The UBBT gave me a reason to train. It gave me a reason to do things I’ve always wanted to do. It embodies my personal motto perfectly. As silly as it sounds I officially have a motto, it’s on a banner. It was made official after a friend of mine quoted me once, my motto is,
“Live life with passion and always strive to become a better human being.”
When I started the UBBT I was going through a slump and at first I didn’t think I’d have the time or motivation to do it. After thinking about it I decided it might just be the perfect way to break out of my rut. I was right. This test boosted my motivation through the roof and I look at everything a bit differently now. It taught me how to up my intensity, and more importantly, how to maintain it daily and in the long term. It taught me how to actually go about achieving long term goals.
I taught me to live more in the present and suck as much life as I can from every day. The days seem much fuller when you are doing things meant to improve yourself. Time doesn’t pass as quickly when you aren’t wasting so much of it. The acts of kindness assignment forced me out of bad habits I have with dealing with people, instead of just going through the motions of detached friendliness I actually try to be genuinely personal with strangers. I have improved in this significantly and it really makes a difference. People recognize it and appreciate it. Things seem easier when people actually try to help you, when you are kind and approachable. This past year has really opened up my eyes to the benefits of being charismatic.
I am in the best shape of my life right now. How many people can say that? Incorporating the physical requirements into weekly routine over a long period of time helps imbed that routine permanently. I’m at the heaviest I’ve ever been (a good heavy), I can run farther, I can do more push-ups and my stamina has gone up.
The UBBT has taught me how to journal. When I started the test, journaling was the hardest requirement for me; it has since become my favourite. I have grown to love writing and will probably continue to write for the rest of my life, I may even try to write a book sometime. Putting my thoughts on paper forces me to organize them. It forces me to really think things through and come to greater understanding of myself. It’s a way to vent or say things you’ve wanted to talk about, in a safe environment, with the perfect audience.
The UBBT has taught me to recognize change, when to accept it and when to fight it. What you want today may not be what you want tomorrow, if you can see why your attitude has changed and recognize if the change is positive or negative then you are genuinely self aware. If you realize you don’t want to do something anymore because of bad reasons then you can always correct yourself, sometimes the hardest part about doing things is seeing the reasons you do what you do. Over the course of the Ultimate Black Belt Test I’ve become a better person. I’m not perfect, and I could use a lot of work but at least I know where I can improve and how to go about doing it.
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