Getting off the Train

 

I smiled when I saw this. Living in Japan we’re very dependent on public transportation. In fact, I don’t even have a Japanese driver’s license and haven’t needed one for the past 35 years. The train system in greater Tokyo (including Chiba, Saitama and Yokohama, too) is complex and interconnected. If you can master it, you can ride trains in any other country with ease.

Even after all these years, however, I still get on the wrong train sometimes. If you happen to fall asleep you could easily end up 50km from your destination (or worse). Mistakes like that can be tough. I still feel a little embarrassed when it happens.

As the picture above explains, when you get on the wrong train (or make a mistake if any kind) leaving it like that rarely makes it better. Often, the longer you wait the worse it becomes. Much of life is like that, it seems. There is importance in constantly getting good feedback (qualitatively and quantitatively) to make sure you’re going in the right direction (at the right speed). If you aren’t, it’s important to have the resolve and decisiveness to course correct as early as possible. Mistakes are inevitable. It’s how you handle them that matters. Some people are so afraid to make mistakes that when the problems occur they can do nothing. Paralyzed with fear, they may wait too long and end up much further from their intended destination. In the worst case, they may even become lost, forgetting how they got there (or why). 

Thinking through the causes and effects and understanding how to avoid those problems/mistakes in the future is a useful exercise. It’s important to acknowledge mistakes but not to dwell on them longer than necessary for the lessons to be learned. Over time we become wiser, stronger, better. It’s a process. I’ve found that learning to give a sincere apology is one of my most important (and most often used) skills.

Everyone gets on the wrong train sometimes. Don’t worry. Just get off as soon as you can and start backtracking right away. Don’t think about the time you lost. Just thinking about getting back where you should be. With any luck at all, your path will lead you (back) to the martial arts. To KM. And, ultimately, beyond. 

Love each other more