I Don't Believe in Shortcuts

I started doing martial arts in college.
Before that I was into art.
I've never characterized myself as a natural at anything: art, sports, whatever.
Since I was a child I've understood intuitively the value of long, laborious at times grinding hours of hyper focused study and practice.
My work ethic came from my ******.
It was what I saw so I adopted it.
If nothing else, for that I am grateful.

I do not rush, but rather, each day, devote time to whatever goal or area I am studying.
There is no substitute for this application of a process to learning and improvement.
I accept the ups and downs of learning and skill acquisition as the nature of the development. I detach from my need to always see how I'm getting better but rather trust that even when not overtly obvious, I trust that even setbacks are a form of improvement and every bad day is a day closer to a good day or a breakthrough.
Virtually all studies on learning and skill acquisition also affirm the need for short breaks in between where growth also occurs.

If learning is perpetually a struggle...you will quit.
If learning is perpetually a grind...you will quit.
If you only practice when you feel like it, however, you will also stunt your growth.
If you don't handle adversity and setbacks and failure and let go of your sense of self being tied to always doing well....you will quit.

This blog early on (and its other incarnations) was a small boy attempting to discover his sense of identity and masculinity. It was a caricature and it was a train wreck to put it mildly. I had little concern for others and my driving goal was the satisfaction of my own selfish desires and impulses.
As it would happen, sating those desires is impossible. When you think only of the self, the id, and you confuse impulse for real satisfaction......you will always be left wanting more. The black hole only clamors for more: more sex, more alcohol, more destruction, more more more more more.
There is never enough "more".

An adverse effect of this changing paradigm is that unhealthy emotional/toxic women regard me differently. I don't feed the unhealthy drama they need. I don't fight pitched battles over perceived insults, slights, and deprecations to their vanity or mine.

The diet of crack rock reality TV and social media has them constantly feeding for impulse gratification and intensity....that being said....if you are willing to pan for gold....you may just hit the mother lode.