Maybe when you were growing up, particularly if you were a male, you were told to control your emotions and never to act out of emotion.
You were told to stop, think and act logically. You were told that men don't cry; they should always be strong and never be weak.
This is all completely wrong.
We are all creatures of emotion.
Every single thing that you do is out of emotion. Every activity or decision, good or bad, trivial or monumental is based on emotion...and then backed by logic.
I have been called "sensitive" by people I work with. "Don't take things so personally", people say.
I prefer passionate instead of sensitive. I do get emotional; I get fired up. I get intense and driven. People mistake it for weakness or being upset. They are not the same thing.
Let me ask you something. Look back into your past and examine some of the best decisions that you've made in your life; the ones you are really proud of and have made the biggest impact on your life.
Did you agonize over it. Analyze it to death. Ask everyone you knew under the sun what they thought. Waited for a week and then started the process all over again.
Or did you get mad.
You know...mad. Where you set your jaw, got a determined look on your face and said, "You know what...I want this. This is what I want and I'm going to do it. I don't care what other people think or say, because it doesn't matter. What matters is my happiness and my goals and I will do this thing."
That kind of mad. Not rage, which is when you are out of control, but a burning desire in your gut that keeps you up late at night and gets you up early in the morning.
That kind of mad that gives off a vibration to everyone that you are on a mission and will not be stopped or take no for an answer.
In Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I, which you can get at http://www.shaolinsecrets.com, there are several places where it is said, "To clear your mind of any distractions, focusing only on that which you wish to obtain."
In some places they are referring to breathing exercise, in others it is the "reading the body" of your opponent. In every case, they speak of clearing the mind of everything except that thing that you want.
If you're not fired up already, then what I'm about to say next will make some of you really uncomfortable.
To really grasp this concept, you are going to have to get rid of the word, "Try" from your vocabulary. I have been very guilty of this in the past and have been working on it very hard for the past five months.
The word "Try" is a short way to say, "I don't really believe I can do this so I'm going to say I'll try so that when I wimp out, quit and fail, I can tell everyone I tried, protect my weak self esteem and feel better about myself."
Ouch.
It hurt when it was put to me that way, but I'll forever be thankful to the Mentor who gave it to me straight.
What do you think was the atmosphere at the Shaolin Temple of China. Do you think the newest trainees at the Temple were allowed to "try it" to see if it was what they "liked".
Or do you think that they were sent there and given no other option but to succeed.
It was said that when George Washington crossed the Potomac, he got to the other side and instructed his troops to burn the boats.
"But General", one of his aides said, "If we burn the boats, we cut off our only route of escape."
Washington looked at his aide and said, "I know; now we have no choice but to move forward and succeed."
Look for any areas of your life where you are unhappy, or have been listening to every one else tell you what you should be doing, where you may have told yourself, "I'll try"...
And get mad.
Best,
William Huff
P.S. - If you have been reading these daily messages but have not yet picked up your copy of Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I, I suggest you get mad at yourself - and get over to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com - and pick up your copy now.