“The goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning.”
Reiner Knizia
The very act of determining a goal, developing a plan to achieve it, and showing up through all adversity to work towards its achievement is the victory over self we seek.
The process of becoming a champion is more important than the title itself. The pushing through pain, the challenging and shattering of limiting beliefs, the transformation along the journey is better than a moment of fleeting glory or shiny token of the event at the end.
As I say: I wear my black belt on my soul. Yes, I have the physical belt I was presented after that three plus hour test but even in a board meeting or interaction with my kids, I still have the lessons and standards imbedded into my very being. I became different not down in that dungeon that night but in the months and years leading up to it, in the five am practices and late-night study sessions. In the repetitions and drops of sweat and blood that marked the progress. In every challenge along the way. The goal of the black belt and the evolution of self needed to be in that position is more than a piece of fabric.
What is your goal, and what do you need to become to become worthy of it?