Level 4.37 - Yin Yang

Level Your Life - [The Level of Yin and Yang] [4.37]

Yin Yang

In our Western world we are trained to be dualistic, comfortable with distinction: either in shapre or not; either a winner or a loser; too fast or too slow; soft or strong; flexible or inflexible. But actually there is no split between yin and yang, as they are balanced opposited and integrated into one undivided whole. All dualistic opposites are one. Night and day are actually one whole twenty-four-hour cycle; less is actually more; soft is also strong; going slower could propel you faster; not doing is doing; opponents are partners.
Neutralizing dualities helps you develop strength and allow higher levels of performance to be possible.
If you are too yang, you are unnecessarily aggresive and too outcome oriiented and as a result will become tight, nervous and tense. This leads to mistakes and setbacks. If you are too yin, you are too passive and self-conscious, causing you to be timid and unassertive; you become too hesistant and tentative to achieve your potential.

Example: A cyclist can be too yang when she constantly azzacks the hills in a race rather than assessing the right moment to challenge here opponent.A basketball team can be too yin if they play it safe.
By balancing yin and yang, the warrior stays in harmony with the flow, with the natural way of life. Developing the right timing is also crucial. You can be both passive and aggressive as you lull your opponents to sleep - you can be easygoing, then attack with the ferocity of a tiger. Soft is strong as you relax and become more powerful.

We encourage you to blend with this paradoxical mystery of yin-yang opposites and mix both for extraordinary performance.


Declaration: I look for ways to neutralize opposites by seeing how each extreme is,indeed an important part of the whole. Less is often more.

Reflection:When is less more, when is soft strong ? When does the mind dance? When does the body think ?How does understanding these paradoxes help my performance ?

[paraphrased and inspired by Spirit of the Dancing Warrior]

Level 4.30 - Courage

Level Your Life  - [The Level of Courage][4.30]

Courage

Courage describes those who are willing to take calculated risks and have frequent encounters with danger. Such behavior makes us inwardly strong, instilling a profound awareness of life filled with new meaning and richness. Risk taking requires courages, which comes from the French word coeur :heart. This kind of heart requires innate strength; it can not rely on blind pride, simply daring to take a leap.

We certainly encourage taking calculated risks that have the potential to lead to significant breakthroughts in yourlife. Emphasize being on "calculated" (not stupid).

"First you jump off the cliff and you build your wings on the way down and fly."

Like the warrior, however, you must develop a high tolerance for failure when you jump, understanding that all setbacks are ways to learn how to enhance performance. Failure is your essential and inevitable teacher. For every step back, you go forward two.

Courage demands that you be fearless.You must learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable if you are to experience the extraordinary. 

Andre Gidé "you cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."

In Chinese, the word for courage also implies daring to go beyond one´s limits. Dare to lose by trying because not trying is the more painfull loss.

Declaration: I am courageous,risk-taking warrior who possesses a high tolerance for setbacks. Risks are the dues I pay for breakthroughs.

Reflection: What risks could I take that would imrprove my performance ? My life ? What is the worst-case scenario if I take the risk and it doesn`t work out ?

[paraphrased and inspired by Spirit of the Dancing Warrior]