Never Give Up

Often we can get weary and feel like giving up. We find ourselves quoting, “God never gives us anymore than we can handle”. We humbly accept this because it gives us a reason not to give up. We embrace the mystery that is life with a sense of hope. You’ve heard me say, “It is easy to be great when things are going your way. Can you be great when things are difficult? That is what builds character. That is what makes us a better person”. But as we are in and going through our trials of suffering, it is difficult to do this. It is at these moments, I utilize many of the martial arts skills I have learned. DISCIPLINE. To always do your best. FOCUS. Eyes, ears, mind and body fully engaged. Pay attention. CONTROL. Knowing when to go fast and slow, hard and soft. This is a very important one. BALANCE: Get enough sleep, food, exercise, quality time with your family and self, spirituality, learning, and fun time. MEMORY. Remember you were once a kid and to never take anything too seriously. FITNESS. Exercise. Your health is everything. TEAMWORK. Working together or helping each other. Always know you never have to go at life alone.

Tough Love and the Martial Arts

If a person lives, eats and drinks success on a daily basis, they will gravitate toward success and want to be a successful person. If they are fed negativity through failure and criticism, they will run to the darkness of mediocrity and a “get-by attitude”. I believe the main goal of the martial arts is to inspire people to be the best they can be; not just on a physical level but as a human being. I want all my students to aspire to greatness by working hard, never giving up, and always giving 100% percent effort in everything they do. I cannot do this without your support. I believe to achieve this goal in the martial arts, your child should, at the minimum, attend their classes regularly and practice everyday for fifteen minutes. To get ahead, they should take private lessons, attend workshops and extra classes where available. If they do not, they will most likely fall behind, get discouraged, and want to quit. If they quit, all they have learned, is to be a failure. This is not my goal. I, as a parent, want to give my child every edge possible, to be successful in this competitive world in which we live in. To achieve this, I often have to resort to “Tough love”. I know this is not easy, but one day, when they living the best lives possible, they will be grateful for our courage.

Change

Change is a constant. It is guaranteed. It brings the excitement of endless possibilities but offers the fear of the unknown. It provides the opportunity to grow and better one’s self. Change is the chance we have to take. It is a path everyone must walk. Often we don’t know where it will take us. Still we are hopeful and believe a better life lies ahead. I welcome change with humility and gratitude. I understand faith is the anecdote for the fear of change. I look forward to change with a smile of a child.

Power of Words

The power of words. We understand words are stronger than muscles. With our words we can heal or do great harm. Often the people we offer the least kind words are those closest to us. Honestly, we might agree, we sometimes say pretty awful things to them. As the age old cliché goes, “You always hurt the one you love”. This is an unauthorized thought pattern that does not manifest our truer self. This behavior hurts us as it does those we love. Humility and gratitude are a healthy system of checks and balances to help us recognize the gift of family that we have been given. However we define family, it is the main social aspect of our lives that give us a true sense of belonging. Feel humility that you have been blessed with truly wonderful people to love. Embrace gratitude knowing you never have to go through life’s ups and downs alone. Our family are the people we should always offer the kindest words of love and compassion. They are the greatest gift offered us. It is a an honor to be a part of something so beautiful as family. I thank God for helping me realize this each and everyday.

Surrender

I believe in order to find balance and peace I must surrender to the path of the universe. What causes me the most pain and stress is when I resist life’s unpredictable journey. I must accept I am not in control of people, places, and things. I know this is easier said than done. Why is it that we don’t try to control the seasons as they pass us each year? We can accept this as beyond our control. So why don’t we look at the rest of our lives this way? I believe we cling to the illusion that we are actually in control of life. I humbly accept that I am not in control. I do believe I am responsible for how I choose to perceive, embrace, and process this lack of control. Bruce Lee once said, “You must be like water. When water is in a tea cup, it becomes the tea cup. When water is in a bowl, it becomes the bowl. You must be fluid like water”. This philosophy is simple but very hard to apply. Many of us are very rigid in our conditioned thinking, to the point that we are not teachable. This thinking is like stagnant water, which is poisonous and of no use. The key to the path of surrender is accepting life on life’s terms. John Lennon once said, “Life is something that happens while we are busy making other plans”. Another key element is letting go of self-will and trusting a higher will. How fearful I must be to egotistically think the universe revolves around me. The third key is humility. I strive to be humble by acting out of love and not fear. It is at this place of love that I am balanced, complete within myself, and at peace amidst the chaos of life.

Contemplation

Each month I contemplate what to write in my Professor’s Corner. I ask God to allow me to be an instrument of his will, offering words to help us all become better people and have the best quality life possible. I realize I must humbly accept my inadequacies, as a human. I must be perfect in my imperfections. I must hold myself accountable for my actions with honesty. It is only through my mistakes that I can learn and grow as a person. The key is not to beat myself up for my mistakes. ACCEPTANCE is the foundation to build upon. I encourage everyone to make a million mistakes everyday. I discourage making the same mistakes over and over. This is insanity. This is denial. This diminishes our self-worth.
I teach and promote having a positive mindset. To be a positive thinker in this often negative and cynical world, is what I humbly call FAITH. Faith that good will always conquer evil. That the underdog will emerge victorious and the turtle will always beat the hare. I say, “As long as you never give up and always do your best, you can do and be anything you desire”. I truly believe that. I was never the best or strongest fighter, but my heart and determination made me a champion many times over. I also say, “In order to deserve the best, you have to be your best”. You must have discipline and focus to achieve your goals.
About all, I practice HUMILITY. For one second, if I selfishly believe this is all me, I will fall from grace. It is only with faith, God’s mercy and the amazing people who make up One martial Arts, that I am given the best quality life possible.

Positive Thinking

In a world filled with much sadness and negativity, I believe it is crucial to have a positive attitude. Positive thinking is the key to overcoming the fear that negative thinking offers. So often we hear, “I can’t do it” and “I hate that”. That is what I call “Stinking thinking”. All it offers is failure before an attempt is even made. It says, “You are not good enough, so why even try?” It is this fear that paralyzes us. It stops us from taking chances and excelling beyond our own complacency. So this month, our theme and mantra is, “Yes I can”. Even if you don’t believe you can, fake it until you make it. Pretend to feel positive and the next thing you know, you’ll find yourself happy and more positive. Do not allow the dark side, as a great Jedi master once expressed, to consume and dominate your thinking. It is a war. A war within ourselves, that we must constantly do battle on a daily basis to win. Do not try to ignore it, it will only grow stronger. Embrace the fear of negative thinking, like a best friend. Ask it to come out and play in the light of positive thinking. Say “Yes I can” each and everyday and see the endless possibilities of greatness that we all possess. Come on now and say it, “Yes I can”. Again. “Yes I can”. Doesn’t that feel good?

Gratitude

Gratitude = To be thankful for the positive and good things in your life. I often struggle with this concept as a human being. When we are in pain or suffer loss, our mindset does not promote positive thinking. We dwell in the darkness because we are consumed by the sadness that is in front of us. We are in a weakened state of despair. The question is “What do we do to get through this process in a healthy manner and become a better person?”. First, go easy on yourself. Allow yourself to feel the feelings you are experiencing. This is a big part of the healing process. Honor your feelings at all cost. Do not pretend everything is fine when it is not. Keep a journal. Write down all your feelings. This allows you to look back and see the great progress you have made over time. It is also a great outlet so you do not keep your feelings bottled up inside. Surround yourself with family and good friends. Talk about your situation openly. Do not isolate yourself. This is very unhealthy. Cry. Crying is an excellent form of healing. Nurture yourself. You are a beautiful and special soul, despite the pain you may be feeling. Treat yourself with all the love you have. Go to a movie. Movies often bring out suppressed emotions, enabling the healing process. Practice acceptance. Accepting life on life’s terms requires great humility and is vital to the healing process. This one action alone will bring you great peace. Love. Offer love to yourself and the situation or people that you feel hurt over. If we act out of love, we will always make the best choices. What does this have to do with the martial arts you say? It has to do with life and the martial arts is a way of life. It is not just about being the best kicker or puncher. It is about being the best person possible in life, especially when things are not going your way. You will often hear me say, “It is easy to be great when things are going you way”. The question is, can you be great when things are hard? This is what builds character and helps us become better people.

Humility

Practice humility. Learn to be humble. Be mindful it has no association with the unauthorized thought patterns of being humiliated or humiliation. Be perfect in your imperfections. It allows us the courage to take chances and make mistakes. It is from mistakes that we learn and grow. What stops us from taking chances is our fear of being criticized for our mistakes. Life becomes a series of missed opportunities. Opportunities disguised as mistakes. Everyday life learning lessons present themselves to help us become better people. The challenge is to those who exist each day with their eyes wide open but are totally asleep. The question then becomes: “What life skills are needed to create the mindset to overcome this thought pattern?” Number one is SELF-DISCIPLINE. The ability to always do your best. This requires FOCUS, (paying attention) and CONTROL (controlling one’s self). Above all, a personal relationship with your Faith is the cornerstone. Be passionate. Always live from love not fear. Make good choices. In order to deserve the best, you have to be your best. Do the right thing. At the end of your lifetime, you will value it the most. Always view your cup as being half-full. A positive mindset promotes life balance. Humility is a positive mindset. Have an attitude of gratitude. Never take anyone for granted. Be tolerant and accepting. A non-judgmental mind is a humble quality. Smile at life’s difficulties. They build character and teach us the most. Always remember you were once a child. It will keep you young forever.

Having a quality life

We all deserve it. So how do we achieve this goal? Here are some suggestions:

1) Start and end each day in spiritual reflection.
2) Have faith and forever be hopeful.
3) Eat, sleep and exercise optimally.
4) Never forget you were once a child.
5) Practice an attitude of gratitude.
6) Be always mindful that your cup is truly half full.
7) Learn to accept life on life’s terms.
8) Keep your morning routine, especially breakfast, the same so you can focus all our energy on creating a positive mindset to meet your day.
9) Spend quality time alone.
10) Read everyday.
11) Remember to do nothing sometimes.
12) Don’t take anything personally.
13) Sing really loud when you are in the shower and car.
14) Give of yourself freely.
15) Hang out with kids every chance you get.
16) Be non-judgmental toward yourself and others.
17) Meditate everyday.
18) Learn to be present for it is a gift.
19) Love life, yourself and others unconditionally.
20) Always be forgiving to yourself and others.
21) Be present and mindful.
22) Embrace change, it is inevitable.
23) Be a person of integrity,
24) Always keep your word.
25) Be still and breath.
27) Have good family values.
28) Spend quality time with family and friends.
29) Make mistakes everyday but don’t make the same mistakes twice.
30) Never give up and always do your best.

Respectfully,

Professor Beliso