How to maintain consistent effort to pursue goals, dreams, and ambitions.

Chop Wood Carry Water

The plot of the book follows a young man pursuing his dream of becoming a samurai archer, by undergoing training from master archers in a monastery-like setting. Each chapter the young man is provided with a valuable lesson in the form of a parable from an old loving mentor. The following ideas are breif summaries of key helpful concepts.

General Plot

There once was an old architect who was known around the world for his skills at making high quality homes. At his retirement he was asked to build one last home. Frustration, disappointment and other negative emotions tainted his craft and the final house was built of low quality materials and a shaky foundation. The old architect is then gifted the house he built as a retirement gift. No matter what you are doing you are building your character, so pay attention to what you are building.

You Are Always Building Your Own House. 

An old witch, nearing her retirement, is selling all of her tools. By the end of the day most of her tools are gone and the last shopper attempts to phurchase an old withered tool that everyone else overlooked. The witch informs the shopper that this tool was meant to be the only tool passed to her successor. The witch later reveals the tool is that of Discouragement. The witch teaches her successor that all people will become weak and easy to manipulate when robbed of their courage. No matter how painful the mistake do not allow yourself to become discouraged, or your dream will die.

The Witch's Most Dangerous Tool. 

How long do you have to water Bamboo before it sprouts? A week? No. A month? No. A year? No. 5 years? Maybe.But once it does sprout it can grow up to 10 feet in several days. Often growth happens beneath the surface and change isn't visable despite all the nurture being provided. Patience is key.

You Grow Like Bamboo

At the monastery the young man must chop wood to burn for warmth, and carry water to drink. Displeased by the time the meaningless tasks take, he overfills his buckets and rushes to complete his chores. Fatigue and an absent mind lead to the young man dropping all of his water near his mentor. The young man then complains that he would be a master archer if he didn't have to chop wood, carry water. The mentor reminds the young man that he doesn't have to do anything. He gets to. The more we see a task as an obligation the greater a burden it becomes in our life.

You Don't Have To Do Anything. 

Joshua Medcalf is an amazing author who takes psychologically sound concepts and presents them in easy to understand stories. This book greatly impacts my own motivation and career practice.

Guided by "Akira-sensei," John comes to realize the greatest adversity on his journey will be the challenge of defeating the man in the mirror. This powerful story of one boy's journey to achieve his life long goal of becoming a samurai warrior, brings the Train to be Clutch curriculum to life in a powerful and memorable way.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

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Motivation & Inspiration

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Mental Health

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Books

Joshua Medcalf

Changing how you interact with emotions to lead a better life.

Developing A Healthy Relationship With Emotions

Many believe that some emotions are better than others . This thought process leads to a hierarchy where people pursue only "good" emotions, and repress their "bad" emotions.

There Is No Bad Emotions

Imagine repressing your breath because you consider the air around you, "bad." It may work in the short term, but will eventually lead to you gasping for air taking in more than you needed originally. A similar experience happens with our emotions.

Emotions Are Like Breathing

Additionally, the most common symptom of excessive breathing, Oxygen toxicity, is difficulty breathing or maintaining healthy breathing patterns without focused effort. People who overly identify with specific emotions, experience great difficulty in regulating those emotions.

Overdosing On Emotions

Very few people are able to find a perfect balance of repression and experiencing their emotions. It is often a tedious process of trial and error to find a state of equilibrium. Even once found it can be even harder to maintain that balance. Give yourself grace for not having balance and plan forgiveness for the times you are unable to keep it in the future.

Balance Is Hard

Emotions are not yours. They do not belong to you, nor are they a part of you. You are not the air in your lungs. You breath it in and release it. In Narrative Therapy a common intervention is guiding clients to externalize their emotions. An example, is writing letters to an emotion as it was an individual who would actually read and respond. Doing this also means changing our language from, "I am anxious" or "I am just an angry person" to "I am experiencing anxiety" or "I am full of anger." This leads to an increased ability to interact with and understand emotional experiences.

Tip #1 Externalize Emotions

Judgement is a cancer in any relationship, however it is especially detrimental in the relationship with emotions. This is because our judgements often amplify emotions. An example of this is panic attacks, which occur when an individual experiences anxiety around becoming anxious. By reminding ourselves we are not the emotions we experience, and treating emotions with curiosity we are able to appreciate them through understanding.

Tip #2: Don't Judge Emotions

All emotions serve a purpose whether to teach, motivate, or reorient. However, it is not always best to act soley on the interests of emotions. Wisdom is where emotions overlap with rational thought. Most children act as though they are driven by emotions. Parenting is then the act of adding rational thought, to support the development of a wise mind. However, this leads to a repression of what emotions provide, and an absentence of wisdom. By pausing to reflect on what we can gain from emotions, we better our relationship with them.

Tip #3: Act With Wisdom.

I am Licensed Professional Counselor who is passionate about developing the wellness of others. The ideas shared are not a substitute for therapy or any mental health treatment. 

Chop Wood Carry Water

Developing a Healthy Relationship with Emotions

Austin Seaver