Strong mind
Inspiration from Japanese Comics
I was recently reflecting on the characters of Naruto and Luffy (the main characters of two different Anime / Manga series). They start off with relatively little ability or skill but press on with a strong mind. The face enemies despite insurmountable odds and pursue their dreams with relentless intensity.
Strong Mind
There are many areas in my life where I am "weak": academically, spiritually, in discipline, fitness, patience, and so on. I will use the example of running, but this applies to every other aspect of my life.
I used to be a weak runner - and I still am, depends on who you compare me with. I grew up with exercise induced asthma and would make all sorts of excuses to not train or run hard. Then I met someone who also grew up with exercise induced asthma, but was competing at the Canadian Cross Country Championships! It blew me away! He told me he just had to fight. Running was just harder for him.
My journey as a runner started slowly. I remember my first year with the Iron Dragons, I was one of the slowest runners - definitely the slowest male runner. It was sometimes discouraging, but I would still fight. In my third year, I made it my goal to just show up to the gym consistently. Over time, I made running more of a lifestyle opposed to a chore. Running to hang out with friends, to explore shops / different parts of the city, running to reflect, and so on. I grew noticeably stronger when I returned to the dragonboat team in my senior year (well, noticeable to me, anyways).
Running is still a battle for me. And it's something I'm not naturally good at. But this also applies to learning / memory, to focusing, to studying, to whatever craft I wish to master.
Like the childlike characters in those Japanese cartoons, I want to develop a strong mind that has utter laser focus. And with whatever the task is, to do it to the best of my ability. Wherever I end up going, I know that now, in this very moment, the one skill I want to develop with this "strong mind" is in being excellent.
I was recently reflecting on the characters of Naruto and Luffy (the main characters of two different Anime / Manga series). They start off with relatively little ability or skill but press on with a strong mind. The face enemies despite insurmountable odds and pursue their dreams with relentless intensity.
Strong Mind
There are many areas in my life where I am "weak": academically, spiritually, in discipline, fitness, patience, and so on. I will use the example of running, but this applies to every other aspect of my life.
I used to be a weak runner - and I still am, depends on who you compare me with. I grew up with exercise induced asthma and would make all sorts of excuses to not train or run hard. Then I met someone who also grew up with exercise induced asthma, but was competing at the Canadian Cross Country Championships! It blew me away! He told me he just had to fight. Running was just harder for him.
My journey as a runner started slowly. I remember my first year with the Iron Dragons, I was one of the slowest runners - definitely the slowest male runner. It was sometimes discouraging, but I would still fight. In my third year, I made it my goal to just show up to the gym consistently. Over time, I made running more of a lifestyle opposed to a chore. Running to hang out with friends, to explore shops / different parts of the city, running to reflect, and so on. I grew noticeably stronger when I returned to the dragonboat team in my senior year (well, noticeable to me, anyways).
Running is still a battle for me. And it's something I'm not naturally good at. But this also applies to learning / memory, to focusing, to studying, to whatever craft I wish to master.
Like the childlike characters in those Japanese cartoons, I want to develop a strong mind that has utter laser focus. And with whatever the task is, to do it to the best of my ability. Wherever I end up going, I know that now, in this very moment, the one skill I want to develop with this "strong mind" is in being excellent.
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