During my time in India my Grandfather was reading a book called "Start With Why". Throughout the time we were there he kept telling me things he learned from the book. At first it was kind of annoying, hearing things I didn't understand over and over such as: "start with why" and "your why is your decision maker". At first none of this made sense to me until I really thought about it... My grandpa is a business man and although the book is geared toward business and being a business leader, I believe the message is universal. I still haven't read the entire book (because my Grandpa likes to keep it with him at all times) but I did read the first part and get a summary of it from him. The book starts by giving you examples of people who "started with why" in history. The first example is the Wright brothers, who we all know are the world's first to achieve powered flight. But it contrasts their story with that of another man who had the same ambition as them: to achieve flight. This man had extensive education, a qualified team behind him, and plenty of funding from the government. While none of the Wright brother's team had any post-secondary education, or funding besides their small bicycle shop. Yet the educated, qualified man failed and the Wright brothers succeeded. Why? Because they had their 'why'. The other man only wanted to successfully build a flying craft so he could have WHAT he wanted: money, fame, etc. The Wright brothers didn't want to fly because of WHAT they would get if they did it, but they did it because they had a WHY. They saw birds in the sky and dreamed of man one day being able to do the same thing. They wanted it deep inside them. That's why they succeeded, while the other man, though greater qualified, failed. In fact, once he found out the Wright brothers had "beat him to it" he quit. Because he only wanted it for the results. The what.
The book goes on to list many more examples: Apple computers, Martin Luther King Jr., etc. but how does this relate to us? Our lives? Even our Kung fu? I remember several times Sifu Brinker saying in I Ho Chuan meetings to people who are struggling: ask yourself why you are struggling, why you aren't doing your requirements, why you are doing your requirements, etc. Our brains have two different ways of thinking: rationally and irrationally. Or, "how and what" (rational thoughts) and "why" (irrational thoughts). Here are some analogies my Grandpa used to help this makes sense to me: think of a person trying to lose weight, when suddenly they see a cookie. Their rational brain tells them the cookie is bad for them and won't help them lose weight, but the irrational part of the brain REALLY wants that cookie. So the person ends up eating the cookie because their irrational brain is more influential. Here's the other analogy (this one was fitting for India): imagine a person riding on an elephant. The person knows exactly where he wants to go, and how to get there. But the elephant doesn't want to do what the rider says, it sees something that interests it and wonders off path. These analogies helped me to make sense of all this. Think of your kung fu: we go to class to sweat our butts off, beat on each other and learn technique after technique after technique... If someone asks you what you do it for you may say: "To stay in shape" or "Learn self defense" or you might even come up with a better answer. But do those reasons really keep us coming night after night, all year round, year after year? I personally don't think so. I think it's the feeling we get being around our classmates, the valuable lessons we learn about ourselves, others and our lives, the atmosphere and environment we get to train in, the incredible people we meet with the same passions and dreams as us, the feeling of home and family when we walk into the Kwoon. Those are the reasons why we keep coming back.
So to anyone (such as myself) who is struggling in their family lives, school, work, Kung fu, or whatever else it may be. Ask yourself why, because when we lose sight of our why, we lose motivation and perseverance.
I hope this made at least a bit of sense and got you thinking as much as it did for me!
