Strap on your seatbelts buckaroos because it has been a hot minute since I slapped this blog with some well-thought out wisdom from the back corners of my brain. Am I an expert on any type of life advice? Nay I say, but I do now how to execute words proficiently through paper and to say it with conviction through my chest until it penetrates the skulls of those who need to hear it and would benefit from it most. So why all the energy and aggression this morning? Well, I have been out of town for 2 weeks so I am finally reunited with my beautiful espresso machine and have just downed my super strong sugar free pistachio latte so I am ready to BDE into the world again. I feel chock full of energy with my mind being a chaotic mess of thoughts I need to immediately expel onto my laptop before it threatens to consume me whole so let’s begin.
Fear is such a bullshit human emotion. It is natural and normal to experience it and watch it manifest into anxiety, depression, and trepidation. We all have things we are scared of embarking upon, and not until we learn how to conquer and quell these feelings will we ever reach our fullest potential. I’ve progressed wildly in my level of fearful inhibitions, but I have unfortunately still not learned how to properly control my other emotions. Take for example this past week. We were in Orlando, Florida to compete in the IBJJF Pans and I woke up on the day of competition grumpy as hell because I only got 4 hours of sleep. Next to me, you have my fiancé eager as all get out to go step on the mats while I am pissed at simply the sound of hearing others breathe. So yeah, I wasn’t nervous in the slightest, but I still wasn’t in a good competition mindset.
People allow their emotions to take control and heed their life decisions. How many times as Jiu Jitsu practitioners do you hear people making excuses on why they don’t start training; like, for instance, they are waiting to lose weight before they start. Why? When I promise beginning your Jiu Jitsu journey will jumpstart any weightless regardless. Perhaps it is the fear of being in a new environment, anxiety at fearing judgment from strangers, worry at holding others back, and being scared to be vulnerable in front of others. Truth is, most people are so selfishly absorbed with their own journey that they don’t give a rat’s fart about what you are doing with yours. Sure, there may be the occasional jackass who pokes fun, but those people don’t last in quality gyms and most who are there are the biggest encouragers and supporters you could ever imagine.
No one knows the internal struggles and brain battles we fight and face day in and day out. I am always proud of people for channeling that inner wave of courage and bravery to do what needs to be done regardless of outside factors or negative emotions they are dealing with. The problem with all of these extenuating circumstances is we always feel like we are alone in these problems and no one else knows or could relate. Truth is, everyone deals with more than you could ever know and the hard facts to face is that some people are just better at making peace with these turmoils and striving in spite of them anyways. Hundreds of hundreds of people competed over the 5 days at Pans, and I would honestly be shocked if you could tell me one person who had zero nerves, internal conflicts, worries, perfect outside factors, and literally not a care in the world. It’s as rare to find as a purple belt who doesn’t skip warmups.
No, it is never easy to put ourselves out there or take risks or strive to be triumphant in the faces of adversity. However, a life worth living is one where you just go out and do it anyway. Seek help wherever you can and learn from others and from deep within yourself. Don’t limit yourself by putting markers on your expectations and thinking you aren’t capable of setting goals. They are more attainable than you realize if only you learn to take the plunge. Make a list, make a schedule, make small sacrifices, and learn to make time for what truly matters in life. At the end of the day, you owe it to yourself to keep pushing to reach happiness and despite the ups and downs along the way, the tenacity and willpower to keep going will allow you to reach new bounds in the end. It may not be easy, but it will always be worth it.
