Complete Self Protection By Al Peasland


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CHASE YOUR PASSION - Not Your Pension!	Return to Articles
Before I start, I have to give credit where it is due and thank my good friend Tony Terranova for the title and inspiration for the main theme of this article. It was over a cup of tea following a great seminar at Tony’s Fighting Fit Martial Arts Academy in Gloucester that Tony gave me this insight. "Chase your passion not your pension", were his simple words of advice and I’ve kept those words as a mantra ever since. The beauty of chasing your passion is that, without realising it, your pension is taken care of anyway. Not only that, but work no longer feels like work, the usual hurdles and pitfalls of life become encouraging challenges and goals, and your focus, drive and ambition are heightened with the knowledge that every ounce of energy is no longer spent but invested in your passion. How often we meet people and when we ask what they do for a living, their face drops instead of their eyes lighting up. Over the years I’ve worked with many people who are counting down the days, months and years to retirement as if that will finally be some kind of end to their suffering, the retirement light at the end of the long workers tunnel. Clearly, there are still far more people chasing their pension than their passions. It was then, with great delight that, on a rare visit to a very ordinary looking hotdog van, of all places, I was “flipped” (pardon the pun) into an amazed and slightly stunned on-looker of the smartly dressed gentleman busy flipping burgers in his spotless little white van. As soon as I saw this guy, Tony’s words jumped back into my mind and I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone taking so much pride and care in their work as this gentleman was. If there was ever anyone who you could honestly say, having won the lottery jackpot tomorrow, would still be doing the job they are today, it was this guy. Sure, if you asked if he had ambition, I don’t doubt he would gaze into the future at the Michelin starred restaurant he’s always dreamed of running, but the impressive thing was that, whilst only in a little hot dog van on an industrial estate outside of Northampton, he was still running his business with the utmost care, love, attention to detail, pride, efficiency, quality and, above all, Passion. It was clearly his passion for what he does that gave him the enthusiasm to greet all of his customers with a massive smile, and cook and present every breakfast sandwich as though it was going to be his absolute best one yet. From the way he creatively and artistically made patterns with his ketchup, to the forethought of inserting paper napkins in between everyone of his paper bags piled neatly on the shelf, to optimise his efficiency when the orders flooded in. This was a guy who wasn’t doing his mundane burger van business, day in and day out. This was a man who was absolutely chasing his passion; and even if his life long ambition was still some way off, he was most certainly making the most of his meagre surroundings and still putting in all of his effort whilst on his journey to culinary heights. How often we hear people moan that if they were paid more money they’d do their job better, or how, if they were given their bosses job they would make a much better fist of it. Ambition is great but if you can’t bring yourself to put everything you have into where you are now, you don’t deserve anything better. And, whilst this may take alot more commitment and enthusiasm, it can be made far easier when it’s your passion that you’re chasing and not your pension. So what does my random meeting with this incredible hot dog chef have to do with self protection, I hear you ask? Well, not a lot at first glance I suppose but here are my suggestions. True self protection should be about enhancing our lives and not just the physical aspect of being able to protect ourselves should we come under violent attack. When we train we build attributes that can be applied elsewhere in our lives. Attributes such as courage, commitment and dedication, are all going to help us apply ourselves to any tasks we set our mind to. The real key is actually recognising that and then being able to transfer those skills rather than leave them behind in the gym, waiting for your next session on the mat. It’s no coincidence that the martial arts we excel at on a personal level are usually the ones we enjoy the most, the ones we would do all of the time if we were able…. Our Passions! We perform best when we are doing anything that is a passion because it’s no longer a chore, it’s fun, enjoyable, and personally rewarding. If we choose our martial arts in this way, why not choose other aspects of our lives in the same way? Of course, just as with my own training, there are always going to be areas that I enjoy far less, but I know they are still an important part of my martial progress so I pursue them using the attributes I have already learned, such as tenacity, focus and intention. We will always be faced with tasks and jobs we don’t like doing, but I will talk about these “Restrictions” in another article. Having the courage to follow our dreams and chase our passions will give us the more fulfilling life we all deserve. Our training is one way to help us develop that courage; and as my hot dog man has demonstrated, when you chase your passion, not only is every day fun and exciting and totally rewarding, but the service you offer to others is enhanced just as much. Until next time Stay Safe and Have Fun Al x More articles to be uploaded soon