Sensei
Alan Says
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' Excellence Is Beyond
the “I Can’t Place”'
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| The
"I Can't" place, is that mental point where we
tell ourselves that we "Can't do" something. It's
the first inkling in our mind, that maybe we're at our maximum
ability. It’s where our feelings of wanting to DO,
something, are overwhelmed by a greater, and growing feeling
of wanting to just escape. It's the feeling associated with
the “I Can’t Place,” the intellectual
threshold of our own self-doubt. |
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As we become aware of our I Can’t place, “Doubt”
takes center stage. Doubt, with its debilitating feeling
of "I Can't,” brings a reality that we know all
too well. If you are stuck, in the “I Can’t”
place, you have to really dig in and push through.
For, to be sure, we can all aspire to and want to do more,
and thereby, become more than we already are. But, we know
also, that there are levels of performance beyond our capability.
Nevertheless, in order for any of us to be more, than we
already are, we must at least attempt to do more than we’ve
already done. |
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| And
the good news is that in attempting to do more, we by definition,
challenge the boundaries of our performance capability,
i.e., we redefine the definition of our limits. That is
a benefit of deciding to be excellent. We train, in fact,
in order to challenge our limits. Therein lies the secret,
to attaining excellence. EXCELLENCE
is to be found beyond the point where we say: "I
can't" do this or I can’t do that.
That doesn't mean that
by simply trying, that you are always going to be successful,
any more than a baby is successful in its first attempts
at walking. But, when you decide to be excellent, you’ve
already agreed to want to try. And, this is important,
because you’ve got to be willing. You’ve got
to want to succeed.
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| Remember
this: The journey to "excellence" begins with
the very decision to challenge the "I Can't."
We have to get beyond:
“I Can’t,” because, in point of fact,
we all know our limitations, before we reach them. We
know what our limitations "feel like." We know
our “quit place” better than anyone, although
we try often to fool ourselves into not knowing.
Think about it. If we recall
those times when we think that we're getting close - to
what we imagine that we can't do - our minds will play
that doubtful tune we're so familiar with. It's the sound
of our resolve - beginning to slip away.
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| For example:
take something as simple as the Push Up exercise. But, to
dramatize the point, let's do those Push Ups slowly, and
squeeze our muscles tight all the while. I call them Power
Push Ups. And when we're approaching that place where it
hurts...Oh Boy! And, in your mind you are saying something
like: "Man, I don't think I can make it."
We feel our resolve being
tested. The pain is the provocation. The muscles hurt…but
not the Will. If you take a moment to consider it: Will
Power doesn’t hurt. But, resolve can certainly be
tested. And when that happens, then the Will must deal
with the pervasive feeling of Doubt. So true, yes? And,
the pain in the muscles can be such a big distraction.
Pain makes the feeling of “I Can’t”
feel real.
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The
mind reacts to that painful distraction - calling on us
to "HOLD UP" --- "SLOW DOWN." Or some words to that effect.
The brain is trying to warn us that we're approaching our
limit. That care needs to be taken, or we might even Hurt
Ourselves....! I call that spot where doubt first pops up,
the "I Can't" place. It's the threshold in our performance,
where we can lose our focus on getting the task done, and
instead begin to focus on the "maybe" associated with “Not”
getting the task done.
Well, for the record let me say, that the first "I Can't"
place - is a fake!
You can do more. The first feelings of doubt are your body’s
way of giving a warning. And IF you are not ready to challenge
the definition of your own abilities; IF the definition
that you’ve set for yourself, and which has very likely
been seconded by those around you, who’s opinion you hold
as truths….then it’s also very likely that you have reached
your maximum. You're about to give up.
Your limits have been determined, and you have chosen --
by choosing NOT to go forward – you have acquiesced to the
limits of your capacity. You are what you’ve already done…and
no more. However, for those of us who seek excellence, we
must push beyond this IMAGINARY “I CAN'T,” place and through
the experience of doing that which we’ve never done before.
It is there that we discover the magnificences of the human
spirit.
By Doing, We Discover Excellence! The space of time, the
place and the doing - between the Imaginary "I Can't" and
the REAL I Can't place - is the realm of excellence. It's
a place where excellent lessons are revealed.
It's a place where the spirit soars! Sensei Alan Says: Excellence
is a place where "I Can't" becomes:
"I AM!"
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| Interested in
getting a copy of 'Sensei Alan's Says - The Booklet ', Please
E mail Sensei to be included
on the distribution list. |
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