Water does not overcome because it yields. It overcomes because it is relentless. It perseveres and does not give up. It is constant. Rock can block water. Rock can even hold water in a lake for thousands of years. Why can't the yielding overcome the hard then? Because it cannot move. It cannot work its magic of being relentless.~ from 365 Tao: Daily Meditations, Entry 349 ~
When I was young, I loved to swim. I certainly wasn't the fastest swimmer nor was I the strongest. What separated me from most of my peers was my endurance. While others would consider 50 laps (50 yards/lap) to be a good workout, my baseline was 100 laps. Some days I would swim 200 laps and I once swam 250 laps nonstop -- but I did so very...very...slow...ly.
As I grew older, I utilized my relentless nature in other ways. It's one of the reasons I'm such a good researcher. When given an assignment to find why this engenders that, I will work long hours leaving no stone unturned until I find an answer.
Heck, even this blog highlights my relentless nature. I decided early on to post one verse of the Tao Te Ching each day during the late summer and early fall. Even now, I dedicated myself to the current series on the Wen Tzu -- all 180 verses! I believe I have not skipped one day of a Wen Tzu-related post since the series commenced.
While taking breaks is a must, I've found that I need to keep moving. Like the passage above indicates, if I stop for too long a period, I often find it difficult to get moving again. There have been times in my life in which I felt like a dammed up lake; unable to move or breath. I've learned from these episodes that tarrying for too long runs against my nature.
So, I keep plodding along...ever so slowly.
As I grew older, I utilized my relentless nature in other ways. It's one of the reasons I'm such a good researcher. When given an assignment to find why this engenders that, I will work long hours leaving no stone unturned until I find an answer.
Heck, even this blog highlights my relentless nature. I decided early on to post one verse of the Tao Te Ching each day during the late summer and early fall. Even now, I dedicated myself to the current series on the Wen Tzu -- all 180 verses! I believe I have not skipped one day of a Wen Tzu-related post since the series commenced.
While taking breaks is a must, I've found that I need to keep moving. Like the passage above indicates, if I stop for too long a period, I often find it difficult to get moving again. There have been times in my life in which I felt like a dammed up lake; unable to move or breath. I've learned from these episodes that tarrying for too long runs against my nature.
So, I keep plodding along...ever so slowly.
Aikido gains its effectiveness from movement.
ReplyDeleteBut the movement is almost always forward.
Forward or back, the movement is always circular.
The outside of the circle moves the fastest, while the center moves hardly at all.
A cyclone in miniature.
Movement is everything, but it can not exist without the calm center.
That probably means you're a Judger (that is, xxxJ personality type).
ReplyDeleteCB,
ReplyDeleteSince I don't study these personality types like you do, I have no idea if I meet the criteria for "Judger" or not. It would be helpful, if you're going to throw around terms like this, to define them so that the rest of us know what you're referring to.
Well, I know you took a bunch of Myers-Briggs based personality type tests a while ago, so I assumed you would know roughly what I was referring to. But here's an authoritative site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/judging-or-perceiving.asp
i agree with crow, that's the essence of martial arts, staying centered while your opponent whirls around like a tornado and is thrown out of balance.
ReplyDeleteTRT, i am a stubborn, persistent person! it is a flaw, and a blessing. i would never have taken martial arts if i wasn't so persistent, because my parents were vehemently against it. i would have remained a christian if i wasn't so persistent, because i spent hours upon days upon weeks studying religion and philosophy in attempt to discern truth from self-deception.
but it's also kept me from being patient quite a few times, and it's stifled other people as well.
More five-element theory (wu xing) at work.
ReplyDeleteI am going to guess, your MBTI is either an E/INTJ or E/INFJ...
ReplyDeleteanother good site is personalitypage.com.
CB,
ReplyDeleteOkay, I read the link you provided. So, since you made the assertion that you think I'm a "Judger", I'd like to hear your rationale. What are you basing your assignment of this label on?
For the record, I don't think I fall into either the J or P category OR I fall into both of them equally. For example, while I am very task-oriented (J), I also work in bursts of energy (P) and I'm stimulated by approaching deadlines (P).
Think of the J and P as your two hands. One is typically dominant...and we use both, dependent on the situation. Some of us are extremely dominant with one hand and some are ambidextrous.
ReplyDeleteIt is simply finding your dominant hand or function in this case. For instance, my fourth function is the P, but yet, I don't fit all the categories for a P. I have a lot of J qualities, but this is not dominant.
I have probably just made this muddier. Just have fun with it. In reality, we are fluid creatures that just tend to stream a certain way. When conditions change, we stream a different way.
Shinzen,
ReplyDeleteThis illustrates WHY I don't like these personality tests. I generally come down 50/50 in the paired category sets. Just when it looks like one category is dominant, I read the other half and I change my mind. :)
I seem to be one of those individuals who is all over the map.
Short quizzes can't capture a good MBTI...the long inventory works best...but don't worry...just join the rest of us who are NUTS. It works for me...LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteRT, I think SHinzen is right. Short quizzes are not a good way to find your personality type; the best way I think besides long inventory is to look at the categories and descriptions consciously. But if you don't really care about MBTI (and there's no intrinsic reason you should), don't waste your time on it. It's one tool for self-discovery among many.
ReplyDeleteAs for your post, your post seems to indicate, not someone who works in short bursts (like a Perceiver) but someone who sets a definite goal and works towards it steadily. That is a characteristic Judging trait. Perceivers would be much less likely to stick with, say, the project of writing a post on each segment of a book; they would be more likely to start it, then drop it without finishing it and start something new. THere is nothing wrong with either Judging or Perceiving.
CB,
ReplyDeleteI'm aware that there is nothing wrong with J or P; both are descriptors. And I don't want you to think I'm defensive about you thinking I'm a J. It's just that I don't see myself fitting neatly in ANY of these predetermined categories.
For example, as you point out, sticking to a project by writing a post per verse of a book would strongly indicate J. On the other hand, there is no specific time each day that I set aside to write.
If the truth be known, particularly during the TTC series, I often wrote in bursts, sometimes writing all the entries for an entire week in one sitting. I would then schedule the entries to post in chronological order. This indicates a strong preference for P.
So which is predominant in this case, J or P?
I wouldn't worry about whether you are a P or a J. All of us are both...just like having two hands...one is dominant, but it doesn't mean you don't use the other one.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself 'right-handed' as I write with my right hand, play tennis right handed, etc, but when I play baseball, I am a left-handed batter. So, I am both, but my right is dominant.
And of course, some people can be X's in MBTI. These folks are ambidexterous. My wife is an XNTJ. A little more E than I, but fairly balanced in this function.
No one style is better than another. It is just a way to look at human behavior.
RT--If you are really close on the J/P axis, it would certainly take someone who knows you better than I do to guess which one you are with any kind of accuracy. It may well be that people who are fairly extreme on the four axes, such as myself, find this more helpful than others do.
ReplyDelete