How nerves, nervousness, fear, led Conor McGregor to martial arts and MMA

Conor McGregor's persona is one of extreme confidence and brashness, but it was actually the opposite which led him into martial arts, and ultimate MMA. McGregor notes that the fear and nerves which arose inside him during conflicts such as schoolyard fights is what made him want to pursue dealing with those emotions, handling those emotions, and ultimately becoming comfortable enough to overcome them.

This is somewhat in line with what Georges St-Pierre talks about in detail in his book The Way of the Fight. Pierre discusses how fear is the origin of most of the good things in his life. He used the nervousness, anxiety, and fear as a way to improve his life. He was able to accept his fear completely but rise above it by not letting it overpower him. The key for him was to admit his fear and allow it to be. For GSP, it is not the person who is without fear that is impressive, but rather the person who has fear and still goes forward regardless. He notes that a fighter who claims to be unafraid is either crazy or in total denial, as he is too afraid to even admit his fear.

In the end for him it comes to down you need to have fear to be courageous. And if you can make peace with your fear and allow it to arise and cease naturally without being overcome by it, it can enhance your life greatly. It's in a sense saying to yourself "Don't be afraid of your fear". The reaction to fear is what is paramount. If you can just view it the same way you would view a cloud forming, remaining for a short period, and then dissolving, it makes the fear seem much less permanent. Much less strong. Much less real. It's as transient as a gust of wind flowing by or a clouds going through their formation and dissolution process.