This is The Most Valuable Thing Any Of Us Has
Time is the most valuable thing that any of us has. That’s because however much any of us has is all we will ever have; time is finite, irreplaceable and all of us is spending it, deliberately or not. Furthermore, none of us knows how much of it we have left. As far as I could go down the philosophical implications of any one of these facts, and however much I would really enjoy it, I am not going to do that- out of respect for your time. J
But what I do want to talk to you is about the relationship between time and intensity. Learning to balance this is the secret to ultimate and lasting happiness and success. I believe that. I don’t profess to have obtained it, by the way, but I am happy to share what I have learned on the quest.
You see, Intensity, which also happens to be the quality of a champion we’re working on this month at KMMA, is the ingredient that sets our goals on fire. When we apply intensity to the things we say we want to accomplish, and we do so consistently over time, we do accomplish them. This is the secret of the super successful in any area- they are more intense, and more disciplined and consistent about this intensity over time, than their competitors. I have used this formula many times in my life, but only became really conscious of the fact recently, or perhaps reminded of it, recently. For this reason, my wife and I just began a 75-day challenge to set some personal goals in our life on fire. This is day one. If you’d like to know what we’re doing, email me at shihansteve@kmmatampa.com and I’ll share. The magic, however, is not in what you do however as much in as that you do it intensely over time! Time under training long enough to produce the desired results!
It’s like what happens with our krav maga martial arts students. Each comes with their own unique strengths and weaknesses, goals and desires. None would be able to pass the KMMA Blackbelt test when they walk in the door. But through the law of the process, many go on to unleash their inner Blackbelt!
To extend the above analogy a little further, a student training under the average intensity, 2-3 times per week, will test for their Blackbelt in 3-4 years. Some students, who up their intensity by training more often under more intensity, and opt in to additional training experiences like Krav Camp, or even my Intensive Training Course (it has the word intensity right in its name) are ready and able to test for and achieve their Blackbelt faster because of intensity!
Intensity is the fuel on the fire that gives us the force to make all of our physical, professional, financial or whatever goals happen! Now, for one final word about that balance. Like any fire, the fire of our intensity must be controlled. It’s the balance I alluded to at the beginning of this blog. Like any fire, our intensity can eventually consume us if we are not aware. My pastor preached this weekend on the importance of leaving space in your schedule and in your life so that you aren’t running around stressed out all the time. It was a good reminder for me because, as you may imagine, I can be a pretty intense individual.
I think the secret is that we must apply:
- Maximal amounts of intensity for finite periods of time and
- Reserve our time, energy and intensity for the things that really matter.
I’ll go further on each of these in the mat chats this week, and some more wiring and/or videos over the rest of the month.
In the meantime, think about your time, your intensity and your balance. Think about how to apply these to your goals and who you want to be in life.
As always, let us know if we can help!
Be Your Best!
Grand Master Stephen Del Castillo
Founding Instructor, KMMA