Tip of the Week: You Are the Solution
Hello Wah Lum® Family,
Anyone else get bombarded with a ton of marketing emails every single day? It’s not just emails, either, the marketing follows you everywhere you go: websites, YouTube, social media, etc.
I have this feeling that as soon as we voice (or sometimes, it feels like just think) our shortcomings, the online overlords somehow realize it and start feeding us exactly what they think we need.
In all that noise, the most appealing services, methods, and products are always the ones that promise a specific solution.
Promising a quick fix brings comfort. It makes us believe that whoever is selling the solution is competent and holds the secret key to our problems. (For the record, most coaches, Sifus, and teachers struggle with imposter syndrome… as I raise my hand high).
But we need to be careful with this trap of waiting for a specific solution to save us from our specific problem.
This reminds me of a book called Still Life that was gifted to me by one of my favorite cousins (I affectionately call her my “sweet cousin Numsie,” a play on a quote from a certain Eddie Murphy movie… if you know, you know.
Unfortunately for sweet Numsie, I didn’t love the book, but I love Numsie! So I read it, grabbed this paragraph, and now I’m putting it to work:
“Some people don’t change because they don’t want to. Some change because they work hard and genuinely want it. Life is change. If you aren’t growing and evolving, you’re standing still and the rest of the world is surging ahead. Some people lead still lives waiting for someone to save them. But the problem is theirs, and so is the solution. ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.’”
If I were to add up all the “problems” and “solutions” pitched to me on a daily basis, I would probably be convinced to crawl into the fetal position, never to act or move with any kind of confidence again.
If you want to practice Kung Fu or Tai Chi, or simply move through daily life with comfort, ease, and fluidity, the real work starts internally.
You have to believe in yourself and trust your body.
It might sound like a cliché, but you have to be the solution.
There is a story we all tell ourselves every day about what we can or cannot do. How are you going to rewrite your story this week?
See you in training,
Sifu Oscar
P.S. Stop looking for quick fixes. Martial arts isn’t a shortcut or a gimmick; it’s a proven practice that builds self-reliance from the inside out. If you’re ready to stop buying into “quick solutions” and actually start building real confidence in your body, email kungfu@wahlum.com to come observe a class at the Temple.