If I were to ask you how much do you think your life will change in the next 10 years, would it be a lot or a little? Most people think that they will change very little. However if I were to ask you how much has your life changed in the past 10 years most people would say quite a bit.
We all share the illusion that who we are now in this moment is the end of our personal evolution but every day our experiences change us more than we are aware. Once we accept this daily change we can learn to direct it and become the person we want to be.
Think about the person you would want to be 10 years from now and then push the change a little more and then a little more from there. See that future you and describe them on paper. Write down who they are. Now work backward from that future person and write down what would have to happen for you to become that future person. What achievements and events would have to take place for you to become them?
When you work backwards in time like this all the way to the present you should see a series of steps or goals lined up like dominoes. This is your map. It answers the question; “what do I have to do today to become that future person?”
This is what I believe An-shu Hayes is referring to when he says you should always have a question when you attend a training session of what you want to get out of that training. It is your present dominoe that needs to be knocked over so you can move forward with your training toward that future you. I think many people have dificulty with this because they have never thought about where they want to be in their training in the future, or if they have, they have a general wish instead of a specific target. You have to do the work to figure out what has to happen to get to your goal. You can’t just wish for it.
We even use this process of working backwards from the desired result in a kata to determine the kamae and goals needed to obtain that result in Ninja Lab. These same steps remove the illusion of you not being capable of doing a kata. Learning the kata, reaching a training goal, becoming the you of your dreams can all become reality if you leave the illusion behind and take the first step.
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