Re: If You’re Comfortable, You’re Not Learning

[Damian (Instructor)]

THIS is the kind of stuff I like to read. The physical aspect of anything from self-protection to money management to diet is a small percentage compared to the psychological and mental aspect.

I loved this post. Brilliant and simple.

There is no such thing as failure. Suicide is failure because you’re friggin dead. Other than that, you cannot fail.

You will never fail, you will only learn a lesson.

Thank God for folks like Abraham Lincoln who kept getting his ass kicked in every office he ran for…and then became the second greatest President in the history of the United States.

I believe that the greater one’s destiny, the greater the adversity and “failure” they will have to overcome. And all adversity is a state of mind.

I love being around people and listening to people who kick my ass when needed. Even I can indulge myself on occasion. Then I get disgusted and kick my own ass.

This was like what I said about hatred being of two types; you can hate failure in that you try to avoid it, or you can hate it in that you don’t care if you fail because you are confident that you will ultimately Prevail.

Failure is a battle, but you are fighting a war.

Look at the Boston Celtics. They went 27/27 the last 54 games of the season, yet look where they are now. That team has a unique character.

I seriously really enjoyed this post from Mr. Ross. America as a whole needs more of this, because we have gradually been conditioned to believe that everything’s supposed to be easy…like it is for the rich people. Little do we acknowledge that the average rich person busted their ass like you wouldn’t believe to attain their success. They should be admired.

Yesterday morning I helped a guy pour concrete for a foundation around his garage. This after digging the 24″ deep trench around it a few days earlier. That trench was a bitch like you wouldn’t believe. Roots, thick clay soil, slabs of concrete down there that I had to smash and hack through. Talk about edge of hand blows. Every obstacle was a “failure,” if you will. Digging through clay soil inch by inch and hitting concrete and roots can be a bit demoralizing. But smashing through all that was pretty damn satisfying, I must say. Then, we’re pouring the concrete, and not even halfway through the guy informs me that we’ve got five minutes left with the mixing truck out front before the guy’s got to pay more. So now we’re literally sprinting up and down the driveway to his backyard with wheelbarrows full of concrete. And we did beat the deadline. Of course we did, you son of a bitch. You want a good workout give that a shot. You do that and you won’t need any self-defense training. You can take on a damn army.

By the way, I find that when I get into my zone where I’m busting my ass like Satan is coming for my soul that other people are motivated to step it up – way, way up – just out of pure shame, without me saying a word. There’s a lesson about leadership there. In fact, when I’m that focused I’m really not a nice person, but who’s gonna argue with a guy who’s working that hard? Even if you hate my guts you are compelled to respect me.

I have a saying that it is when you are weak that you are strong because when you feel weak you are really growing stronger. But when you feel strong you are really weak because you are not being tested.

So remember this when you are pushed to your limits. You may feel weak, but this is *proof* that you are strong…

…because you are still going. Still going is still growing.

I like what Mr. Ross said about skill vs talent. Self-protection is a skill, even though some people have naturally good instincts. However, instincts can be conditioned through repetition and visualization.

Let me briefly emphasize the power of visualizing the SDTS in your mind in addition to physically practicing it. Very powerful. In your mind, you have the ability to execute with perfect precision every single time. Visualize that guy’s head exploding and body parts disintegrating.

That’s the thing: even when encountering obstacles you *don’t* have to fill your mind with them. Instead, you impose your vision on your experience and blast through all that. Visualize triumph.

Never complain. Complaining is proof that you don’t envision success. Complaining empowers adversity because your mind has accepted it.

Why complain about something that’s about to be destroyed?

Great frickin post here, Mr. Ross. This is the best one I’ve read on here. Stuff like this is even more important that the SDTS because it is the foundation upon which the SDTS rests.