Perhaps I’m the only one, perhaps not, but I have always perceived the dawn of each day with a kind of reverence. I always found the quiet and stillness of that time before the world wakes up something magical. I considered it a time when the most dedicated would begin their day, whether they were training, studying or working.
It was also the time of day for me that I just couldn’t deal with. Every now and then I would make the effort to get up earlier, and while it was a lovely experience leaving me with a sense of achievement, more often than not it was a one-shot-wonder. Believe me, I used to be so good at hitting the snooze button that I could do it in my sleep, literally. It’s a frustrating and sad affair when you are getting duped of the opportunity for some early productive hours by your own unconscious self.
Things, however, began to change when I went to study kung fu in China. I was staying at a kung fu academy in the Northeast of the country and it was there that, through the full-time training of martial arts, I hoped to figure out the trick to getting that grit and infallible discipline that I saw and admired in so many successful martial artists and successful people in general.
At first it was easy. For the first few weeks I was getting up at half past five every morning to prepare and review for the six o’clock tai chi lesson. I was highly motivated by the novelty of this new routine and I was progressing well.
However, after a few weeks old habits started creeping back. At that time of the year and in that part of the world, the mornings were cold and the full-time training was taking its toll. My knees were hurting, I was always tired and my progress had hit a plateau. The array of excuses in my arsenal were various and very convincing in those early hours, and so my attendance dropped off. From then, for several months a pattern of on-again, off-again training was maintained.
I loved what I was doing, though, I loved the principles and benefits that I was getting from tai chi, but my progress was slowed by my attendance being dependent upon me feeling motivated or not. I still hadn’t figured the trick to being consistent.
As time went by and as I became more acquainted with my teachers and the culture they came from I began to see that the discipline they had towards martial arts was not for the faint of heart. It was not easy, not every day, at least. I saw young students day after day reporting to their shifu (their teacher) to train. No matter how they felt, they would train. Some days they trained well, some days not so well, but they attended. Over time I saw the fruits of their consistency, they progressed faster and seemed to develop a mental fortitude that I had been trying to find in myself.
So I began to copy their method. I thought deeply about what I wanted in the long-term and cemented it in my head. Then I began the routine.
At first it was rocky, of course, but I persisted, doing my best to ignore the part of myself trying to make excuses. I made myself a nice pre-bedtime routine and I moved my alarm clock to different parts of my bedroom to make snoozing impossible. I also made tai chi a permanent part of my morning routine. As time went by, even after I left the kung fu school, I started practising every morning before work. My excuses for sleeping in waned and my dedication to my long-term goals in tai chi now had a firm footing in my mind, so even when I was delirious at five in the morning I could still remember why I had set my alarm at that crazy hour. It got easier and easier.
I used to think that disciplined people were always motivated, that’s how they did what they did, and that they had some special trigger that kept them motivated at all times. I have realised though, at least for myself, that motivation comes and goes like a tide, regardless of how much you want something. That sometimes, even if you have found your calling in life, there are going to be mornings harder than others. The key, I think, is developing the gumption to trudge on even when you don’t feel like it, and to trust that if you keep at it, the results will come. I used to hear people say “consistency is key” and I’m finally starting to get that.
– Jaime
