Do What You Hate

We've all heard the expression "Do What You Love". Applied to careers, school, life in general this expression is a guideline to happiness. A rule of thumb that is accurate and easy to follow. It's easy to do things we love or like. We make time for them, plan it in our schedules, and are protective of the time we allot for these activities.

Do what you hate? Exactly!

In every activity there is something that we don't enjoy or perform to the full potential. Why? Well we dislike or "hate" that part of the activity, so we don't practice. We focus on the things we are already good at and don't sweat the other stuff. We have the luxury of being able to specialize in a task, and leave the other stuff to someone else. Sometimes we are good at something and don't bother learning a more efficient way of doing things simply because what we do is working.

Examples...
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1 - Flying Kicks, I hate flying kicks. I rarely do them in class and don't enjoy it when I do perform them. They are one set of techniques that I am just not fond of. I could list a bunch of excuses but the bottom line is I don't like them. So when I am practicing or working out, what is the one thing I make sure I do every session? Flying Kicks. I grumble, moan, and finally just bite the bullet and do my flying kicks. Again the only way to get better at something is to do it. And that value that flying kicks provide to my overall flow and timing is incredible. With out practicing them, I would have to find new ways to develop the skills they already provide. End result, I just suck it up and do them. It helps me in a lot of ways and the follow through I learn is a must to succeed.

2 - Running, I hate running. I get tired and my knees start to hurt. Pity party for me, ready, set, awwww! Again I'm not going to whine about it, just say that it's not something I like. However, it is something I practice. It's good for me, bla bla bla, but the point is, by training myself to do the things I don't enjoy, it makes the things I do enjoy easier to do, and more fun.

So on that note, start practicing the things you don't enjoy more than the things you do. Think of the less fun stuff as your vegies and the cool stuff as your cheesecake. It will make you a much more rounded person and martial artist. Last of all, if anyone is interested, I'll be dragging my sorry butt to the TLC Thursday nights at 20:00 hrs starting on the 27th. If anyone wants to share my misery of running laps, you are more than welcome to join the "fun".