New Year New Leaf: Will Training at White Tiger Dojo Promote Good Habits?

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ: As the year comes to an end, it's always a good time to think about new beginnings.

If there's a negative habit you've been needlessly holding onto, make the active decision to begin leaving it behind.

You may thank yourself for it.

And, depending on the habit, the people around you may thank you too.

Change Begins With a Decision

Some of you may already be thinking:

“But I don't know if I can do it.”

Fair enough.

Change is difficult.

But you don't have to transform yourself overnight.

Sometimes the first step is simply changing the way you look at the problem.

Instead of approaching change with skepticism, self-consciousness and self-doubt, begin entertaining the possibility that you actually can change.

Small changes in mindset can eventually create significant changes in behavior.

But somebody has to take the first step.

And unfortunately, that somebody is you.

Sometimes You Have to Act Before You Feel Ready

Worst comes to worst, fake it 'til you make it.

I'm not suggesting that you pretend everything is wonderful when it isn't.

I'm suggesting that sometimes our actions have to get there before our feelings do.

Let the old habit go like the ball dropping at midnight.

Take a deep breath.

Say goodbye to some of the self-doubt and fear of failure you've been carrying around.

Then make the conscious decision to do something differently.

Not everything.

Something.

That's how you begin recreating yourself.

Resistance Isn't Always a Bad Thing

Of course it will take time.

You'll encounter resistance from the people and circumstances around you.

You'll probably encounter even more resistance from yourself.

But here's something worth considering:

Didn't your negative habits meet resistance too?

Resistance, friction and conflict get a bad reputation.

But without friction, we couldn't move forward.

And without resistance, we couldn't stop ourselves either.

The question isn't whether you'll encounter resistance.

You will.

The question is what you'll do when you meet it.

Good Habits Require Practice

This is one of the reasons martial arts can be such a useful environment for developing better habits.

You practice.

You make mistakes.

You receive feedback.

You make adjustments.

Then you practice again.

Eventually something that once required conscious effort begins to feel more natural.

That's true of a punch, kick or stance.

It's also true of discipline, awareness, organization and self-control.

Good habits aren't something we simply decide to possess.

They're something we practice until they begin to become part of us.

Protecting Yourself Includes Protecting Yourself From Yourself

Never forget that this life belongs to you.

If you respect yourself, then you should also learn how to protect yourself.

Sometimes that means protecting yourself from another person.

Sometimes it means protecting yourself from your own bad decisions, destructive habits and self-doubt.

That's a form of self-defense too.

And before we can become responsible for helping everyone around us, we need to learn how to become responsible for ourselves.

Make Your Mark

Don't make this the year you promise to become an entirely different person.

Make it the year you begin changing the habits that are preventing you from becoming more of the person you want to be.

Resistance and conflict are natural, recurring parts of life.

Don't wait for them to disappear.

Learn how to work through them.

One decision.

One action.

One habit at a time.

And then do it again tomorrow.

Make Your Mark.