Things I’d Wish I’d Known When I Was Younger
There are so many things that I wish I’d known much younger.
I have little doubt that if I had, I’d be so much further along today.
Do you ever feel that way too?
But, then, I ask myself two important questions:
1. is that true? (that I’d be further along today if I’d known then what I know now)
2. what can I do about it? i.e. what positive use can I make from that regret today?
First, I’ll attempt to answer the first question.
Would I really have acted differently privy more data?
Any attempt to answer this absolutely would signal arrogance, foolishness or even delusion.
One, because we never really know what would have happened in the past any more than we know what will happen in the future and, in fact, we have have much more control over what will happen in the future than what might have happened in the past.
Hopefully the fact that we have no control over what happened in the past was as obvious to you when you read it as it was to me when i wrote it.
I apologize for the simplicity of the statement, but I didn’t rewrite it because I think it may still be useful to the purpose of our little journey together today.
If we know that we have no control over the past, and we do know that we don’t; why do so many of us spend so much time, energy and attention there- in the past that is.
I believe that the only useful thing about the past is for what it can teach us. It’s good to look back on the mistakes, trials, victories, and all that brought us here from there, for better or for worse, but only to learn from it all and apply it to our current and future world.
We can not dwell there.
And thus, the first real important lesson of this inquiry presents, we can not and should not live in the past.
But this is also a great jumping point back to the question.
If we could go back, given all the knowledge and wisdom that we have today, would things be different and what can we possibly do with that answer today?
Well, to the prior, I would argue that we may or may not be able to do anything any better based on whether or not we also took back with us greater success attitudes and attributes.
The knowledge alone wouldn’t change a thing…
for, as the wise philosopher, Aristotle, once said: “Knowledge without action is useless.”
So, if we had a time machine and really could entertain the fantasy of time travel back to live our life forward better than we did before, we would need not just the knowledge we have accumulated as we grew older, but the powers we’d need to apply that knowledge.
We’d need Focus, Respect, Discipline, Confidence, Gratitude and Vision, as well as courage, communication and leadership skills, perseverance and grit.
These are the powers we develop in our students at Krav Maga Martial Arts, by the way.
Which leads me to the second question, what can we do with the wisdom we wish we’d known when we were young?
We can sow it in our kids today.
I find my greatest joy and satisfaction in sowing wisdom into my kids, team and tribe.
And, part of that wisdom is knowing that teaching them what I know is not enough.
They, just like you and I were we giving the wisdom young, will do nothing with the knowledge and skills, unless we also give them the attitudes and attributes of success with it.
And this is simple, not easy, but it is what we do in my Blackbelt Leadership program at KMMA.
So what do I do with what I wish I’d known then?
I share it with you, and our kids.
It takes a tribe.
Proud and grateful for you.
Prepare To Live; Empower To Lead!
Grand Master Stephen J. Del Castillo
Founding Master Instructor, Krav Maga Martial Arts
TampaKravMaga.com StephenDelCastillo.com
TampaKravMaga.com and Krav Maga Martial Arts have been empowering lives through the martial arts in the Tampa Bay area for 20 years!
Founded in 2000 by Grandmaster Stephen J. Del Castillo, a 7th degree Black Belt and Sr. Master Instructor, Krav Maga Martial Arts and Karate lessons for pre-school children ages 3-6 and elementary age kids ages 7 and up are designed to develop the critical building blocks kids need – specialized for their age group – for school excellence and later success in life.
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About Grandmaster Stephen J. Del Castillo: Grandmaster Del Castillo is the founding Master Instructor of Krav Maga Martial Arts and has been empowering lives in Pasco and Hillsborough Counties since October of 2000. He is a 7th degree Blackbelt, MBA, author, mentor and success coach, a US Army Veteran and a proud father and grandfather. He is married to Ms. Barbara Del Castillo who helps him run the school. Grand Master Del Castillo began his training in the early 80’s and has high level blackbelts in Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Premier Martial Arts and Krav Maga Martial Arts as well as experience in kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do and Jiujitsu. He has high level instructor certifications from BBSI, IKMF, and KMG and has been featured in numerous Martial Arts publications and also Success magazine. He was a competitive sport karate and American Kickboxing instructor until he enlisted in the US Army where he served in the 82nd Airborne Division, where he won an Army Green to Gold scholarship and proceeded to ROTC and the University of Tampa. He was commisioned in 1992 and went on to serve in Germany with the 3rd Infantry Division and then in several other posts in the US until he left military service to pursue his dream of creating KMMA in 2000.
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