Train Daily, Align Always

“Those who are skilled in combat do not become angry; those who are skilled in winning do not become upset. Thus the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win.”

O’Sensei, Founder of Aikido

Choose your change

You have incredible untapped personal power.

And you have tremendous inherent worth, simply by virtue of being human.

And the greatest human power is balanced self-control, because on that foundation you can build anything.

You can accomplish far more than you can yet imagine. Referring to our previous blog post: SEAL Training is founded on the principle that a person can accomplish 10 times what they assume. I call that this premise “the original 10X.”

(We go deep on these ideas of potential and preparation in the “Impact UNCHAINED” course. Click the scheduling link down below if you’d like to explore whether you’re a good fit for our program.)

Get Ready; Be Ready

Every goal requires preparation. You can’t win a foot race without running enough in advance. You can’t buy a house without acquiring the necessary financial resources and credit. You can’t earn a doctorate without satisfying many, many class requirements from kindergarten on.

Thus the real “fight“ is with yourself. The real fight is in your preparation of yourself, for what may come and for what you want. That includes conditioning your Body (sleep/eat/train), Mind (learn/explore/think), Heart (feel/empathize/listen/talk), and Soul (revere/experience/align).

What’s the best way to do this?

“Train Daily, Align Always” (the Impact Rule of #TDAA, pronounced “ta-daa!” like a magic trick).

This does NOT mean to “beat yourself up.” There’s a place and time for being harsh, for being strict. But on a regular basis it’s more effective and healthy to exercise personal discipline with a concurrent commitment to loving and respecting yourself. Assume the mindset that:

– You’re going for a run because you *deserve* to live in fitness and confidence.

– You’re opening that textbook because your mind *deserves* the increased knowledge.

– You’re going to put effort and energy into your relationship because IF you’re going to choose to be in partnership, you *deserve* for it to be fulfilling.

The alternatives to these examples diminish your understanding of your inherent worth, and can border on self abuse. For example, if you choose to work out because you see yourself as a “fat piece of crap”  — a motivating point of view which is becoming far too common in our Photoshopped, social-media-famous, quick-fix, immediate-gratification society as wisdom fades from society — you will learn to judge yourself as flawed, low value, and “good” only if you satisfy some specific, external goal.

Life Is Flow — Align With Unfolding Reality

I say “align” in conjunction with “train” because life happens. Situations will arise like the serious illness of yourself or a dependent loved one, workdays that spontaneously extend late into the night, or an infinite variety of other possibilities you may encounter, and it may be near impossible to sensibly get in that day’s workout or a planned study session.

It’s important to be consistent in our training…but it’s also important to get over a misstep and get back on track without a lot of unproductive negative self-talk and drama. Go on, and grow on, and use the lessons learned from each situation to prevent similar disruptions in the future. Such acceptance and flow is the beginning of wisdom.

I’m calling my next book “Total Self Mastery” because you already control everything you need to succeed (yourself) … and *nothing* else in the entire universe (people, circumstances, everything else in the world).

Apply your energy to your own growth — the only place you really have any power — and watch your influence grow with those around you.

And if you think you may be ready for a serious commitment to exploring your own potential and opportunities to prepare for that through Unchained, click here to book a Discovery Call with me. If you’re ready, it will be the pivot of a lifetime.