Learning to Crawl

Let me be honest - I suck at swimming.

I mean, I truly suck. Not being overly negative here (except maybe "negatively buoyant"), I can get from here to there in the pool, but man, it's hard work.

That's what led me to start swim lessons today.


Why? Why not just focus on emphasizing your strengths?

1) We all Suck at Something (some of us suck at many things)
Nobody's perfect. Or, as Marco is fond of saying "God does not give everything to anyone"... I was never able to prove him wrong, either.
We all have our crosses to bear, and our issues to work on.
Be honest with yourself. It starts with honesty.

2) Why do we suck (and continue to suck)?
There is a negative spiral around sucking.
Maybe I could call it the "Suck Cycle" or something clever like that.
The fact is, you suck at something because you are not naturally good at it.
You are not good at it, thus it is not fun to do it. It's more fun to do what you are good at.
You don't do the things you suck at, thus you never improve at them.
Consequently, welcome to a lifetime of sucking....(unless you actively do something about it).

3) Next Steps
We all love to show off how good we are (especially in front of the opposite sex).
However, balance also means spending extra time on the things we are not good at. It means identifying honestly our own weak points and specifically taking steps to improve them to be better all-around. It may mean just longer practices specifically on those weak skills. It may mean specialized coaching, weight training, rehabilitation, or even spending time watching videos or researching on the web. It may mean asking for help/advice from others who are good at your weak areas. It may mean taking classes or getting a personal trainer or other professional.

DON'T LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE when it is about your training.
Relentlessly seek to improve yourself.

Not only does this mean getting better at the skills you have competitive advantage in, it means raising up the skills you are weak at until you are confident in them. Of course, this applies in all areas of life, not just martial arts training.

"A true master reveals himself in every action no matter how small"
- samurai maxim

This is the champion's way. See you at the finish line.