It’s not just an old song.  It’s how we make other people feel valued.  It’s how the often return the favor.  At our school, we teach students to touch people in 3 ways when they greet them: eye contact, handshake or hug, and verbally by saying their name.  Very simple, and yet it truly conveys that I care about you.  What are some other examples of how to show respect?

-Jennille

The journey each of us take is going to be different.  My struggles will not necessarily be your struggle.  My victory will not look the same as your victory.  You need to find the best way to be true to yourself and your beliefs as you walk along your martial arts journey, and we’ll be there to support you and help you figure it out.

-Jennille

Big shout out to Christie and Jennille for passing their 1st Degree Black Belt test!  Moving on and up.  Way to go, ladies! #NovaDefense

Today is the day to act.  Today is the day we are alive.  Today is the day we can do.  Yesterday is gone, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.  In other words, stop procrastinating.  What do you need to work toward today?

-Jennille

It’s a culmination of all the words we’ve learned thus far.  It’s what shows when failure happens.  It’s what’s exposed when we feel fear.  It’s what we’re building each time we are consistent, humble, and tenacious.  Each day we are choosing to build our character or break it down.  You choose.

-Jennille

Cooperation is voluntarily or willingly working with another person.  That could be a parent, a sibling, a classmate, or a co-worker.  We will not always have the exact same feelings or beliefs as those we are put in situations to  cooperate with.  We must learn to voice our opinions in respectful and assertive ways in order to be productive.

To be dependable is to be someone that others can count on.  I say I will do something…and then I do it.  Others know that I will complete a task when I commit to it.  This applies to work or business.  This is important in school. It’s critical to moving up in belt ranking in karate. This is imperative in friendships.  This is inescapable in any endeavor I want to do well.  It also means that I will say no sometimes.  If it is more than I can handle well, then I must say not make the commitment in the first place.

-Jennille

The first step in any commitment is to decide.  I will decide ahead of time that I will get my black belt.  Now I will put in the practice learning, and time necessary to achieve that.  I will decide ahead of time that I will earn all A’s this quarter at school.  Now I will put in the study and research time to earn those A’s.  I will decide ahead of time that I want to only eat healthy today–no junk food.  Then I will be able to say to someone offering me a candy bar, that I decided to not eat that today.  I decided I will go to the gym and workout tomorrow morning.  I will layout my clothes tonight and be prepared to stick with my decision.  What do you want to decide to do today?

-Jennille

We will be afraid at some point in our lives.  It might be a test at karate, or school.  It might be a job interview or starting a business.  We then have a choice.  Do we quit so we don’t have to face the fear?  OR do we push through, work on it, get more information, grow, and punch the fear in its face?  I’m voting for punch fear in the face.  This week I am really looking forward to hearing how the students pushed through their fear.

-Jennille

A generally held belief is that failure is an undesirable outcome.  We disagree.  In any endeavor, if you are pushing, working, growing, and actually trying, you will fail at some point.  The key is to be tenacious and push through.  Figure out what went wrong.  Learn from it.  Change something for next time.  Grow.

When asked about inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison said,

I didn’t fail.  I just found 10,000 ways it won’t work.

I’m looking forward to hearing the examples of the students of someone they have seen fail, or a failure they have overcome themselves.

In the meantime, here is a video I enjoyed this week about failure, change, and learning to overcome difficulty.  Enjoy!