Yin vs YangThe Battle for Success in Life

In Jiu Jitsu, life is all made pretty clear right on the mat.  You can always tell if a new guy is going to last by the way they handle competition.  Those who thrive on winning, and throw temper tantrums when they lose, never last too long.  Instead of learning the most consistent ways to be effective, they spend the entire time trying to find cheap, lucky ways to win.

The people who last in Jiu Jitsu typically react to winning and losing exactly the same.  If you looked at their face right after a match, you wouldn’t be able to tell the outcome.  They lose, they move on.  They win, they move on.  Either way, they are just happy to be competing.

The same goes for life.  Don’t let the ups and downs of life define who you are.  You define who you are, this way the ups and downs in life are all just a part of one big ride.

Since I have started this blog, I have displayed videos about a blind painter, an armless guitar player, and a crippled musician born with no eyes.  All have achieved unparalleled success by hurdling obstacles no one thought were possible to clear.  The one universal theme in these inspirational stories: the individuals did not let their situations in life define them.

They defined their own life simply by being themselves.

For many people, their life is sadly defined by things like a prestigious job, a wonderful car, good looks, or a big bank account. However, to quote an old proverb, ‘there are good times and there are bad times.‘  Life’s only constant is change.  You should never feel too good when you are up, or too bad when you are down because it is inevitable that you will be both.

If you are going to go through ups & downs anyway, why be mad about it?  You should enjoy the journey rather than fighting it. Besides, the down times produce invaluable lessons, and the good times leave you with lasting memories.  So either way it’s a win.  Just because life changes, does not mean we have to.  We should be the same person no matter what.

Our situations in life do not define who we are.  Only we do.  So says the definition of life itself…

Life: the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally.

Whether it is an ‘up’ or a ‘down’ time, it is all just one part of a long journey called life.  Try to remember this when approaching the highs and lows of your own life. Face them both with the same demeanor.  It is a valuable lesson that can take a lifetime to learn.

Luckily for me, Jiu Jitsu is a much quicker teacher.

He dares to be a fool, and that is the first step in the direction of wisdom.  ~James Gibbons Huneker

Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.  ~Elbert Hubbard

Sometimes we can forget what’s really important in life.

It’s meeting people like John Challis that helps put things back into perspective.  His message is Courage + Believe= Life.  It is a message we should all live by every day of our lives.  So go ahead and watch the video, but be forewarned:

Meeting John Challis will definitely change your perspective on life.

In the last 20 years of our lives, how much has the world changed? We have seen changes in technology unlike any other time period in history. Information is now at the touch of your fingers. We can literally answer almost any question we have simply by visiting Google. It is amazing how different the world is becoming due to this rapid progression.

On the flip side of things, our education system has not changed since the turn of the 20th century. That’s over 100 years. Now sure, they have added subjects, and integrated computers into the learning. But let’s be honest with ourselves. A school education is not what it used to be. It used to be, or so I am told, that obtaining a college degree would give you an advantage. That success in school had a direct correlation on your success in life. You may have not used everything you learned in school, but you sure used most of it. Nowadays, I’m not so sure.

Let’s skip the debate in the lower grades. I mean, through 6th grade, you only learn the basics in Math, social studies, English, and science. Then, in the higher grades, you learn advanced subjects in the fields of math, social studies, English and science. However, I am not really questioning what is taught. Instead, I am questioning how it is tested.

Is it really necessary to remember the specific dates of wars anymore? Is it necessary to learn how to perform advanced calculus equations by hand? Our tests are written pieces of paper learned from boring textbooks that have not been updated in years. How could they? You know what the cost of that would be?

Children are taught to read things, remember them, and then answer questions designed to trick their wits. In my humble opinion, it is utterly insane to test someone’s knowledge like this. Today, many of us in the real world understand that it is a huge adjustment once you get there. We have to re-learn how to find out the proper information without it being fed to us. We have to learn on the fly how to manage our finances. We are forced to get a new education after spending the majority of our lives in expensive institutions dedicated to our supposed ‘education’. It’s a shame, but time has passed this system by.

Now, school is still a good thing, socially. It is important for children to interact on a social level. Today, kids even have the option of email if they have a problem with confrontation. That gives children another way to communicate indirectly. And communication is very important, as are social skills. That is what I really learned from school that has helped .

Since I have been out of school I have learned more than I ever have. I learned most of it, though, the hard way. I had to learn how to handle my finances. I had to learn about buying a home. I had to learn about starting a business. I had to learn about the economy. I had to learn that cooperation usually gets me a lot farther than competition does. I had to learn an extraordinary amount, as I am sure each of you have.

The truth is, no matter what degree you get, your education is never finished.

I just wish the school systems conveyed that. I wish they taught the children how to obtain all the answers rather than how to remember them. But for us already done with school, it is up to us to expand our education daily. It is up to us to do everything in our power to understand the world around us.

If not, we will only be armed with a 20th century education in a 21st Century world.

The reason yin vs yang was developed was to give us an outlet to discuss the secret battle going on inside the human mind on a daily basis. Our mind is our most powerful asset. But with every gift comes a curse, and the mind can be a powerful enemy as well. Yin vs yang was developed to balance people’s lives by shedding light on how to deal with this eternal battle within us.

Each day we face a myriad of choices. And each day those choices we make effect our future. Every single one of them. Sometimes, including me, we make the easy choice. Sometimes we push ourself and make the tough choice. Yet, we always debate internally about which choice would have been better. That is the battle within, the Yin vs Yang. It’s the struggle for the mind to get the body to do what it needs to do. Sometimes, our body does not want to listen. Only our mind can make it listen.

A friend told me he recently read that ‘the things in life that you don’t want to do are what define who you are‘. Basically, my friend explained, it means that how you deal with all of the stuff you are afraid to do is what will define your life. Going with this philosophy, what defines your life? What is your mind telling you to do that your body never seems to listen?

Ever wonder where you would be right now if you always did what you thought you should? What if laziness, or emotions, never played a part in your life? What if you simply did all the little things that your mind always whispered, but your body ignored?

Just a few questions from Yin vs Yang to ponder over the day. I hope the answers give you the motivation to start listening more to your mind, and turn that enemy into your greatest asset.

So I wake up nice & early this morning from my cats re-enacting Wrestlemania on my bed only to realize it is Monday, my absolute favorite day. Most people hate Mondays. It is the day they have to get up early and go back to work after one or maybe even two days of nice relaxing rest during the weekend. It is the day that starts their dreadful weekly routine leading up to the almighty weekend. Ugggh!

Well, for me, they are nothing of the sort. For me, Mondays are the most important of all days.

Monday is the day that starts your week. They are the beginning. Most people always focus on the finish line, in this case, the weekend, instead of enjoying the journey. When you are at the beginning on Monday, it is the furthest point from the finish line. However, if that is yin, lets look at the yang.

Mondays are the day you get to start fresh. It is like a small new beginning. It is a day to set goals, and plan out the attack plan for the week.

Today is the day you can actually go to the gym, make that Jiu-Jitsu class or start that new workout, and get back on the right foot.

Today is the day to start that diet you’ve been talking about, or start that project you’ve been dreaming to do.

Today is a day you can start anything. It is the perfect day to do so. Whatever plans you want to make, whatever tasks you have to do, or whatever things you want to accomplish that up to this point have only been talked about….today is the day to start.

That’s why Mondays are my favorite days. It’s up to each of us to take advantage of them.

Feel free to comment below on what you plan to do this week. Don’t be scared. Make that commitment now and see if you can reach your goals for the week. Good luck….and enjoy the day!

Yin vs Yang is a collective of thoughts, ideas and writings from a few different bloggers. It was made out of a need to shed some light on the trials and tribulations of life, and how to over come them. So sit back kick off your shoes and take this journey with us as we welcome you to Yin Vs Yang.