When it comes to deciding whether to attend an event or participate in an activity, we can fall into the trap of asking ourselves, “What am I going to get out of this?” Or “What’s in it for me?” When deciding how to spend our finite amount of time, These questions help us to make sure that we are not wasting it. This is a good place to start, but as we progress through life and our martial arts career, we need to start asking ourselves, “Will my presence be a benefit to others?” Or “How can I contribute to serve others?” In asking ourselves these questions, we can better determine if our time will be used wisely as well, but in this case as a way of service to others.
There is a time to give and a time to receive. We are either a donor of our time or a recipient of other’s time. As a chief instructor, I always long for those opportunities where I get to be a recipient. For me this comes whenever I get to attend events like black belt camps, and Masters Clinic where I get to focus on my own training. This training time comes fewer and farther in between the higher one gets in rank, but in being a good donor of time and material, I am motivated to train on my own so that I can give back and demonstrate for others at a high level. In being a donor, we also have the ability to learn things from students especially how they do certain techniques. In seeing this, we can reflect on our own technique or at the very least use it as a third person view to how a technique is demonstrated. In giving time to teach, assist or give back in a different way, we are pressured to lead by example in technique and in attitude.
In order to foster a positive for the future of students and organization we need to adopt an attitude of service. If we truly love and value our community, this service is necessary to ensure that future generations can enjoy it in the same way that we do. If members of a community are solely self interested, the community will not grow and worse, may decline! Next time when deciding whether to attend an event do not simply ask yourself, “What impact will this have on me?”, but also ask yourself, “What impact can I have on others?”. If we have a future forward view, we will not see ourselves as wasting our time, but spending it wisely for the benefit of ourselves and the community around us.
