"Warriorship: Achieving a Blissful Life Through Self-Discipline"

We all have to face this one fact - the way the universe works means you never achieve anything worthwhile in life without effort...
Just today, fitness expert Matt Furey sent an email to his list about DISCIPLINE. He remembers having been given an autographed book many years ago by a well-known Taoist teacher, who inscribed in the book the words, "In discipline lies freedom". Matt goes on to say that discipline is the ability to finish what you start.
I couldn't agree more. If you've ever worked in a gym, studied martial arts or gone through any post-secondary educational program, you've probably met lots of people who love to start new things, but who never finish them. In the physical realm, I know people who flit from one thing to another, almost on a predictable time table. This month it's dance, next month it's Tai Chi, and the month after something else will catch their fancy. It's as if the whole culture has a severe case of ADD. Worse still is that they don't see anything wrong with this approach. Yes, the approach may be fun and interesting - but it condemns you to failure in every area of life.
What ancient cultures knew very well and what we've managed to forget is this: Unless you can persevere on the road toward your goal (in any field), DESPITE the challenges and DESPITE how you "feel" at any given moment, you'll never win. And much worse than not conquering your goal, you'll never conquer YOURSELF. You see, the gold medal, the new job, the extra money, the improved health or whatever you think you want are all things that you'll eventually lose anyway. Their real value is that in conquering them you have an opportunity to conquer yourself! And that opportunity is priceless. It's right there that you have a ticket to the ultimate freedom and joy.
That's why ancient cultures trained so hard at everything they did, from martial arts to calligraphy to pouring a cup of tea - because they knew that this conquest is a spiritual necessity for every human being. When German professor Eugen Herrigel studied archery in Japan, he had to spend months just learning to draw the bow.
Today, a Westerner would walk out of a class like that, because he just wants the thrill of shooting arrows at the target. And he wants it NOW. Go to any Tai Chi class in the Western world and you'll be taught the Tai Chi form almost immediately, simply because it's "interesting" and, for that matter, not too demanding.
But go to the Chen village in China where the original is taught and you won't even be allowed to watch the form being practiced. Your first assignment will be to stand still for hours in the "horse stance" - an agonizing ordeal if there ever was one - in order to build a firm foundation.
In the West people can think they're serious Christians if they pray for 10 minutes once or twice a day. In the old country people who were serious would pray for hours in the middle of the night. An Orthodox Christian holy man of recent times noted that he prayed so intensely that the sweat ran from his body as if it were a faucet. Transforming your life into indestructible joy is easily within reach.
But to do it you need self-discipline, which is... The willingness to undergo tough training and to stick with it even when you don't feel like it. Whether you want to play basketball like Michael Jordan, do math like Einstein, love like Mother Teresa or whatever else, you won't get there without struggle and dedication.
And remember that the real point of whatever you're pursuing in life is not that goal in itself, but the chance it gives you to remake your self and your life.
So resolve today that you'll do some serious reflecting on what's really important in your life.
Then decide how you can get there. If you don't know, ask someone who does. Then above all else, resolve to do what it takes to get there.
Dr. Symeon Rodger
"The Warrior Coach"
www.YourRockSolidLife.com