The Legendary Bruce Lee once said "One of the best lessons you can learn in life is to master how to remain calm". Could there be anything more true? Life today constantly has its pressures and obstacles that we all face and must overcome. For if we do not overcome the challenge, we will be defeated and will remain defeated unless we choose to try again. When i see someone easily thrown off by a single defeat, i have a significant amount of empathy for that person. This empathy comes from being understanding. An understanding of what it feels like to be that person which is easily defeated. It is not that they are incapable of overcoming, it is that they have not yet obtained the tools needed to overcome. Tools that come from a particular mindset which we are all capable of achieving. In my experience, when i was in the mindset of easily being deterred or discouraged because of a failure or defeat, i was doing nothing for myself to better equip me with dealing with these situations. I was always playing video games, eating junk and constantly in my comfort zone. I never did anything else challenging and looking back, i realise that was a recipe for failure. It wasn't until a significant amount of life events kept repeating themselves that i realised something needed to change. Not knowing where to start, i chose to start doing Kickboxing. I thought that it would make me healthier and make me feel more confident about myself. It was here that i learnt the feeling of adversity, real failure but also real success. For 5 days a week i would constantly be putting myself in situations that made me very uncomfortable and vulnerable. But it was also where i began to find what i was made of. The beautiful thing about going through this roller coaster 5 days a week was that sub-consciously, it was building my mind to deal with adversity. The teachings and repetition in the gym led to me applying what i had learnt into real life. When it came to studying, i never wanted to study. But Kickboxing gave me the tools to do what is difficult and i am grateful for that. I am grateful because i always found studying extremely boring, difficult and could never bring myself to do it. However, i was able to deal with that boredom and difficulty thanks to the tools i had gained mentally from Kickboxing. While at work now, i am tested mentally every day because i am doing something i do not enjoy however, my mental strength continues to improve and because of it, instead of giving up, i always try to find the key to success. The key to overcome. I am not discouraged and i do not give up because mentally i will no longer be proud of the man i am. I would rather suffer through it all because i know the sad feeling of letting myself down and letting my loved ones down. So what's the point of all this? The point is that through constantly doing what was difficult and putting myself out of my comfort zone, i developed the mental tools needed to tackle life head on. This constant cycle gave me the mentality to remain calm in the face of life's challenges and taught me to never surrender. I always try to give practical examples as i believe this is the best way to add value to someone's life. I look forward to you all putting yourself in uncomfortable situations and overcoming your challenges. You are all capable my friends!
I look forward to hearing your stories of the courage you summoned to overcome your obstacles in life and how you are all calm mentally when a new challenge arises.
