Pay Attention

In Karate, your stance is everything.  Everything flows out of a strong foundation.

And, there's no such thing as NOT being in a stance—just standing around doesn’t happen.  You’re either in a stance, OR you’re moving out of one stance and transitioning into another.

The most basic stance is the “Get Ready” stance.  Before you move into a defensive position and throw a block (because in Karate you never throw the first strike!), you begin from this Get Ready position.

The biggest part of the Get Ready stance isn’t even physical, but mental.  One must be mentally alert.

When you’re mentally alert, you can SEE the situation and what’s coming at you.

Otherwise, if you’re not paying attention, you’ll get caught flat-footed and end up on the ground looking for your teeth.

That’s what happens when you just stand around.  You get nailed.

What about you?  Are you “just standing around”?  Or are you in YOUR Get Ready stance?

Pay attention!  Be mentally alert!

There are two reasons for this:

First, DEFENSIVELY.  We need to pay attention and be alert to THREATS.  Is there something coming your way and MOVING TOWARDS YOU that could bring you harm, in some way—personally, professionally, relationally, financially, physically, or spiritually?

Or, are YOU moving towards a threat of some kind?  Are you the one moving into a high-risk arena?

If you SEE the threat, then you can do something to neutralize it or minimize it.

But, you can’t block a punch you don’t see.

Second, OFFENSIVELY.  Are you paying close enough attention so that you SEE OPPORTUNITIES coming your way?

You can’t take advantage of opportunities you don’t see.

Have you ever missed a great opportunity?  Hurts, doesn’t it?

What about the opposite--have you ever seen a great opportunity and capitalized on it?  It can change your life, right?

This applies to all of us, personally and professionally.

Here are three steps to practice this next week:

Step 1:  PAY ATTENTION—assume your Get Ready stance.

Step 2:  SEE—opportunities and threats.

Step 3:  RESPOND—offensively and defensively.

Now go take the world by storm.

--Sean Cox, Chicago

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