Freedom is one of the greatest gifts we have—but it’s also one of the easiest to take for granted. When we fail to acknowledge the everyday liberties we enjoy, like the ability to speak openly, choose our beliefs, or live without fear of oppression, we risk slowly eroding the very foundation that supports them. Our freedoms thrive only when we remain mindful, grateful, and engaged. Forgetting them—even unintentionally—can lead to complacency, and over time, to their quiet disappearance. This week, as we celebrate our independence, let it also be a time of reflection—a reminder that freedom isn’t just a right, but a responsibility to protect and uphold.  After all, someone in the present and from the past has risked or given their lives to ensure our rights stay FREE!
 
Day 1:  Freedom of Speech


Today, reflect on how many things you are free from—persecution, censorship, fear of being silenced, limited movement, or access to information.  Many people around the world live without these freedoms. Be aware of the invisible peace we live in daily.  Our individual freedoms exist because of the millions of people who have died to give us, and now keep these freedoms.  If you disagree, then welcome to your very first freedom of being able to disagree without fear of execution or being enslaved for having an opposing opinion.  You might think, ‘well, I don’t have the freedom to say what I want, when I want. ’  Yes, you do, as long as you are not including the harm that should be done to others.

One great way of testing your freedom.  It is to stand outside and wear or say something that is controversial.  Your freedom of speech has allowed you to express yourself.  Others may disagree, but that is also a freedom.  Not having to abide by someone else's favoritism.

With everything, even freedom, there are consequences.  Peacefully exercise your freedom so that you keep exercising your freedoms and have constructive debates with someone who doesn’t share your opinion.  Maybe you will be able to see others' viewpoints, still not agree, but allow your mind to grow.
 
​Laughter is the true indicator of FREEDOM!
 

Denial is a roadblock for growth mindset people. If you deny you are struggling, if you deny that you need help and can’t do it on your own. Growth will be a distant desire. Accepting a situation that is causing you to struggle will allow you to see obstacles more clearly. Solutions may take some time but at least you can analyze and look for the right solution.

Distractions will always be that you are looking at a problem from the wrong approach. That is why a trusted friend can help shed some light or a different perspective. Some distractions will be your ego, which tells you, you can handle anything on your own. As students get closer to earning their black belts, I remind them, that no one gets to blackbelt on their own. Learn to humble yourself and appreciate the strong people that can help.

​Accept the path and responsibilities you own as well as the distractions you have control over!

How many times do we say, “I am where I am because of the choices I have made in life”? How many times have we said, “There is no one to blame but myself”? Or tell ourselves we need to make better choices. We have in the past sat on the couch and wanted better for ourselves. If you sit and contemplate once or twice, you need to think about past actions in order to correct future actions. But if you sit on the couch every day after work, want more, and do nothing. You’ve not accepted the resilience you have inside. You underestimate your own strength. Sitting on the couch is a distraction, getting up and doing something is a solution. Accept your strength and the role you play in your family.
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Accept the fact that your improved health won’t just appear, as you sit and contemplate. You've just finished moving forcefully, changing your mindset to realize that as you get older, your lifestyle needs to be more active. I dislike the phrase, easing into old age. There is nothing easy about aging. At every turn, there is a new ache and pain. It comes from allowing yourself to mummify physically.
Don’t live with the regret that it’s too late for me!

Distractions can be a blessing. Taking our minds off chaos and allowing us to refocus. Distraction can give us that second wind so that we can continue stronger and more focused. But what if the distraction lasts longer than its intent? Instead of something lasting for an hour, maybe a day, the distraction lasts for several days or even weeks.

​Is it a healthy distraction or one that is doing more harm than good? Some of these unhealthy distractions can become addictions. Porn, overeating, drugs, distractions where we are placing our attention on others instead of our responsibilities. There is a difference between constructively helping others and using others as a distraction from our problems and responsibilities.
             
Distractions can work both ways. Its intent is to take us mentally away from the present - and allow us to think of something different. The problem occurs in how long we allow this distraction to occupy our minds. How permanent is this distraction?

Small controlled distractions are meant to recharge, and uncontrolled distractions are meant to create chaos.

We have reached a moment in our lives where we need to focus, using all of our attention to fix or avoid a problem. We are struggling. We feel rushed and under a microscope to perform. It is at this moment, that we need to realize what we are going through. The overload of emotions that are distracting us.

First, we need to accept where we are and what is happening to us. Then we can refocus, readdress, and/or regain a power that was temporarily lost to us. It is in the distractions that we lose a big part of who we are, and where we are moving. What are some of the issues that occur when we are distracted? Do we get angry at people, who are not even involved? Do we start to look at our broken future, and wasted life, because when we are distracted from our goals and what is important to us. We fall into a bleak and troubled mindset?

Accept that even things like depression and anxiety can happen to the best of us. Accept that fact you are strong enough to pull yourself out of a path of destruction. BUT, what if you are not and you need help? Then ask that person who you know will hold onto your conversation as though it was a confession to a priest. A trusted friend can bring light to a darkened path.

When everything is trying to bring you down, FIND 1 reason to keep you up!

When you start to read a book, do you start at page 1 or do you part the book and start in the middle? Starting in the middle you miss a lot of detail, you miss the intent and direction that the book was taking you. You miss the build-up. That is what we are missing when we don’t accept where we are in life and where we have been. Every page you read builds to a climax. Your whole life has been built up to your current moment in your life.

Acceptance is a grounding tool used to let you know what you are and where you are at, in this current moment. If you are uncomfortable in this current moment, then GOOD. You are desiring growth. That uncomfortable need for change comes in the way that once you accept where you are, the need for improvement will inspire you to do more. Never is acceptance a moment in time that will ever tell you these are your limits. You are only limited by the amount of ambition that you have and the amount of determination.

Do you desire to be healthier? Obviously, you do, that is why you come into kickboxing.

You want and now have a routine that adds to your health. Desire that was increased when you accepted where you are with your current fitness. Your acceptance that what we do here every day is now a lifestyle addition. Just like eating feeds the mind and body, so will our choices in other areas.

Let's break down how acceptance and distraction can both support and interfere with personal growth, depending on how they're used. Acceptance is that emotional grasp of what is currently going on right now. Where we are, is not where we want to be. Where we are is only temporary and there are steps we can take to move forward.

Acceptance that we are more powerful than we give ourselves credit for, mainly because accepting we are strong, diligent, and persistent, means we have a responsibility, there is more hard work in front of us. Sometimes that is an exhausting thought. Can you accept that what you are doing is enough? We have to be consistent and keep working on ourselves as it is a lifestyle.

Accept that regardless of your age, working out is the solution to so many physical and emotional challenges.

Distractions are also positive. Have you ever been so involved in something that you’ve lost sight of what the goal was even about? This is when we get single vision, or it is also called myopic sight. We are standing in the middle of a forest and we can’t see the trees, tunnel vision. What breaks this diminishing trait? It is to find a constructive distraction, something that is the opposite of what we are working on. This mental vacation can clear up a lot of noise going on in your head. Something that is positive, constructive, and enjoyable.

Find the right distraction, there will be that inspiration!

In a world filled with constant noise and pressure, the balance between acceptance and distraction can shape the way we grow—or stall. Acceptance invites us to face reality, to acknowledge where we are without judgment. Distraction, when used wisely, gives our minds a break and helps us recharge. But when we confuse distraction with escape, or acceptance with giving up, we risk staying stuck. This blog explores how these two forces can either work together to support personal growth or quietly pull us away from it.
 
Day 1:  Acceptance and Distraction, Define
 
Day 2: Acceptance and Distraction, A Grounding Tool
 
Day 3: Acceptance and Distraction, Don’t Be Distracted
             
Day 4: Acceptance and Distraction, Distractions Can Be A Blessing
             
Day 5: Acceptance and Distraction, See A Distraction, Change A Distraction
 
Day 6:  Acceptance and Distraction, Denial Roadblock To Growth Mindset

An attempt to push people beyond normal bounds, beyond comfort zones, and beyond the norm.  Which includes those things normal people would find painful.  You will have those who take it literally and seek anything that causes pain and discomfort as a way of gauging effort.  Except, the repeated energy it takes to keep following pain and those events that cause pain can’t be continued for long periods.  Burnout is inevitable.  But if you seek challenges, those things that push and challenge your mind, challenge you physically and you do it in manageable periods, you are developing a lifestyle.  Without challenge, there can be no change in the way we think.  Times change and people change, for good or bad.  If people didn’t challenge us with the bad, how would keep recognizing what is good?

Allow challenges in your life, especially if they contradict your current morals and values.  Then pick a standard to stand by.
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If you don’t stand up for something, you will fall for everything.

No Pain, No Gain, OR No Challenge, No Change, OR No Sacrifice, No Success, all mean the same thing.  We need to go above and beyond.  Above and beyond what we believe are our limits, above and beyond our competition, above and beyond our current circumstances.  If we rest on the level of success we currently have, that becomes our norm.  That becomes our current ceiling of success.  If this is our ceiling, we have a choice of not rising above our ceiling or raising the ceiling and pushing to something higher.  Where we were yesterday does not mean that is where we need to survive for the rest of our lives.

Our success yesterday becomes our stepping stone to something more tomorrow.  But without a sacrifice of time, energy, or maybe sleep we will be as average as others who don’t want to put the time into their own success.  Sacrifice time, instead of watching TV or browsing social media, watch a clip of something informative.  Sacrifice time to read a couple of pages in a book every day that brings curiosity to your imagination.