Giving/Receiving

Keeping a list of goals is still, to me, a worthwhile activity. It makes sense to track what you’re working on. And some of the things that are on there have been on there for years, which I’m fine with – this is a long-term process.

But looking at that list recently, I asked myself why I’m still missing the mark on a few big topics. This happens from time to time, because the goals list is a living document, something that I’m always editing and updating and adjusting.

So I asked myself, what’s in my way? How come I’m not meeting my goals? How come I’m not actually producing the results that I want at this moment?

There are of course a lot of answers, but when it comes to goals for abundance in my life, I think one reason I fall short is because in the past, I’ve taken advantage of other people’s generosity towards me. I mean that I haven’t been sufficiently grateful: I’ve overlooked chances to acknowledge others, to credit them where I should, to really and deeply thank them for their generosity.

So rather than falling into a depression about how much I screwed up, I started to ask another question: how do I repair it? How do I start the process again, return to the principle of generosity and gratitude? What I discovered – or remembered – was that we have this chance daily. Generosity and a chance for gratitude in the martial arts, in Jiu-Jitsu, is everywhere.

So going forward, if you see an opportunity to give, if you see an opportunity to help, if you see an opportunity to make someone else feel good, take that opportunity. And when you’re on the other side, acknowledge, take note, recognize, give some words of thanks.

Amazing things can happen when giving is a principle, rather than just an activity we undertake when we’re at the end of our rope or we feel like our karma needs scrubbing. We can step over what’s in the way and get a chance to restart the process.

---

For more about our larger project of cooperative Jiu-Jitsu and martial arts training, please visit the
Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Brooklyn BJJ) website here.

Listen to the podcast here: The Martial Arts Mind Podcast