{"id":2843,"date":"2019-12-19T20:50:05","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T20:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/?p=2843"},"modified":"2021-09-19T16:23:45","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T16:23:45","slug":"daily-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/daily-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily practice: Sharpening the sword"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Do you do hard things even when you don\u2019t want to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or do you give in to feelings, flights of fancy and momentary urges? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even when we have a life plan in place for achieving our goals, on any given day, the struggle is real. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conscientiously working through your to-do list can seem pointless in comparison to kicking back and watching TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But after succumbing to transient pleasures the guilt steadily builds. Another wasted day that could have been put to better use, you think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, why is taking positive action so hard? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mainly because of our distorted view of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You see, on any day, the actions we perform don\u2019t amount to much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They\u2019re not world-changing and generally don\u2019t produce immediate results. Especially the actions that are good for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I mean, you won\u2019t experience the added life longevity today when you go for that run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That reward, like so many others, is delayed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the activity is essential nonetheless. When we don\u2019t work out, we slowly slip down the slide of physical and mental ruin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Often engaging in these activities feels like running up an escalator the wrong way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much effort is needed just to stay where you are, but when you stop trying, you regress pretty quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, aside from remaining conscious about the prism of time, what else can we do when the urge for instant gratification arises? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the days where I just don\u2019t feel like it, in those throwaway moments of weakness, I like to imagine a Japanese Samurai sharpening his sword. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every day he works the blade, lest he need it unexpectedly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though times are peaceful, the village must be defended from threats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is of course, an analogy to life. At any given moment, we can be assaulted by hardship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
People lose their jobs, homes and loved ones constantly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putting effort into the coping strategies we\u2019ll come to rely on, ahead of time, can therefore serve us well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this way, the exercise and meditation you do today go a long way in inoculating you against the trials and tribulations of tomorrow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\u2019s not the only benefit of sharpening the sword. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honing your skills also allows you to slowly cut away whatever stands between you and your goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether that\u2019s writing a book or creating a business, sharpening your abilities allows you to master each component of the task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working with a razor edge allows you to make significantly more progress through the jungle of ambition on any given day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the going will undoubtedly be tough, maintaining your tools through consistent practice is fundamental to success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how often must we work the blade? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharpening your sword is a daily exercise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miss one day and it won\u2019t matter, but miss too many and you become blunt, unready for the challenges that await. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this way, sword sharpening becomes its own meditation, a way to create subconscious patterns of pure instinct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your daily activities become a ritual of honing the metaphorical weapon of mind and body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this way, you slowly emerge, chrysalis like, as the peaceful warrior, ready to face any challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey employs a similar metaphor, called Sharpen the Saw, but this applies more to self-care than the general approach of keeping yourself sharp in all areas.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n “We must never become too busy sawing to take time to sharpen the saw.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n If anything, I regard Sharpening the Sword more akin to Greasing the Groove, which is a fitness technique used to incrementally gain strength through improving neuromuscular efficiency.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, the analogy you use doesn\u2019t matter, as long as it works for you. Daily practice makes perfect.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do you do hard things even when you don\u2019t want to?<\/p>\n Or do you give in to feelings, flights of fancy and momentary urges?<\/p>\n Even when we have a life plan in place for achieving our goals, on any given day, the struggle is real.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n