One of my beloved, teachers showed me this article –  How The Karate Kid Ruined The Modern World. 

I recommend that you read David Wong’s article all the way through. 

Here’s why… 

You’ve been sold a bill of goods.  A lie.  This lie leads to shame in a big way.  And it can ruin your life. 

You know what I’m talking about; the main character is very bad at something, then there is a sequence in the middle of the film set to upbeat music that shows him practicing. When it’s done, he’s an expert. All of it comes back to having those massively skewed expectations of the world (my emphasis). Even the people you think of as pessimists, they got their pessimism by continually seeing the world fail to live up to their expectations, which only happened because their expectations were grossly inaccurate in the first place. 

And here’s the truth… 

Want to know how long it takes to become an expert at something? About 10,000 hours, according to research. 

For me that sounds like good news – wow only 10,000 hours.  I can do that. 

Other research has pointed to 10 years.  Also good news.  You can do that. 

I’ve been practicing Taiji and other martial arts for over three decades and I’m still a beginner. 

My watercolor coach said, “Ruin 1000 paintings, then see where you are.”  I’ve been working on my 1000.  And as she predicted, I have gotten better and produced many that I like.   

I still ruin some, but I progress.

The message I want to leave you with – 

Keep at it.  Take your time.  Cut yourself some slack if you’re not an expert in five minutes or five hours or five weeks…

=> How The Karate Kid Ruined The Modern World.

Keep at it and walk in beauty, 

William