Protect your energy

The practice should be fuel.

The study should be fuel.

Teaching others should be fuel.

And resting should also be fuel.

When you start missing the mark on the mats, as a coach or student, the answer can be many things, but it’s rarely more intense focus on the fact you are missing the target.

Your practice, your study, and your teaching must be a source of nourishment. But just as importantly, your rest must be nourishment.

As always, the trick is finding your own personal equilibrium that isn’t borne from a delusional mind (easier when you aren’t exhausted).

The ego tells you to skip rest. It tells you that if you stop moving, the whole house of cards will collapse. That is a delusion. If you want to improve your averages and sustain your longevity, you must rest in earnest.

And when you return, do not use your rest as an excuse to double your workload. You are resting to build consistency and compound your efforts, not to earn the right to burn yourself out later. Find your equilibrium. Protect your energy. That is the only way to truly grow.