Know Yourself Before Choosing Your Path

When I was a child I spent the majority of my time in the woods. While most kids played in their yards or at the local arcade I set out in the opposite direction and hit the trails. Most of the time there weren’t even any trails to follow

When I would take someone along, I’d always get the reply “There’s no trail there – we should turn back” or “That doesn’t looked like a clear path – we should go this way.” I’d tell them, you’re welcome to go that way, but I’m going this way. See you later.

Even to this day I enjoy the woods. And with my best friend Jake, I have someone to go out and enjoy the places with no trails or at least not commonly traveled. He doesn’t talk too much which is an added bonus, and doesn’t care if the path is clearly walked or not. Actually I think he prefers if it isn’t.

I look around the Martial Arts and fitness arena and I see a reflection of this common occurrence. It seems that everyone wants to stay on the path everyone else has clearly walked. Even the self-proclaimed innovators are really staying on the same path as everyone else. They create the “next, best, never-before-seen Martial Arts system.” In reality they are doing the same thing every other self promoting, money and fame seeker is doing. This also applies to the Fitness business.

Don’t get me wrong; there are true innovators out there, but these individuals are rare. Everyone wants to be the next Bruce Lee or the next this or the next that instead of being themselves.

Many spend their days looking at others and wishing they had this quality or that, and they never stop to think of what qualities they do possess. They should focus on those qualities and cultivate them to their highest level.

One of the great lessons I have taken from my study in Jeet Kune Do is that Bruce didn’t walk the beaten path. He traveled where there were no trails. He learned as he went and cultivated his gifts to their highest level. He used what knowledge was around him as a reference but didn’t take it as the gospel. Instead, he relied on his own experiences and understands to cultivate something new and unique.

To this day, I feel walking that path and staying steadfast to it is a not-so-commonly-traveled trail. Along that trail you will find areas where the path is missing, and you only have your sense of adventure and roadmap (principles) to guide you. JKD is not for the common person, wanting to hang out in the arcade or simply play in the yard. It is for the person with a sense of adventure and an above average attention to detail.

So when choosing which path you’re going to take, you must stop and consider who you are as an individual – only then can you decide which path is right for you.