Setting Goals
Whether beginning or continuing on the Tai Chi path we have all set goals. Some may want to improve health, balance, confidence etc. While these major goals keep us motivated in a general way they generally do not contribute to improvement in our Tai Chi. We may be able to say things like; my balance has improved to the point where I don’t worry about falling down anymore or my diabetes is under better control. But what about the goal of improving our day to day Tai Chi.
We are all so busy that it goes without saying that it is important to make the best use of time spent on any activity we chose to do. Even if we have only 5 or 10 minutes to practice Tai Chi we should set goals for the practice session. Some examples might be; I am going to improve my opening posture or I am going to memorize the choreography for transition into cloud hands. This type of goal setting will not only lead to improvements but it will generate questions for you to bring to class.
Practice
We often hear the complaint; “I got to practice”. Let us make believe for a moment that we are on “Wheel of Fortune” and we are allowed to buy one vowel and substitute it into the phrase “I got to practice”. This vowel substitution must completely alter the meaning of the phrase. With a little effort or luck it is easy to see that if we substitute the “o” in got with an “e” we get the phrase “we get to practice”.
It is easy to forget how lucky we really are. In good health and with 24 hours a day to prioritize our tasks, we are extremely lucky to have the “chance” to practice what we desire to practice when we want to practice it. Lest we forget, there are literally thousands of people (hospitals, nursing homes, wheel chairs etc) who would give anything for the chance to practice.
Alignment
Since I believe that we are creatures of motion I think of alignment as one of the top priorities when discussing mind-body matters. A lot of the time we spend in practice is for naught if we are not properly aligned.
I don’t even know who to thank anymore for the knowledge and experience I have gained through my exposure to Peter Egoscue’s book “Pain Free – a revolutionary method for stopping chronic pain”. I think I bought it in 2000 for $13.95 and it was by far the best $13.95 I ever spent. It has probably gone up by now but would still be in my top 3 all time “best buys”.
The ISBN is 0-553-37988-7 and was available at Barnes and Noble the last time I checked.
Genius
A genius was once asked what it was like to be a genius. She sat back for a moment (as genius’s do) and said the following.
A genius is someone who tries to do something once or twice, makes mistakes and then goes “Aha, I understand”.
A very intelligent person is one who tries something twenty times, making mistakes and then goes “Aha, I understand”.
A normal person is one who tries something two hundred and fifty times and then goes “Aha, I understand”.
So the difference between a genius and a normal person is just a couple of hundred mistakes so all we have to do is make the required mistakes and we will be a genius. So the sooner you get going and make the mistakes the sooner you will be a genius.