I’m sure you’ve realized this by now. You could be a lot better at internal martial arts than you are. But…
Something is holding you back. It’s not complicated. You know what it is:
You don’t practice enough.
Just like anything else you’re “supposed” to do, practicing is something you tell yourself you will do more of and never do.
The problem is, you really do want to see progress. You’re interested in gaining skill and going farther with your abilities. But when it comes time to choose between sitting at a computer or training hard (after a long day at work)…
So what’s the solution?
There are four steps to fixing this issue. I’ll cover the first in this post and fill you in on the rest later.
The first step is to find your “intrinsic motivation.”
Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from inside you. This is the good stuff. This is what drives you. This is what gets you off the chair and doing stuff.
What doesn’t get you off the chair and doing stuff (but helps you sit back down in the chair with some extra guilt) is called extrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of you.
If you’ve ever said to yourself “I should train” or “I’m supposed to train,” that’s extrinsic motivation. It feels like someone outside of you is wagging their finger at you. If you’ve been running on extrinsic motivation, this is a great time to switch.
So how do you find your intrinsic motivation to train?
Here’s one way:
Come up with a short list (around five items) about why you want to train more. It can be things like health, the desire to be confident in defending yourself and loved ones, the satisfaction of developing yourself. Whatever you want. One important note…
They have to be your reasons.
Remember, if they aren’t your reasons for wanting to train more, you’re running on extrinsic motivation. Stay away from that stuff.
Once you’ve completed your list, put it somewhere you can see it regularly.
Remember, this is only the first step (discovering your intrinsic motivation.
Now, if you want to know what to train go join Clear Tai Chi Online for only $5.
I really enjoy your courses and tips. I was very much interested in learning Bagua and your DVD’s have provided me with a wealth of information. I am now enrolled in your on-line Tai Chi course also and am practicing both Bagua and Tai Chi. My focusing on becoming softer and feeling internally has given me much more energy and with my daily practices I find myself becoming much calmer, rooted and more agile. I have been involved in martial arts training for over 40 years, mainly judo, Tai Kwan Do , Tang Su Do and Hapkido, and find that Sigun Clear’s training methods and explanations have answered many questions I had regarding energy storage and internal training for fighting. I am now 72 years old and about 12 years ago was introduced to internal chi gung practices and Tai Chi Chuan as a way to preserve your health and increase your energy. Self defense and martial aspects have always been of primary importance to me. I live in Panama and good instruction in the internal arts is not available locally. Thank you for making such valuable instruction readily accessible.