Work and training finding a happy median.

[Please visit our sponsor:]

[tim evans]

It seems lately my work load has increased and I just wear out early on the mat .working nights throwing 60 lb parts around all night is not helping matters so my question is Is there a happy median of work and aikido out there or is it wishful thinking.thanks:)

[Rob Watson]

wishful thinking

So far this seems to be the case. Health, family, work ... who has time for budo? Take advantage of opportunity as it presents and muddle on ... seems to be my M.O. of late.

[Janet Rosen]

Tim, are you a young guy w/o a family? Reason I ask is, family men and working moms have to do this time priority/balance juggle all the time about EVERYthing, both some "mandatory" timesinks and all the "optional" activities. It's just life.

[Shadowfax]

I actually adjusted my work schedule to accommodate aikido, with the aid and blessing of my manager. But I'm in a position to do that and have a job flexible enough to let me.

I guess you do what your circumstances allow. Sometimes you just have to change your circumstances (if you can) in order to make room for something you really want.

[lbb]

Everybody has the same 24 hours in a day. That's important to remember.

Robert Reich, who was President Clinton's Secretary of Labor, decided to resign his position at the end of Clinton's first term -- because he had 24 hours in a day, and he had other things that he felt he needed to do even more than a job he loved. He wrote an essay about the decision that was printed in the New York Times. In it, he said that time management skills can only take you so far. Once you get to that point, something's got to go. If you're wise, you'll consciously choose what goes and what stays. A lot of people aren't wise: they dither, unable to decide which thing to give up, because they want to keep them all. That's a great way to end up losing them all instead. You give up something you want, in order to get something you want more. Is that a "happy" medium? It depends on you. Some people are glass-half-empty types and will moan forever about what they had to give up. Other people accept that they made their choice and they'll pay the price without complaining. If "happy" has to mean "getting all the goodies you want", then no, there is no such thing.

[phitruong]

It seems lately my work load has increased and I just wear out early on the mat .working nights throwing 60 lb parts around all night is not helping matters so my question is Is there a happy median of work and aikido out there or is it wishful thinking.thanks:)

throwing 60 lb parts around all night? sounded like training to me. so, when are you working? see if you can throw those 60 lbs parts around with your legs and hips instead of your shoulders and arms. do that for awhile and come and tell us how your aikido progress. :)

[RED]

My work took a toll on my Aikido. My job was destroying my body, which destroys the ability to train the way I needed to.
Had to quit...my job that is.(not Aikido lol)

[Rolf Granlund]

Speaking from the point of view of a married man with a child, it is a constant struggle to balance work and training. It's taken a long time but I've had to come to the point of view that I am a husband and father first and a martial artist last. Fortunately my wife is very understanding of my desire/need to train so I can usually make it to the dojo 3 times a week. But if there are family issues that need to be addressed or work issues that need to be addressed then training gets pushed aside. And my teacher knows this and is cool with it. In fact, I had to take a two month break from training to focus on work due to a project for my manager and my teacher said, "I'll see you in a couple months." I am blessed to have him in my life.

However, there is always something I can do when I'm at home training wise. Kata, aiki taiso, etc. I've done them at home often enough that my son (5 years old) is beginning to express an interest in training. It's something of a truism but training must be thought of as something that is done on a daily basis and not just at the dojo only.

[tim evans]

throwing 60 lb parts around all night? sounded like training to me. so, when are you working? see if you can throw those 60 lbs parts around with your legs and hips instead of your shoulders and arms. do that for awhile and come and tell us how your aikido progress. :)

Over the last month I have noticed I am more grounded more as uke and my kokyu power is stronger now

[Nick P.]

@Tim: I have discovered a mindset that works well for me when faced with periods of, shall we say, fluctuating energy vs. time vs. goals....and that is to recognize them as just that, they are periods, and the pendulum will never really stop swinging on way or another.
The trick is to just keep going, even if the results, either at work or the dojo, aren't ideal, they are at least for a while the best you can do.

@Mary: I have to look up that article. I have recently begun to use the expression "Sometimes you have 5 pegs, but only 3 holes; which pegs are you going to pick? You can try to cram all the pegs in, but there remains only so many holes".