Daily Yamabushi

All good things must come to an end

Lovers.

Haters.

Strangers.

Seasons.

Days.

Flowers.

Busses.

Trains.

Planes.

Happiness.

Sadness.

Emotions.

All come and go.

And make that normal

Keep doing things randomly to keep it normal to do things randomly.

I have a friend who, just because it’s today, tries to mix things up on purpose. For example, where you would normally go right foot first, go left foot first instead. Where you would normally take the short way, take the long way instead.

This way when the random strikes, you’re somewhat accustomed to it already, and you can more easily move forward. This also keeps you experimenting and curious, two things that we could all benefit from.

The one that feels right

Years ago I would instinctively walk the route to school that just felt right. Yet, I noticed that on the way home it was another route that felt right. I was still walking between the two same points, the only difference was the direction.

The right path will always find its way to you, even if you’re going to the same place. In the big scheme of things, this is no biggie, but a bit of variety never did anyone much harm.

Wait for the pests

Birds, animals, and the like only go after crops when they’re good to eat. Which is to say, they only come when you’ve done a good enough job. If you hadn’t, then they wouldn’t come in the first place. Sure it’s a hassle to deal with, but that those pests exist at all is a sure sign that you’re good enough.

Because we were

We were not born to simply exist. We were not born to simply live. We were put on this earth to do things for the betterment of humankind and the earth as a whole. We were born to adventure. And adventure we shall.

It’s all part of the process

You may not feel like you are making progress. The steps you do take may not feel like they’re taking you anywhere. But they are. You are making progress, you just have to back yourself, trust yourself, and build yourself. It’s all data that helps you for future decisions. It’s all part of the process.

An admirable aim

The byproduct of being the best person possible, is that you’re the best person possible. An admirable aim if there ever was one.

Make sure you make

Make and tweak and tweak and tweak. And if it doesn’t work, make some more and tweak and tweak. But make sure you make. Once it’s made, all you have to do is tweak until it’s made.

First, we experiment.

First, we experiment. And then, we experiment some more.

Experts are generally just people who have experimented more than you. Experiment enough, and you will become an expert eventually. But first you have to experiment.

Showing up is

There are certain things that only come about through sustained effort. To even have a chance at seeing these things, we need sustained effort. If you’re not willing to show up day after day, you’re not willing to see the results.

Giving up is not the point. Showing up is.

The only way to know for sure

Some things take off. Some things have a life of their own and just go bonkers. Other things don’t. Other things you expect to do amazingly well, so you put in the effort to make it worth its weight, and then nothing. Kaput.

There’s no way to know which way something will go. Until, that is, it’s out in the world. Once it’s out in the world, you’ll know.

And continued effort

You can talk about sustaining the flame all you like but the fact of the matter is, life gets in the way. It would be great if we could keep up with our habits so we never have to restart them time and time again, but sometimes that just isn’t possible.

In my case, I’ve started up swimming again after a bit of a hiatus (through no fault of my own). Swimmers definitely, and probably anyone who lifts weights or even runners as well, should understand fully well that after your first few workouts, you actually put on weight. Or at least, this has been the case for me every time it’s happened.

The simple reason is, you’re putting on muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. Which just means that if you keep going, soon instead of turning fat into muscle, you’ll run out of muscle to gain so to speak, and you’ll start losing the fat.

So, conversely, putting on weight is actually a sign of weight loss. It’s like a real false gain, a gain that is made by gaining weight.

As with everything under the sun, it’s just a matter of continual effort from there.

One of those days

‘One of those days’

-You

If you find yourself saying ‘today was one of those days’, remind yourself what the greatest training in life is: life itself.

Remind yourself what you have to be thankful for, and remember life’s not fair. Nor is it easy. But it is what we have, and it’s worth making the most of it.

Or blow it out

How do you expect to boil the kettle if you keep putting out the flame?

-Ev Williams.

Ev Williams mentioned this on The Tim Ferriss’ Podcast, and it’s something I’ve been trying to articulate for a while now.

Low heat will still work, eventually. If you have the time, then that’s great! Keep at it! But if you really want to boil water, a constant yet strong flame is needed. If it’s hard to distinguish between a low heat and no heat at all, don’t kid yourself. That’s just the same as no heat at all. Best to blow it out, or otherwise put in the effort needed to sustain the flame.

And take it easy

It’s all to easy to get carried away. It’s all to easy to blame yourself when the proverbial hits the fan, and then some.

Don’t take it out on yourself, give yourself a break. Wait for things to calm down a bit before even allowing yourself to react. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt, and take it easy.

Two on ones

In a two on one situation, you’re disadvantaged from the outset, but you’re still in the game. However slim, there is still a chance you can make something of it. Hesitation or changing your mind halfway through is your worst enemy. Best to choose one person to go after and go all in on destroying their chances. Sure they may get away with it and you’ll lose out, but that was always on the cards. This way you actually have a fighting chance.

Defining your current moment

Do things that define ‘you’ in the moment, but don’t let people define ‘you’. Don’t even define yourself. You decide who you are. No one else. But moments change, and so do you.

Do things that in the moment define who you are. Then do them again. No need to define yourself from past moments, and no need to define yourself from future moments either. Start with defining your now, and work from there.

No problem

If you’re worried about no one turning up to your show, think of it as a chance to practice without the added pressure an audience brings.

Dewa Sanzan Jinja does prayer services multiple times a day. They even do it when there is no one to do it for, that is, no one from the general public. During those times, of course the priests would be disappointed they aren’t doing the prayers directly for the general public. However, it is also a chance to hone their skills without the pressure of an audience.

Of course if you can keep this mindset, i.e. still have some form of audience in mind but getting lost in the moment as you perform, it will certainly treat you well. That way the creation takes precedence, and for long-term success, this is paramount.

While you can.

The chance exists. It has always existed. You just never took the time to take it. You were waiting for the perfect time to come. It’s already come. It’s here. And now you can take it. While you can. While you will.

Build your reserve

When I trained for waterpolo sometimes we did this thing where whatever swim set we did in the pool, as soon as we were done we would then sprint a quarter of that distance, or thereabouts. The aim was simple. Even after giving it your all, if you could give just a little bit more, when you had to dig deep in a game situation, you’d have a little in reserve. In theory, at least.

We can use this theory in other endeavours to help us dig a little deeper. We can also use this to go from receptive to productive in an instant too. As soon as you’ve written a piece, record it orally, or create something small from it, an offshoot so to speak. When you finish reading a chapter in a book, write a short summary, even just one sentence. When you finish a meeting, make a list of things to do differently next time. And so on, and so on.

Don’t let your ideas stay ideas

I’m an ideas person, or as they say in Japanese ideas man. Which isn’t entirely a bad thing. Having ideas is great, it keeps you entertained, and you start to see things from ways you normally wouldn’t. The problem is when ideas stay ideas. Ideas are great and everything, but until they’re out in the world, they’re pretty useless. That is to say, if you’re an ideas man, your ideas need to be out in the world for you to have any use.

Be an ideas man, by all means. But also be a man / person of action too.

It’s up to you

Editing is more than half of writing. You basically just blurt everything possible out, and then systematically go ahead and take out the bad parts, and brush up the good parts. What you’re left with, if you’re remotely lucky, is something that can be considered readable.

And then, if you have the time, you go over it once more asking yourself, is there any way I can make this more concise? Is there any way I can say the same thing in fewer words?

More often than not, there is. Also more often than not, you can take out whole paragraphs, or in the worst case scenario, basically everything you have written.

This process of elimination is vital in creating something worthwhile sharing, and it comes down to a simple task of addition or detracting. Does this sentence add to the piece? Or does it detract? Anything that is not an addition, by definition is a detractor.

In the same way, we can think of our lives as writing a book. We are the ones in charge of our destiny, after all.

Life your life as per normal. But every once in a while, say a New Year’s resolution or something, examine whether things add, or detract. Then question whether these detractors are truly worth your time (hint: they aren’t), and get rid of them wherever possible.

Even if it kills you

Make something of yourself. Even if you don’t succeed, you’ll succeed in making yourself proud. Because at the end of the day, that’s what really matters. Were you able to do something you’ve never done before? Were you able to tackle things head on and do your best job considering?Were you able to make something of yourself?

Focus on the individual drum beats

It’s hard. Some would say impossible. If you have a massive task in front of you, listen for the individual beats. Find where one thing happens, then find it again, and again. Now all you need to do is find the other individual beats, and piece them all back together one by one.

Do that, and you have the makings of a masterpiece.

In the pursuit of perfection, inaction is the killer

The pursuit of perfection is admirable, but never when it comes at the expense of action.

It’s easy to say ’I can’t do it exactly as I’d like, so I’m not going to try’.

This is no excuse to simply give up.

There is always something we can do towards that goal. Then when the stars do align and we find ourselves ready, we will have already acted towards the goal and we will be that much further ahead.

What you can do towards a goal, you do.

That is the question

You can do that. They can do that. But how can I do that? What’s stopping me?

That is the question.

You’ve seen it done, so you know it’s possible. Now find a way, and don’t get caught up in your current inability. Your future possibility.

Here, now, self.

You have but one moment. Is it shared doing multiple things? In other words, is it fragmented? Or is it spent focused on one thing at a time?

Remember, here, now, self, is all we’ve got. Is your moment giving, and getting, the attention it deserves?

Time to act

This is.

There is.

Just act. Think after.

Patience is a virtue.

Yamagata drivers are the worst. If they’re not cutting you off, they’re either traveling too slow, or doing something like eating or using their phone while driving.

The problem’s so dire any effort at changing things would be a rain drop in a bucket. So you should leave it.

It’s so bad you have to constantly be on your toes. When it comes to driving, this is by no means a bad thing. It also means you can’t get angry, which when it comes to driving, is by no means a bad thing. If you get angry at one person, the next person is only going to escalate the anger, and you’ll be the one who loses out.

Best just to learn to forgive and forget, and move on.

As in life.

Don’t let inaction ruin your day. Or your life.

Inaction is a form of self sabotage. If you know something is good for you but for whatever reason you’re putting it off, you are sabotaging your potential. Even ideas that only may help improve your situation that aren’t acted upon fall under the same category. As much as possible, don’t let inaction get in your way. Get the thing done, and see where it takes you. Then you can honestly say you didn’t sabotage yourself.