It was a big day for me, I was heading into the exam hall for my 2nd Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo. My coach was a national coach in Taekwondo and he hinted that he had a surprise for me. Surprise as I have realized, does not always mean something positive.
After completing a set of required moves and a few plank-breaking, I was asked to spar with two other black belt holders. The first one was easy and I got through without any issue. Then came the second guy. He was tall, lean and muscular. Peter, as we shall call him, looked.. normal, but looks can be deceiving. My coach called me over for a short talk. I assumed he was going to give me some form of motivational speech. Instead, he pointed to Peter and said that he was the surprise.
Peter, it turns out was a three time National gold medalist in Taekwondo. He had represented the country for international tournaments. He specialized in knock-outs, being tall and lean means that you can land a chopping kick or a reverse kick to the head. Do it right and its lights out for your opponent. My coach then called Peter to meet me and after the usual pleasantries, Peter was assigned to be my second opponent.
Before the final test started my coach said four words that made me worry just a little bit more.
Don't Kick His Head
As I was about to protest, the bell rung. Peter flew into the air and started landing double turning kicks to my left and right. As I tried to land a side kick, he dodged back. I was too slow and the kicks continued. A few minutes felt like hours. When the final bell rung, he probably scored points in the double digits while I could only land punches. In Taekwondo, punches do not carry any points. However, true to my coach's request, he landed no kicks to my head. I was thankful, but my arms were bruised and swollen from blocking all those kicks. I was literally a punching bag for him.
The bruises were not visible but the cuts were
I passed the test and as my coach handed me my 2nd stripe on my black belt. He started his motivational speech. Since he was in charge of the test, he could assign me any opponent. He could assign me someone weak or incompetent. He could also do away with the sparring component if he deemed me fit. However, the reason why I was assigned Peter was because he wanted me to earn my 2nd Dan. He wanted me to work for it, to strive for it.
On Steemit...
As many of my students and fellow community members have started joining Steemit, I think one very discouraging thing to see is the very low payout that a minnow may receive for quite some time. It feels like you are fighting a Peter, scoring no points by just landing punches while others score big payouts. This is how striving is like. Yes, it may be a few weeks, perhaps a few months of producing content that no one appreciates.
However, have faith that your time will come. It may be an upvote from @ocd, @curie or some other whale. That day will come. As you strive, hustle and continue to make time creating content on Steemit, you tend to get better at what you are doing. Remember how difficult it was creating that first post? Upon striving, that preparation time decreases, things get easier and you would have already a steady group of followers that are growing.
Image source
As you make time to engage, read and create on Steemit, know that you are in training. It is all a learning process that will eventually pay (literally).
Conclusion
I appreciate my coach for sending his best to beat me up. I learnt that success tastes the best if you have to put in the work for it. Steemit has gotten easier for me after four months, but there is still an element of strive in it. It still takes effort and it still takes time. I am still nonetheless learning to do better each day.
As a teacher, I apply the lesson to my students. Work hard, strive to do your best and success will come. As a coach, I carry on my coach's way of teaching. I place my students through the grind so that they appreciate hard work. As a Steemian to another who may have found it hard to do well on Steemit, strive, grind and never give up. Minutes may seem like hours, days may seem like weeks, but you never know, success may just be around the corner.
Steem on and Strive on!
