What is the weekly mettle maker? It’s a weekly shot in the arm, a semi-fortnightly kick in the pants — your helpful hebdomadal heckler, hammering away at you to stop hemming and hawing and hurdle headlong into becoming your own hero!
Resolutions: METTLE MAKER #288
Sorry we missed posting a mettle maker last week. Wait a minute — actually I’m not sorry at all — it was Christmas Day! I had no business blogging, and you would’ve had no business reading a blog, on just about the most important holiday (second to Easter?) in the Western World.
Today is pretty important too, mainly because today is the day most people start their New Year’s resolutions. But let me tell you kids, there ain’t nothing like a brush with death (like my heart attack two weeks ago) to remind you that if something’s important enough to warrant making a resolution, do not put it off until the start of a new year.
Whatever you want to do, do it now.
In the words of the great Theodore Roosevelt,
“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”
I’m not letting a little heart attack stand between me and my dreams — I’m not even going to let it slow me down.
Whatever you’ve got standing in your way, start finding a way to work around it, with it, or in spite of it.
Self-defense: Sometimes a micro-dose of consistency is just what you need to start engraining consistent practice habits for the long haul. The coming week is striking week. Resolve to work your heavy bag every day this week for at least 3 rounds per day. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to put in at least 3 rounds twice the week after. From there — if you want to have punching and kicking power that’ll put bullies, killers and thugs on their butts — make sure that you work your heavy bag at least twice a week for the foreseeable future.
Fitness: If you can’t do it for a 100 years without your body falling apart, it’s not sustainable. Whatever you do, don’t start 2021 with guns blazing. Training at redline for weeks at a time is a recipe for injury and reduced performance. Come up with a sensible training plan that averages out to about 75% effort over the long haul and that exceeds 90% effort no more than 1/4 of the time. Look at your plan and make an evaluation. If you need help designing a plan, click here to sign up for the free Heritage Fitness Program. Did I mention it’s free?
Wildwood: Primitive skills are like a language that’s used to communicate the world. You can’t get fluent in French, let’s say, without speaking French with native speakers on a daily basis. Well you can’t get fluent in outdoor skills if you only practice once or week or go hiking once a month. For the coming week, try practicing as often as you can throughout the day. Every time you climb your stairs at home, practice your stalking skills by trying not to let the steps creak. When you go to the supermarket, practice your plant ID skills by seeing how many of the plants and flowers you can identify in the floral section. Next time you get in your car, practice your tracking skills by trying to determine how many critters came into contact with it based on animal prints, droppings, webs, insect trails, and so forth.
Spirit: The symbol of Heritage Arts is the hourglass. Where the top half of the hourglass meets the bottom is the place where the ideal meets the real, where the theoretical meats the actual, and where ultimate success is realized if the timing is right. This embodies the Greek concept of kairos which is the perfect or most opportune time for a proper action, like planting time or harvest time, the time for setting sail on a voyage, the time for breaking ground on a building project, the time for a wedding, etc. Kairos is the Greek word for time found in Mark 1:15 in the Greek New Testament. And since Mark was the first gospel written, these are the first recorded words attributed to Jesus: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).”
In other words, the perfect time to encounter God is always right now.