The week ended on a super high with my son achieving his black belt in karate 🥋🧾. It was a proud moment for us as a family marking the culmination of one martial arts journey as a student and the beginning of a new one as a Sensei (Teacher).
While I’m very clear on what it took from a parental perspective to support this journey, I thought it was worth asking the young Sensei what is the difference that’s makes the difference.
Here’s what I took away:
- It takes time - Chinese Proverb - “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." Significant journeys like setting out to achieve a black belt, are rarely achieved overnight. Whether the “tipping point” is 10,000 hours or 10 years, once we have started we can embrace acceptance that it will take time to arrive at the destination.
- Never quit - “How do you build a wall? One brick at a time.” Once the end goal is clear, we can break things down into manageable chunks e.g yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, purple, red THEN black belt. Focusing on each step, supports us in acknowledging & celebrating the small wins, especially during challenging seasons.
- If you don’t know, find out - In other words, “You better ask somebody!” It usually takes countless repetitions before a technical process becomes an intuitive skill. Some steps come more naturally to us than other people. For those that don’t, we can ask for help, it may be someone else’s superpower 🦸🏼♀️🦹♂️🦹🏽♀️. When all else fails , your favourite search engines and generative AI may have some useful suggestions.
Bonus Tip: It is all about the support network - “No man is an island, no man stands alone.” This is the perfect segway to personally thank the Tingey family of Eagle Warriors and my dearest wife who committed to supporting our son throughout this journey for the last 10 years whilst managing her own professional career.
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