Self-Mastery is the Key

Photo by Josef Hoflehner

"He who controls others may be powerful,

but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."

- Lao Tsu

The moment we've all been waiting for...2011! It is finally upon on us, and for some, not a moment too soon.

Everyone I've spoken too, and those who have expressed what it is they want for 2011, have high expectactions of it. I am no different. So I have set my sights, and as far as expectations, they're not too different from last year. The difference is whether those expectations will come to fruition. I have a better feeling about this coming year.

For me, it's all about self discipline. However I like the word Self-Mastery. I was trying to find the chinese characters to best depict the meaning, and I found mó liàn (maw lee-en), which is the pin yin translation . The meaning was translated as "a form of discipline which suggests training of the mind and character, aimed at producing self-control, obedience, etc." Or "tempering oneself or turning yourself into hardened steel." In short, it came out as 'Discipline, Training, Tempering Character'.

I always think back to my younger years training in martial arts, when I trained very hard. I had much more mental strength and self-discipline back in those days. That's what I love about martial arts. But there is just so much more. It's not just about the physical and mental aspects, but most importantly, true martial arts involves the cultivation of the mind and intellect, character and spirit.

Anyway...self mastery is truly something I think we all strive for.

So this year I strive for self-mastery, and hopefully in the pursuit of such a worthy goal, I will in the process, achieve those specific goals I set out to achieve. And if I don't...well, that's okay. It's the striving and journey that make it all so exciting.

Now for the specifics....

• Reach 57kgs in weight
• Maintain within 2kgs of 57kgs the entire year
• Run 2.4km in under 12minutes on my BFA (basic fitness assessment)
• Do 40 push-ups on my BFA
• Complete the CFA - 15km forced pack-march carrying 25-30kg pack
• Complete RDJ (run-dodge-jump) with webbing and weapon
• grade to Levels 5 & 6 in Wing Chun

By having a 'weight' goal to reach and maintain, the idea is to remain 'lean' all year round, which is my ultimate goal. It is in the hope that by maintaining a lean state, and training hard continually, I can continue to see improvement and change in my body shape.

I must also stress that the above goals, I should add 'injury-free'!!! This is very important. I have not been able to complete some things due to my hip-injury, so if I can actually achieve some of those goals, it means that I have made significant gains, especially in regard to my hip/pelvic stability and core strength. I've been able to run on the treadmill consistently in the last month without any hip stiffness or pain! That is a major achievement for me for 2010 and an indicator of how much stronger I've become in the last 4 months or so!

On the flip side, I don't train with the goal just to 'look good'. For me, the visualise aspect is motivating, but even more importantly, improved strength and fitness must go hand-in-hand. I don't believe in forsaking one at the expense of the other. Unless I'm getting stronger and fitter, what is the purpose of just training to 'look good'?

This year, I will have less on my plate in some ways, and I've managed to clear some things to make room to concentrate on achieving my goals. Philomena is starting prep this year, so that means I have five days of uninterrupted training time! I intend to use that time well.

But I have to be more organised this year too, as AW will be travelling more. So this year I will be dropping a few responsibilities, in order to allow time to not only train consistently, but also to take up the slack to counter the big changes for both Philomena and AW. It's important that I'm there this year for them (when I'm not training). I should also finish my employment training for the AR, and be a fully trained private by the end of this year. I'm much more relaxed now about the AR and am enjoying it immensely.

I want to give it my all this year. I may even become more hermit-like in my habits. I need time to go within and look a little deeper within.

Because in 2012 I have made some definite plans, and I need to have things in order and humming along nicely before I embark upon 2012. I plan to return to study, and finally achieve something I've been dallying with on and off for over 10 years.

I've put in my application for a 'Bachelor of Arts in Languages in Applied Linguistics', majoring in Mandarin Chinese. I want to finally become fluent at this language which I find so fascinating. So I'm hoping that I get in for the first lot of offer rounds for Griffith Uni come the 13th January. If I am successful, I plan to defer for 12 months. At this stage, I've applied for full-time study, however, I'm hoping that the part-time option is put back on the table during the course of the year, as I think this will be more conducive to a better life-balance for me.

So that's it for me. There's my plans and goals for 2011 now put out into the universe. And even though Self-Mastery is the key, for me, it is fruitless unless everything is tempered with Balance.