“You may delay, but time will not.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Here we are in February and most people have given up on their New Year’s Resolutions. How are you doing? Did you make any? If you did, are you sticking to them?
I personally don’t look at the first of January as a reason to make a change, but it does offer a chance to consider whether I’m happy with the path that I’m on. Most of the time I can make some alteration to my life that will make it better. There is always something that can be improved.
The Japanese call this Kaizen (改善, “improvement”; from 改 kai – change, revision; and 善 zen – virtue, goodness). It relates mostly to business and is implemented from the upper management levels to the general labour workers of a company. Everything is analyzed on a regular basis to see what can be improved, even in the smallest amounts.
When a change can be implemented, it’s done. There are no arguments and because the change can happen at any time, there is no procrastination. You don’t hear a manager saying, “That will save us a lot of money. Let’s wait until January 1 to put that into effect and then get lazy and forget about it.”
Over the years at Okami Kai Martial Arts and Fitness, we have met several people who say they want to make a change, but then don’t do it. We call them the ‘I want to do something, but I don’t really want to do something.’ people. They ask for information about classes, but then don’t commit. They might fill out the form on our website and then don’t respond when we email them or leave a voicemail. Sometimes they will tell us that they are waiting for the right moment to start. When they get less busy at work. When their children are older. Our personal favourite? When they’re in better shape. How surprised they must feel when they find out that a big reason people start classes is to get into better shape!
If you’re not training with us, you should start now. If you already are doing classes, then what can you do to make your own progress better? Maybe it’s a change in your diet. Maybe it’s a little more out of class study. It could even be making a small change to your weekly routine that will help you to add another class in your week. Whatever it is, the time is now. Don’t let another year pass you by.