Sometimes it really sucks!
Published: Mon, 11/27/23
(Interesting tangent - someone recently commented that 'comfort zone' was a concept invented by marketers... So I did some quick fact-checking!
Get this - way back in 1907, psychologist Robert Yerkes dropped a new concept.
He talked about this sweet spot for performance, which he coined 'Optimal Anxiety'.
WHAT?
There's such a thing as OPTIMAL anxiety???
It's like this unique neighborhood just outside our comfort zone where stress is like that slightly annoying, but ever-present friend - just enough to motivate, but not enough to overwhelm.
Basically, it's where we need to be if we want to grow and achieve our goals!)
If you keep doing the same thing repeatedly, you get REALLY good at it. We've talked about this during episodes of the Kuden! podcast.
So whenever you start a new thing - at first, it might really suck. Talked about this, too!
A few examples of new things I've tried and REALLY sucked at in the beginning:
- Learning what constitutes real Ninjutsu amid all the "we do that too" noise
- Ninja Mind and how the Shinobi Warrior thinks differently - not just about combat, but life itself!
- Ninjutsu-based real-world self-defense and how to match up the authentic principles and concepts with modern fighter logic and attacks
You know what?
My attention and perspective got caught up in the Ninja movies, books, and fantasyland thinking being promoted during the "Ninja Boom".
My old habits and ways of thinking were interfering with my progress and I was barely growing.
My attempts at using this system while sparring with other martial artists and fighters made other people think, "Is this guy crazy?"
All of them were new to me, and they really, really, really sucked at first.
Why did I keep going?
Why didn't I crawl back into that comfort zone?
It would be so much easier.
But once I had a dream of big things, such as:
- Overcoming childhood trauma and violence and wanting to learn something that would allow me to know how to survive the evil in this world.
- Having the kind of rock-solid confidence, knowledge, and personal power that gave me absolute control over my life and future.
- The ability to protect myself and others of my choosing from the kind of evil I knew existed in the world... to become "the guy" in situations where one was needed.
And the truth is that...
None of the end results you dream of happen by staying inside your comfort zone.
And at first (most people don't tell you this part, but I will) - a lot of it is gonna suck.
Welcome to Optimal Anxiety, my friend. You have to embrace the "suck" as a part of - a BIG part of - the process!
It's the only way to get better. It's the only way to get REALLY good!
"Everything that is now easy for you was once hard in the beginning." - Robin Sharma
Slowly but surely, I started to see success in these areas after showing up TIME AND TIME AGAIN - sucking at first - feeling like I was (and sometimes actually) embarrassing myself....
Only to experience a breakthrough at last, and my teachers pointing out that I was getting another piece of the puzzle under my literal and proverbial "belt."
I started to see success with each "gate" and area of my Ninjutsu training - not just self-defense but in understanding why each aspect of training was there, and why I was not studying just another martial art!!!
(Want to understand the mandatory 8 areas that IS authentic Ninjutsu training? Here's the link to the Ninja no Hachimon Program: https://onlineninjaacademy.com/8-gates/ )
I'm now living life on my terms and helping others to do the same thing!
(Want to learn how to do more of that as well? Check out the Ninja Mind Program: onlineninjaacademy.com/ninja-mind/ )
Use code: Cyber33 to save 33% OFF on any of these programs and many more today only!)
I started being able to use the Ninja's self-defense system alone against real-world attackers as a police officer, soldier, and husband (yes, someone was stupid enough to attack my wife with me in the next room!).
(Want to start or take your training to the next level? Let's do it. Here's the link to the Foundations of Ninja Self-Defense Mastery Program: https://onlineninjaacademy.com/foundations-of-ninja-self-defense-m1/ ), or...
...if you're already training in Ninjutsu, here's the link to the "Realm of the Warrior-Tactician" Course which goes live today! (Both of these programs are still discounted through today!)
That was NOT easy, but it was definitely worth it.
I hope you got the message you needed today from this.
In Mastery!
Dai-Shihan Miller
Bujinkan Mori no Tora Dojo
PS - in case you skipped to the end, here are the 3 resources shared today: (Use code: Cyber33 to save 33% OFF on any of these programs (Foundations and Tactical Warrior already discounted!) and many more on onlineninjaacademy.com today only!)
Ninja no Hachimon: https://onlineninjaacademy.com/8-gates/
Nina Mind Program: https://onlineninjaacademy.com/ninja-mind/
Foundations of Ninja Self-Defense Mastery: https://onlineninjaacademy.com/foundations-of-ninja-self-defense-m1/
Realm of the Warrior-Tactician: https://onlineninjaacademy.com/tactical-warrior-ninjutsu-program-mod-2/