**Brought to you after a "great" day at work (sarcasm intended)**
People are frustrating. There are about 5% of people in the world that make things happen and I swear the rest of the world has joined a secret club hell bent on making sure that 5% have to work three times as hard to put an idea into practice. These are my numbers, by the way, based on absolutely nothing but my own opinion and observations. But I bet they are pretty darned close.
For every one person with a great idea, there are 10 waiting to kill it. Their initial reaction to change is NO.
The next time you find yourself saying NO, stop and think about it for a moment.
Did you say NO, because it was reflex? Did you say NO, because you genuinely believed it was the right response based on all the facts present? Did you say NO, because in the short term it meant more work for you? Did you say NO because....you don't know, it was just the first thing into your mind?
That's the problem. NO is the automatic response. It is the easiest way to maintain the status quo. Saying NO means nothing changes. That idea that could turn your life upside down is squashed. Congratulations, you put down the rebellion.
I catch myself saying NO to my kids for no good reason. I catch people I work with saying NO to ideas that would make their life easier. I catch people in the gym saying NO to training techniques because it would mean changing a current routine. And all it comes down to is that people are afraid of change and afraid of having to exert a little effort in their lives.
For some reason, and someone please clue me in, people are content with doing as little as possible and never trying to improve their situation. They may talk the big talk and say how they want to change this and that -- how they want to train this hard and become the next world champ, but when the opportunity presents itself - where are they then? NOWHERE. Gone. Hiding out in their parent's basement waiting for their next big break to arrive.
Why are they so resistant to change? Can they not see the benefit it is going to bring in the long run? Isn't a little work now worth the rewards? How can they be content to never reach their maximum potential?
Maybe it's just me, but I can never sit idly by and watch life pass. Time is so short and the time a boxer has to train is even shorter. At some point we all get old, the reflexes start to slow down, the muscles are slower to respond. Hopefully that's about the time we switch tactics and use a little more strategy in the ring, but some people are so stubborn and resistant to change - they end up injured instead. And then, of course, there are those who never learn at all despite their "good intentions."
And so I say people are frustrating and I understand completely how people can be selfish. Why exert the effort to convince people they need to do this or do that? You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink...Why should the 5% of the world worry about the 95% - let them blubber up and live their lives content to breathe, sleep, and die and never leave a mark in the world.
I hope this isn't you I'm describing. I hope you have enough guts to try something new once in awhile and look at the big picture. I hope you really stop and think the next time something is presented and your first thought is NO.
Everytime you shut down an idea or close a door or keep yourself in your nice little bubble, you are missing out on life. You are missing out on experience, and experience is what makes life memorable. If you never take a chance, you may as well be an outsider looking at your life cause you will never actually live.
So the next time you have a choice, don't say NO immediately. Listen and think about what was being said and see how that could actually help you. Take a chance for once. Learn how to live by saying YES and see what a tremendous difference it will make. Your life will change in an instant and everytime you say YES, it will change again. Your bubble will expand until one day it will pop and you'll truly be free to see things as they really are.
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An excellent article! Having kids, I have always struggled with the 'automatic "NO" response' issue. I try to approach that from the same angle you present: How can they become themselves if I don't give them room to grow? I also afford myself the same opportunity. I'm 40 (almost 41) and have never expressed any real interest in boxing until about 2 weeks ago. I used to be very active, but let myself go over the past several years, to the point of weighing 338 pounds (I'm a tad over 6'1") and being diagnosed with adult-onset type 2 diabetes in Dec. 2006. After a 180-degree change in eating habits and some light exercise, I lost 100 pounds as of July this year. Then? Simply put, I plateaued. Hey, I lost 100 pounds, my blood sugar is now managed by diet alone, and statistically speaking, I should live an average or better lifespan. Do I really NEED to do anything more? (Insert automatic response here.) The problem is, that I WANT to do more.
I couldn't really eat any less and have it be healthy and still somewhat enjoyable, so three weeks ago I faced the hard fact: I need exercise. LOTS of exercise. So the first thing I did was break out that Bowflex that has been sitting in my garage since spring time. I don't know much about people's opinions on these, it was given to me for free. The way I see it, some kind of work out was better than no work out at all...
After doing almost two good weeks of workouts every other day, I started feeling like I needed even more, something cardio I could add in every day that I could do at home, rain or shine, day or night. I started doing research, and hitting a heavy bag kept coming up as an activity that fit my needs. That's when I found this site, and started picking up on the how's and what's. I just got a 100 lb bag and hung it in my garage last night. I've been practicing handwraps for a couple of days, and watching the videos on footwork and the basic punches. I definitely didn't look as good hitting the bag as you do in the videos, but I felt that I did good for a first timer. I also walked away looking forward to the next time.
So here's another one of those questions: Should a 40 year old take up boxing? The obvious, automatic answer is 'No.' It certainly would be easier to just ride a bike when I get around to it, or stick to just swimming around my small pool when I feel like it, or go to the batting cages when I can afford it and they are open, or other things I have always done. Or, I say 'Yes,' and begin a new regimen that adds not only to my physical well-being, but also to my self-discipline and confidence. I don't expect to do more than work out/practice in my garage and start watching boxing, but the status quo was just not working for me anymore. It was time to say 'Yes' to something new.
Jet66
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