Change Your Life | Rock the World

Every four months or so, my kung fu school conducts tests for students from all of the local branches who are trying to move up to the next level. Last weekend was the time for it once again. So I was there as one of the judges.

During the test, I saw one very young kid who’s technique was actually much better than most of the adults that were there. I mentioned it to his instructor, and he told me that that kid, even though he’s only 7 years old, works very hard, and insists on doing things over and over until he gets it right.

Which, let’s face it, is not the attitude of most kids that age. So here was my brilliant response:

I said, “You can always tell the difference between the people who work hard and the people who don’t.”

I know. I know. Groundbreaking stuff. But you’d be surprised by how often people conveniently forget that very basic principle when it come to their own development.

And what it comes right down to is, if you want to be good at something, then you’re going to have to put in some work, and most likely a lot of hard work. And the more work you put in, surprise surprise, the better you’ll get at it.

It’s simple math. You put more into it, you’ll get more out of it.

The odd thing about it is, we live in a culture that reveres hard work, even to a fault sometimes, but that attitude is often at odds with the reality. Let me explain what I mean. There are a lot of people who claim to respect hard work, but when it comes down to them being the one to do the work, they’re not so enthused.

So actually, the thought of a lot of hard work puts most people off.

And sometimes they don’t even know it. They might not even recognize that they’re taking the easy way out every time, and they may not even notice that they’re not progressing or learning anything. Or maybe they do notice, but they have a very good excuse about how it’s someone else’s fault. They’re consciously or subconsciously not taking responsibility for themselves.

Well some things you just can’t do on cruise control, and some things you can’t do by tomorrow. Which is what I’ve told people when I’ve tried to help them avoid online scams. A lot of the scammers prey on suckers who are hoping to make a million dollars overnight and who don’t realize that it doesn’t work that way.

In most cases, if you want to make a million dollars, and if you haven’t won the lottery, then you’re going to have to work your way up to it over a number of years. The same thing is true with kung fu, and the same thing is true with your personal development.

If you really want to change your life, then that means getting the work done, whatever it is. And it means practice. You’ve, of course, heard the expression “practice makes perfect”. Well, it’s true. Sort of. I don’t know if “perfect” is the right word. You’ve heard me warn against the curse of perfection before. But practice does breed excellence. And excellence is something to strive for.

Even someone like Willie Mays had to practice every day to be as good as he was at baseball. Sure he had talent. Tons of it. But he didn’t get to be as good as he was by coasting on his talent. Everyone knows that he worked exceptionally hard to refine his skills into a lot more than just raw talent. He learned how to play the game, as well.

While we’re at it, Michael Jordan had to practice playing basketball all the time. Mozart wrote a lot of music as a child and as a young man before he wrote anything that we remember today. You can usually tell the difference between someone who has spend a lot of time honing his acting chops, such as Laurence Olivier, and someone who hasn’t (we won’t name names). Even young kids who are prodigies on, let’s say, the piano, spend a lot of time practicing the piano.

So why would you expect to be able to change your life instantly without any effort? And why would you just give up when that doesn’t happen?

These things take time and perseverence, and, you know, effort. And they require making some mistakes along the way and learning from them.

Think about anything you’ve ever done well, such as your job or driving a car or painting or whatever. Were you good at it instantly? And even if you were, didn’t you get better with experience?

Of course you did. Everyone does. That’s just a fact of life. So you should embrace it, especially when you’re trying something so imporant as changing your life. There are things in your life that you’re going to want to learn to do well.

And that, simply put, requires practice.

Related posts:

1. You’re Responsible for You
2. Yes, They Will Criticize You
3. Self-Discipline for Success
4. Who Cares if You Make a Fool of Yourself?
5. Don’t Be Afraid to Admit Your Faults