Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
I went to the firing range today.
Funny… someone asked if I go for the therapeutic effects shooting can have. I replied, “Hmmm. Not really. At this point, it’s training (which I don’t mind). If I were key-holing shots it might be a bit more therapeutic.”
As a lifelong martial artist, I don’t mind training. My martial arts background is, likely, what helped shape my attitude toward practice and training, and that attitude has certainly helped me in other areas of my life (scholastic endeavors, clerical goals, relationship-ing, etc.).
That being said, I’ve increased my frequency of attendance at the gun club (2-3 times/week) to get in some additional training, as I have a class (complete with a test at the end) in about a week and half… and feel grossly underprepared. There’s NO WAY I’ve spent 10,000 hours training in the martial skill of the handgun. If we were talking about the above mentioned hand-to-hand martial arts, I’ve not “thrown enough kicks or punches” to feel comfortable defending myself with those skills.
What I'm getting at is this: my chain of practice is in fragments. It’s neat to have all those fragments, but ultimately, they’ll do me no good since what I “need” is a length of sturdy chain that I can DO something with. I’ve trained before, and to see results, I know that I have to spend a little time EVERY DAY working on those skills I want to learn.
This is right action. It’s putting our “doing” toward a specific goal.
*Ummm… hey, William. This blog is about Stoicism*
Geez, other-William, gimmie a break, will ya? I’m getting to that.
The more we practice, the better we get, and when that practice becomes training, and we live to constantly train, becoming better in all things, we live in virtue. We embody virtue through our actions. In our lives, we can use the ongoing work of practice and training to add virtuous qualities in our lives, or to step away from habits that aren’t healthy for us.
Essentially, this diligent training and focused practice is building new habits…
… or strengthen old ones.
See, the crazy thing about the method is that it doesn’t judge. It’ll work whether or not the acts are good, or hurtful.
We become what we practice becoming.
The more we practice, the more we become.
Be mindful of what is being strengthened, and work assiduously every day to grow stronger.
Seems like a LOT to take on, yeah? Well, it is.
Good news is this: you don’t have to do it all at once. Take it one day at a time, one step at a time, moment by moment.
Feel better? Good.
Let’s get to work.
(See y’all tomorrow)
Funny… someone asked if I go for the therapeutic effects shooting can have. I replied, “Hmmm. Not really. At this point, it’s training (which I don’t mind). If I were key-holing shots it might be a bit more therapeutic.”
As a lifelong martial artist, I don’t mind training. My martial arts background is, likely, what helped shape my attitude toward practice and training, and that attitude has certainly helped me in other areas of my life (scholastic endeavors, clerical goals, relationship-ing, etc.).
That being said, I’ve increased my frequency of attendance at the gun club (2-3 times/week) to get in some additional training, as I have a class (complete with a test at the end) in about a week and half… and feel grossly underprepared. There’s NO WAY I’ve spent 10,000 hours training in the martial skill of the handgun. If we were talking about the above mentioned hand-to-hand martial arts, I’ve not “thrown enough kicks or punches” to feel comfortable defending myself with those skills.
What I'm getting at is this: my chain of practice is in fragments. It’s neat to have all those fragments, but ultimately, they’ll do me no good since what I “need” is a length of sturdy chain that I can DO something with. I’ve trained before, and to see results, I know that I have to spend a little time EVERY DAY working on those skills I want to learn.
This is right action. It’s putting our “doing” toward a specific goal.
*Ummm… hey, William. This blog is about Stoicism*
Geez, other-William, gimmie a break, will ya? I’m getting to that.
The more we practice, the better we get, and when that practice becomes training, and we live to constantly train, becoming better in all things, we live in virtue. We embody virtue through our actions. In our lives, we can use the ongoing work of practice and training to add virtuous qualities in our lives, or to step away from habits that aren’t healthy for us.
Essentially, this diligent training and focused practice is building new habits…
… or strengthen old ones.
See, the crazy thing about the method is that it doesn’t judge. It’ll work whether or not the acts are good, or hurtful.
We become what we practice becoming.
The more we practice, the more we become.
Be mindful of what is being strengthened, and work assiduously every day to grow stronger.
Seems like a LOT to take on, yeah? Well, it is.
Good news is this: you don’t have to do it all at once. Take it one day at a time, one step at a time, moment by moment.
Feel better? Good.
Let’s get to work.
(See y’all tomorrow)
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