Journal Entry: #09

As I continue embarking on an effort to achieve whole board vision on my approach to my life, I have to say that I have nothing but thanks for my past self for designing the training regimen the way I did.

One of the things I noticed about many go players that I have met is that we all seem to view go as much more than a hobby. It is a skill, an embodiment of a philosophy, or simply a core part of who we are. So instead of seeing it as a hobby, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of us would jump at the opportunity to study go or play go on a part-time/full-time basis.

Alas, I know that while that would be great to be paid to immerse myself in go, the reality is that there are many aspects of my life that I must attend to. And this is not always out of sheer obligation, but it all flows into the perspective of approaching life from a whole board perspective as well. As a result of that, I’ve recently been embarking on a disciplined fitness regimen in an effort to strengthen myself physically. It’s been a bit of an uphill battle, but it has been a great addition to my life as I continue trying to grow one layer at a time.

One of the particular benefits I’ve noticed of adding a fitness regimen is that the go training has become easier to do. Remember how I used to say that there were days I would almost miss out on go training? Those days don’t really happen anymore. Similar to how you just have to work through the difficulty and pain of doing that extra set when you’re nearly exhausted, I have found that I gained a similar endurance for cutting through the laziness and just getting it done regardless of how late or tired I was.

As a final thought to this semi-random rant though, I want to just mention that I have found a lot of success getting regimented activities (like my go training) done in the morning instead of waiting till the end of the day. And while I used to be in the camp that I never had time in the morning, you’ll find it’s actually not so bad when you set your mind to it.