Some Wisdom From Bruce Lee
“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” - Bruce Lee
Let’s take a quick look at the quote above.
Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.
I love this, and I think Bruce Lee hit it dead on. It’s not about praying for the easy life (or even choosing the easiest path). It’s about having the strength to endure something more difficult, and we all have it in us (even if we don’t know it yet). Your brain can be molded, simply with repetition. Every time you think “I can’t do this” or “I don’t have the strength to endure this,” force yourself to say “I do have the strength to endure this.” If you say it enough, you’ll start believing it, and as soon as you start believing in yourself, you’ll be able to do anything.
The same goes for learning Japanese. It’s not always going to be easy. There will be times where you’ll feel like you can’t keep going and you’ll wish for something easier. “Easier” isn’t what you should wish for. “The strength to endure and keep going” is what you’ll need to learn a new language. The better you get at taking difficulties head on, the better you’ll get at learning Japanese. Here’s another great Bruce Lee quote:
One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.
Bruce Lee talks about eliminating rather than accumulating. The closer you are to “the height of cultivation” the closer you are to simplicity. Knowing more isn’t always better, and trying to learn more is almost never better. Be smart with what you spend your time on and focus on what’s important, and you’ll be a much happier Japanese learner (TextFugu will help you along the way, too).
Enough Bruce Lee (wacha!), it’s time to one-inch-punch you with some Japanese grammar.
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