My martial arts training contains challenging personal paradoxes as well. Somehow, I must try my hardest to relax and let things happen on their own. Yet these are among the supposed paths to improvement in Karate. Outside of the dojo, I take pleasure in setting and seeking goals. Karate, however, demands taking time and having patience, as its goals cannot be measured in weeks, months, or years.
Achievement is possible, and yet impossible, at the same time.
Although belt ranks offer some artificial way to measure progress, earning Shodan is not the end but considered merely the beginning of Karate training. Only after receiving a black belt is the student actually on the path with all of the basics they need for travel. And again, the way has no final destination. None of this is particularly discouraging, which is a paradox in itself. There are limitless possibilities and challenges ahead with no end in sight.