[Editors note: The following is a guest post from Adam Marshall. Adam is an instructor at the American School of Martial Arts in Burbank, California.]
Laziness- a disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to do so.
A wonderful word that we use for so many things. It is the one that hits the snooze button, the one that parks close to the front of the store, the one that makes excuses to take the shortest and easiest path. But, like the monster that it is, laziness will not give up there. It will sit on your shoulder and whisper that you are tired today and that you really should cut the grass tomorrow. It will argue that you already took the trash out last week, and what can a few more days hurt? But most importantly, it will ruin your life.
Kung Fu is a tool to wage our war on laziness. Because after all, Kung Fu means “hard work”, literally! And laziness despises that phrase! It is the complete opposite of complacency. It demands consistency and dedication, other words that laziness hates. But it is our drive to improve, to constantly fight the monster that is laziness and to finally start “making excuses why you can, and not making excuses why you can’t” that keeps us moving forward.
When laziness creeps up on you, make sure to remind yourself of your goals in joining a martial art; health, confidence, self-defense, etc… Working through laziness can be tough work at first, but as you build up momentum and energy, it gets easier and easier to do. Before long, you will find yourself “in the flow” and you will no longer have to struggle to be there.
With the rewards that a martial art can bring to your life, laziness doesn’t stand a chance!
