Two more just did! With several more within striking distance.
Something just got me thinking once again about our recent Junior Black Belts, Tristan Smith and Bryce Roberts, who joined the growing number of Black Belts at SMAA. Each time I look out on the training floor and see Black Belts training hard and being great role models, it takes a nothing day and makes it all worthwhile.
Ah, I remember now. I got up and went for a swim this morning, an activity I’ve grown to really enjoy. But, you know, I was dragging this morning having not gotten a good night’s sleep. I was too tired to exercise, or at least that is what part of my mind was whining about. I didn’t want to go, and this was something I really like to do. (read that line again, or a few times) Luckily for me, I also have an adult inside my head, one who created a simple system to help me when I get this way. I call it “Connect the D.O.T.S.”
D.O.T.S. stands for the DO ONE THING SYSTEM. I had to ultimately get in the water and swim but that goal brought all the things I’d have to do to get there. It seemed overwhelming.
So tracing back all the things I needed to do to get my rear in the pool was one simple thing–get in the car. Once I did one thing, all I had to do was change. Then, all I had to think about was stepping off the side of the pool. Then, all I thought about was leaving the side of the pool, etc.
Always focused on the next DOT, doing one thing, while I knew my ultimate goal. Before I knew it I swam my laps and here I am working away, awake and feeling ready to rock.
This little episode, which I repeat almost daily, reminded me of the Junior Black Belts because adults often forget that we go through the same challenges and must overcome the same obstacles our kids must. This is life, and it is not bound by age. Kids not only learn persistence and overcoming frustration–they must.
Early on in life I adopted a philosophy that the sooner I figured out “the rules of the game of life” and aligned with them the more time I would have to enjoy life, come what may.
The Junior Black Belts have a huge head-start.