Life:
noun
1. the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
2. the existence of an individual human being or animal.
But what is life really? This is a question so many of us ask our selves, as is simply existing life or is it something more.
As always when teaching students Krav Maga inevitably come students that are not quite aggressive enough. Upon teaching one student recently I told them, “cmon you have to want it. ”
This got me thinking. In Krav Maga, wanting it is committing in an aggressive fashion apply Krav Maga principles and retzev while being relentless until the threat has stopped. In this case, wanting life is due to an immediate threat to life. If you hesitate or let up, there is a good chance in a violent situation things might not go your way. In Krav Maga, wanting life is about commitment to your action, in an almost singular focus driving forward with constant pressure until you are sure your life guarded. In such cases, you wanted your life bad enough to do what it took to survive.
In some ways, you might say I have adopted this attitude towards many aspects of life, hence the saying Krav Maga is a lifestyle and a way of thinking.
As an instructor, teacher, coach or what ever title some wish to give to me, I find my self often giving out advice to students or people outside of Krav Maga class. Sometimes it’s wanted, and sometimes it’s not wanted but needed. The thing is my advice often ends up being the same. You have to want it!
On Mental Health:
I often tell people the story of my manic depressive episode, which I won’t go into length
here. But for me, it was a 2-3 week period where things were not the way they should have been. After realizing things were not right, I got my self off the couch, I got my self-help and I did everything for my self to get better because I wanted to. In my case, those around me didn’t know how to help or didn’t recognize a problem so I did it my self.
Often when I talk to students or people about mental health issues, I will listen and in the end, the advice is always the same. How badly do you want to get better and what are you going to do about it. The choice is simple, you have to want to get better and you have to take the actions (not words) in order to get better. The choice is easy, the execution is hard, and so many are too fearful to make the required changes. In such cases, can’t is often won’t (Though in some cases biology wins out and medication or other things may be required to create a baseline level)
Mental health can be tough, and for some, they need out side help. But remember, YOU HAVE TO WANT IT. YOU Have to get better and YOU have to take the actions to make your life the way YOU want it.
On Entrepreneurship:
On this topic I often find myself banging my head on the wall because I see the same thing over and over. I see people who like the idea of being a business owner or entrepreneur but fail to understand what that means. What it means is working 60 + hour weeks, working second jobs, being your own marketer, being your own carpenter, being your own driver, being your own well EVERYTHING. Why? because unless you are lucky enough to get large investments and I mean LARGE investments you will not be able to hire the people with the required skill set and drive to do those things for you. Because trust me, the people who can are worth a lot. Volunteers and helpers unless they are as driven and hard working as you will often just be a hindrance or at the very least a great source of frustration.
So you want to be our own boss, and take your life into your hands. Well, guess what, YOU have to want it. YOU have to do more work than you ever imaged. YOU will deal with the hardships and the millions of non-stop obstacles that other people and the world will throw at you. Belief is not enough if YOU don’t do the work.
There was a myth propagated a while ago by the book The Secret that many people bought into that if you simply believe you will get what you want. The issue is the common thread among all the people used as examples was that they all put in lots and LOTS of hard work and time.
If YOU aren’t willing to put in more than you thought you would and YOU are willing to forgo your social life or other things to make YOUR life the way you want it through business and entrepreneurship then YOU are only lying to yourself. so are YOU going to want it bad enough for your own life’s sake?
In General:
I could apply this to numerous other situations but in order to simplify it and keep this short, I will say, in general, YOU need to want what ever it is you want. So long as you keep it legal, and do not physically harm anyone in the process then YOU need to do what ever it is YOU need to do to get where you want. YOU want to survive a violent situation, then YOU have to want it by applying the appropriate force and strategy even if it hurts or is not comfortable or pushes your boundaries. YOU want to get better from mental illness then YOU need to take charge and make the required actions in your life including hard changes to get better. DO NOT BLAME YOUR MENTAL ILLNESS, or use it as a crutch or excuse. YOU need to take charge and move forward. YOU want to own your own business so take charge of your life then YOU need to do the work until it has been built into something more. No excuses, YOU just need to do it and move forward. YOU, not other people.