We are living in the 21st century, where our lifestyles are fast-paced and rapidly moving. Our days are filled with tasks and responsibilities that we need to complete and we are bombarded with the use of technology. Nevertheless, it is important for all of us to make time for ourselves as a means of self-evaluation and self-reflection. We need to spend that time with ourselves thinking about our goals, where we want to go and be in our lives, and how to go about achieving them. This process can be done through meditation as well.

Why is it important to make time for ourselves? Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kimteaches about quieting our minds and listening to our Silent Master. Sometimes we are so engaged in what we need to do that we don’t have time to think. Instead, we just do the things that we are supposed to do, one thing after another. However, spending that quiet time helps us to gather ourselves, meditate and think about where we are. It helps us to give a focus and a purpose of why we are doing the things we are doing. It also gives us a moment to evaluate if I am taking the necessary steps to achieve my goals.

For example, during Jung SuWon classes, Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kimteaches about separating the dojang floor with the lobby. Once we step on the dojang floor, we salute the flag and then we enter. We are training the students to differentiate the lobby from the training floor. Once we are on the training floor, we are there to train. Mentally, we are also separating ourselves from the stressful day at work or the argument we got into. Instead, we enter the training floor and we forget about that stressful thing during class. In these times, we focus on ourselves and we train without thinking about the outside things we need to deal with.

We should make it a routine to stop for a moment and evaluate ourselves. The more we are willing to stop and think, the more we are able to determine and evaluate ourselves and how to improve in different areas.