Now! That’s when we want everything. Too bad things tend to develop at their own rate. It doesn’t matter how bad we want some things, they will come to us when we are truly ready.
Rushing to the top just gasses you out. The higher we rise the less air there is to breath. You have to rise correct so you are prepared. Try flying to Denver from sea level, then going for a long run. It will end up being a short run if you didn’t do the work before you got there. That is what training, competing, living…. Is like. We all want to climb so high but we forget to train for the trip.
I have a young fighter who wants to be a money making pro so bad! Rightfully so. He is young with a child and living in a rough hood. He wants better then he got for his child and family. It’s a noble goal but a goal that can only be achieved by talking the right steps. Youthful pride and a lack of experience gave him a sense of self beyond reality. Big talk about his abilities and where he is going with things set him up for a big fall. I warned him but experience can teach better than me at times.
After his 1st fight, which he lost via a bad decision, he felt like he was a champ. Now a second fight is lost and he felt like a bum because he got out boxed/brawled. The only way he will be a bum is if he doesn’t get back in the gym and bring those skills up. Pride blinded him to the truth about his level. A young guy from Brooklyn slammed the truth home and let him know what has to be worked on. Life lesson learned and its time to get back to work.
The above is how it goes for all of us at one time or another. We want something so bad that we go for it unprepared. Life smacks us in the mouth and we have to come down to reality. What happens next separates the winners from the losers. We can get to work and get stronger or we can quit and never achieve anything worth remembering.
I don’t care if you are trying to hit the pads better in class, lift a heavier weight, win a fight, or get a promotion at work…. It is all the same story. Rise to fast and we fall hard. Take the time to do it right and we have a good chance of getting what we want and then some. Don’t use these words as an excuse to coast either. You have to fight to get where you want to be. You have to work your ass off to get better. The key is moving forward with positive momentum that you can maintain. Gotta avoid diminishing returns and inflated opinions of our own greatness.
Mas Oyama said it best “Following the Martial Way is like scaling a cliff. Continue upwards without rest. It demands absolute and unflattering devotion to the task at hand.”
Brian Wright