Daily Yamabushi

A weak one at that

‘I intended on doing it, but I just didn’t get around to it.’

‘You were on my mind, and I was going to say something, but I forgot.’

I often find myself saying these things. It’s hard, I don’t want to say them, but sometimes the situation calls for it. As if these intentions make it better.

If used wrongly, intentions are an excuse for inaction. Sure you meant to do something, but meaning to do something, and actually getting around to it, completely different ball park.

If you find yourself saying these things, up your game. You know you’re better than your intentions.

Dealing with unpredictability

Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. – Mike Tyson

You have to plan for when there is no plan. You have to be able to act when there is no obvious course of action.

Plans are great and all, and it’s certainly better to have them than not.

But they’re no panacea. Not everything will go as planned, so it helps to have some sort of mindset or way of dealing with things when plans inevitably go awry.

Planning for no plans is practicing the unpredictable. It’s coming to terms with the left field. It’s putting yourself out there as much as you can, so you become more used to the unpredictable, and it doesn’t scare you as much.

It’s action in the unknown. It’s planning for no plans.

Wait for your best in the moment, and piece those moments together

If waiting for perfect means stalling, then it’s not perfect. It’s wasted potential. Set yourself a deadline and stick to it, no matter what. You’ll be as close to perfect as you’ll ever be, plus you’ll be one step closer to perfect the next time around having this under your belt.

Quit waiting for perfect. Wait for your best in the moment and piece those moments together. That’s as close to perfect as you can ever get, after all, and it’s a much better place to be.

Should it be?

Is your heart in it?

If the answer is yes, then great! Keep doing what you’re doing.

If the answer is no, why so? You should probably go about changing that somehow. Either by changing the experience, or starting a new one.

We only live once. We better put our hearts into it.

Is the path more known

Your maps says ten minutes this way, ten minutes the next. But there’s a catch. You follow your maps, but then the light turns red. You know that there is a better, alternative route because you know these streets like the back of your hand.

And so you take that alternative route. You can’t be certain it is faster, no one can know for sure. Only, you just know it is, because for you, it is the path more traveled.

No half measures

Declaring you’re going to do something is declaring that you’re going to give it your best. This is why we get so embarrassed about declaring things like this, it puts us on the hook and we have to follow through.

Don’t be embarrassed, being on the hook is a great place to be. It’s motivating, and it can help you through The Dip. It also means you might have to give it your best, because what else is there?

Test it

Don’t just toy with the idea. Test it. See if it has legs. The sooner you test an idea, the sooner you can do something worthwhile about it.

No reservations. No regrets. Leave everything out there.

If you don’t put your best foot forward, you don’t learn as much as you can.

Especially if it’s your first time doing something, this is when the learning happens the most. Always have the beginners mind, but treat the experience like it is the last and only time you need to do it. That way when you do come around to doing it again (which you will), you’ll have so much more experience to draw from.

Subject to change

If you find the right reasons aren’t serving you, change them. If you don’t know what the right reasons are, test what they could be.

The right reasons are entirely contingent on the situation. And like you, the right reasons change.

If you find something isn’t being done for the right reasons, you don’t have to join.

Find what the right reasons are for you. And stick with them.

Not the theory

People think that you need to have built up some sort of repertoire of vocabulary and grammar before you can use a second language.

I call bullshit.

You can start using the language as soon as you start learning it. In fact, you should, no matter how stupid or inexperienced you may sound.

It’s the experience that counts. It’s the experience that tells you whether something works or not.

Not the theory.

Act. It’s as simple as that.

Some people simply don’t take no for an answer. They’re the kinds of people who act on a whim whenever that whim comes about. They have no shame because they don’t let their fear of being rejected to get in the way of at least trying.

They’re the kind of people who, as soon as they want something, they take the steps to get it even before they’ve thought about what those steps could be. They take their actionability to the extreme, and go through with a plan even before it is set in stone.

They’re the sorts of people who get things done.

You and me both

We’ve all heard the stories. The close shaves. Some of us have even experienced it. The sort of thing that makes you think ’lucky to be alive’.

But the truth is, we’re all lucky to be alive. Coincidence after coincidence led to our creation, it led to us even being able to say ’lucky to be alive’, but sometimes we need a reminder to feel lucky to be alive.

Well, here it is.

Let the momentum propel you

There’s a little trick in running whereby you lean forward a little bit and let gravity propel you forward. Your effort then switches from propelling yourself forward entirely with your muscles, to harnessing the power of gravity. When done right, you require less energy overall and can run for longer.

Where are there places in your life you could lean into? Where are there places in your life where a tiny shift could lead to effortless momentum and productivity?

It’s worth leaning in and finding out.

Stop the complacency

Shifting the goalposts is deceitful behavior that should not be condoned, but doing it to yourself? Well that’s another story.

Often when you reach a goal you have a moment of elation followed by a ‘is that it?’ as the new norm becomes the new norm.

And we become complacent, which is not something we should be aiming for in the first place. It’s a potential byproduct of having goals, if we aren’t careful.

It’s ok to shift the goalposts, even when you’re on the brink of reaching them. In fact, sometimes it’s a necessity.

If you think it, you’re kind of obligated to go through with it

Disregarding the farfetched of course, if a plausible idea comes to you that you think has a chance, well, you’re kind of obligated to see it through. At the very least you’re obligated to flesh it out and test if it has any wings.

You were the one who thought of it, no one else. You’re the only one who can make the idea into reality in some form or another.

If it doesn’t work, no problem. At least you’ve pursued that avenue. If it does work, well, you only have yourself to thank.

Let the world bake it for you

Perfection is a ruse. It’s a fiction. When ideas go out into the world, at some point or another, they’re half baked. They’re incomplete.

Which is exactly what you want.

Being out in the world lets the ideas take on a new meaning, it allows the ideas to bake on their own merit.

Don’t burn your cake before you put it out in the world. Let the world bake it for you.

It’s time for finding.

Not wasted time. Never wasted time. Just time spent finding yourself. Just time spent seeing whether you’re on the right path or not.

That’s not wasted time. That’s finding time.

Not everything has to turn up the dial. But something should.

Do things for the sake of doing them. Do things because you feel like it, because it’s fun. The things that get you up in the morning. The things you don’t even have to think about whether you want to do them or not, but you naturally feel inclined to go out there and do them. Things that in and of themselves are motivation enough. These are things that really have no consequence on whether you do them or not. Besides the satisfaction you gain from them, of course.

And then there are things that turn up the dial, or have the potential to do so. These things are not necessarily motivational in and of themselves, but the potential result is motivational enough as these are the sorts of things that have the potential to elevate you to new heights.

A balance of both of these is necessary. A combination, though?

That’s fuel for the soul.

Until you’re blue in the face

That’s how it works. That’s how you make your mark. People are going to trod on you and use you if you let them. But if you’re proactive about it, if you put your best self forward and keep on doing that, not only will you feel satisfaction at having given your best, you give the world the best chance it has to see you for who you are.

An amazing person.

You keep doing you. Until you’re blue in the face.

The first step

The next step is always the first step and the first step is always the next step.

Anything else is a surefire way to take the wrong step, to get too far ahead of yourself. Focus on the next thing you can do, and only the next thing you can do. You may find that your goal shifts as a result, but that doesn’t matter as long as you’re always taking the first step.

The next step.

Keep them at bay

The detractors stay the detracted. Leave them be, they aren’t going anywhere, and they don’t do you any harm unless you let them.

Worst of all is yourself. You can’t let your negativity get the better of you. You have to keep pushing yourself forward and seeing where it takes you. Not giving in to the temptation to be lazy or otherwise sub-par.

Do all you can to bring a positive influence, and bring it with all you’ve got, even with all the detractors.

Ignore everything else

Yamabushi training is about getting to the point. It’s you, in nature worshipping the Kami and Buddha, and that’s it. Everything is focused on getting you to do that, and that’s all you do. It’s about as practical as it comes.

And that’s all you need. The point of the point is the point. Anything else is superfluous and frankly unnecessary.

Get to the point. Ignore everything else.

Be kind to yourself

Sometimes life forces you to take a step back and to look at the big picture. Sometimes the universe conspires to give you a kick up the bum.

Or a hug.

Sometimes we need to just be generous and gentle to ourselves. To not put too much pressure on ourselves. To give ourselves a break. We’re only human. And there’s only one of us.

Sometimes that’s all we need.

If you’re too careful.

If you’re not careful, you may run into some trouble. If you’re not careful, you may not get the result you want.

But if you are too careful, well, you may never get anything done.

Not careful. Too careful.

What else?

It’s easy to forget, but everything’s a work in progress in some way or another. Knowing this, how do we act? Do we act negatively in the hopes things will get better? Or do we provide positive encouragement for the same reason? Sure, not everything can be good. Yet failure and the like is an important part of growth and success.

This is exactly why constructive criticism is so necessary. It’s exactly why we need to be kind to one another. More importantly, it’s why we need to be kind to ourselves.

Keep the feedback positive, forever looking forward. It’s a work in progress after all.