledge. I am truly honored to have you as a training partner, and friend.