I against I
Yes yes yes, this may have been inspired by the song Massive Attack and as Mos Def sings
‘My image reflects in the enemy’s eyes’;
This powerful lyric paraphrased means the enemy is the one in the mirror.
You vs You — I against I
Have you ever had that light bulb moment? Then it comes crashing down with the thought -
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‘That will never work’ or ‘save your energy today, there’s always tomorrow’ (poof, thought gone).
Why is our brain not saying ‘That’s a wicked idea, let’s make this work regardless — it’s all experience’ or, ‘there is nothing like the present on this idea — let’s give this bad boy a go’ -
of course, that would be too easy, it derives from our survival instincts to preserve energy in comfort or, potential social ridicule and to stay socially safe — after all, losing credibility is suicide to your prehistoric brain.
Unlike those times, you’re not going to be cast out to survive on your own, in actual fact, we are looking to do this very thing… The one thing needed for this venture is a rational brain and some brain muscle curling affirmations to rid that inner ego of fear.
So, go to town on yourself in the mirror.
Activities that develop this resilience are full contact martial arts like Brazilian Jiujitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, Boxing or Karate. Turning up with an ego to these environments is a bad idea. This blocks the very thing these arts are meant to teach — learning, development, patience, perseverance and self- discipline.
So, to bust the myth of needing Floyd Mayweather ego is false, the pressure applied to yourself is not sustainable. There may always be someone more skilled, stronger, faster or more experienced. An inflated ego will lead to frustration or embarrassment when faced with someone who can effortlessly out perfom you. ‘Heavy is the head that wears the crown’. Confidence is not the same as ego. Healthy confidence is believing you can improve, be willing to test yourself, accept losses and feedback not taking it personally, and having respect for both beginners and experts. By using your sparring / rolling as data to learn, progress becomes more about trial and error within the process than it does about beating your arch nemesis in the gym. Ego is not to be confused with self esteem however. Regardless of outcome you grow, develop and learn whilst understanding to cover every detail in the background in preparation for less margin of error. At this point you can comfortably say you tested yourself.
Another beneficial activity is journaling and I don’t mean — ‘I did this today’ — it is the type where something gave you some cognitive uncomfort and delving into self discovery to find out ‘why’ for your own personal growth with, of course a pinch of affirmations and gratitude is the way to go.
