“You never know yourself until the chips are down. True strength is not measured when your at your strongest, but when you're at your weakest." —Rashad Evans

 

"We all fight in different arenas in our life, and I think that's what draws so many people to fighting; because it's the actual physical manifestation of the way they feel inside. To me, to live is to fight." —Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans and Chris Weidman similarities (Psychology Degree and more)

Rashad Evans and Chris Weidman are quite similar in there respective careers. While Weidman is a middleweight and Evans a light-heavyweight, they have a lot in common.

Firstly they are both amateur wrestlers and both have admitted in the past they felt a little bit empty for not giving their 100% in their amateur wrestling career. That feeling of not leaving everything on the mat compelled them to become extremely hard workers.

Interestingly enough, both Evans and Weidman went on to earn degrees in Psychology. This knowledge of the human mind has allowed them to channel the right mindset to achieve peak performance and win. Weidman on the road to becoming the UFC champion, and defeating Anderson Silva twice, knew what he needed to do to be mentally ready to fight a mythical legend in Silva. He knew he had to not put him on a pedestal, mentally be ready for anything, and incessantly visualize success. He talks about really getting into the visualization of being champion and make it so real that it becomes every day life.

Evans also has a very strong mental game, which has been elevated through his psyche studies. He often speaks of visualization and how is has helped him in the cage, as well as the repetition affirmations. He uses visualization and affirmations so intensely that the become deep convictions, which allow him to achieve success and become a UFC champion.

Rashad Evans on GSP's dedication to his craft

Rashad Evans on Georges St-Pierre's dedication to his art:

GSP was one of my best training partners. I never met an athlete so dedicated to his craft! After every training session he would stay there and drill for another hour.

Interestingly enough the thing that Georges St-Pierre says he's best at more than anything is in fact dedication. He notes in The Way of the Fight:

Do you want to know what I like best about myself? The truth is, I’ve become “great” at maybe only one thing: dedication.

Playing for the Kid Inside You

Mia Hamm, one of the USA's greatest female soccer players, had a great quote about playing for the little kid inside where which feel in love with the game:

“Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her.”

Having that mentality of playing for the fun of it, and staying in touch with that child-like playfulness, which gets you into any sport initially, can be a powerful tool. A lot of times the pressures which come along with success, the grueling practices along the way, and stressors which are involved with being an athlete can be overwhelming. If you can still feel the presence of the reason you got into the sport, for fun, that is a wonderful gift which can bring you a strong sense of joy and extend your time in whatever game you are playing, or field you operating are in.

There are some great quotes below pertaining to mixed martial arts fighters connecting with the fun aspect of the sport, which got them into MMA in the first place. There are three great ones from Rashad Evans below. Rashad is a fighter who always wanted to maintain that sense of fun and joy in his career; while's a job, he didn't want it to be a stereotypical "job" where a lot of people are not happy doing it but just drudging through it. He wants to enjoy and have fun or not do it at all.

Floyd Money Mayweather Mantra

A great quote about affirmations came from boxing great Muhammad Ali. He stated:

"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen"

Another boxing great of today, Floyd Mayweather, has a great mantra/affirmation that has become a part of his reality: "I always find a way to win"

And it's true. 44-0 in his career, Mayweather, finds a way to win every time. It's a great philosophy to have. Even if you have losses on your record, starting now, you can change your mind and begin to believe: "I always find a way to win"

A great discourse on the topic of affirmations and mantras comes from Rashad Evans in this video below. Click to 5:38 into the video in order to see what he has to say on how affirmations can be powerful tools to programming your subconscious mind. And since many feel we are operating 90-95% of the time on our subconscious minds, affirmations can become the software of your mind. The subconscious believes whatever you tell it, so feed it lines that direct you towards you goals, dreams, and aspirations.

Enjoy the Process

The finish line, your hand being raised, victory, achieving the goal; that for the most part is what we tend to value: the prize. But at the same time, the process is something that can be an immensely joyful experience. Enjoying the journey, being in the moment, and soaking it all in; having that presence will make the achievement of the goal all the more fulfilling.

Some fighters who were on the verge of retirement and internally knew that they were on their way out of the sport, tended to have a stronger sense of enjoying the process. Guys such as Randy Couture and Matt Serra, had a real appreciation for the lead up to the fight in their last battles because they knew that it was not going to last forever, and that one day they would never make that walk to the UFC Octagon ever again. So they enjoyed it thoroughly with a big embrace of appreciation.

Another fighter in the UFC, who is still competing at lightweight and tries to emulate this sentiment, is Gray Maynard:

You have to enjoy it all because it’ll come and go. Then you’ll be old and fat and retired and drinking a beer like, “Damn, I tried to hurry that up. Why didn’t I enjoy it more?” So I really enjoy the process.

Gray knows that he's not going to be competing in this sport forever and cherishes what he has and is enjoying the moment. Rashad Evans, who is a very deep thinker, also has that strong sense of gratitude instilled into his psyche:

I'm going to appreciate everything because before you know it, this will be just a memory...My time will pass. So I'm going to enjoy this moment, I'm going to have fun...And I'm going to thank you for making me who I am today.

This attitude is reminiscent of one of Tony Robbins quotes. Robbins has helped thousands worldwide, and also inspired some UFC fighters such as Diego Sanchez, and give tips to Chuck Liddell before one of his bouts. Additionally, UFC president Dana White and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan noted in the past that they found use from his cassette tapes many years back coming up in their careers. Robbins has a lot of wise words to say about enjoying the process and how it's the journey which is equally if not more important than the final destination:

“Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.”

Conor McGregor and Rashad Evans on gay rights

The sports world as a whole isn't the most beckoning culture for homosexual males to come out of the closet. In mixed martial arts Liz Carmouche is the openly gay fighter, and she is a female. However, no male has come out in the mixed martial arts landscape, but surely just based on percentages there are some out there. Eventually one day some fighter that competes in the UFC will come out, and it's fighters like Rashad Evans and Conor McGregor who are ones to thank to make it easier for that process to take place. Both UFC stars have been supportive of LGBT community and Conor McGregor has said he has no problem training with any gay fighters because everyone is looked at as equal in his gym regardless off race, sexual orientation, culture, religion, or the hundreds of other things that segment society.
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Rashad Evans on Appreciation

Rashad Evans on Appreciating being involved with the sport:

I'm going to appreciate everything because before you know it, this will be just a memory...My time will pass. So I'm going to enjoy this moment, I'm going to have fun...And I'm going to thank you for making me who I am today.

Rashad Evans on Learning and Perfecting Your Style

You want to learn, to stay ahead of the curve because everyone knows all about the guys at the top of the weight class and at the same time, it's all about perfecting your style.
- Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans on marriage rights for gay couples

Rashad Evans on his support marriage rights for the lesbian and gay community:
If one of my kids decide they're going to be with somebody of the same sex when they get older, it'd be a shame if they couldn't get the same rights as somebody that was married would be able to get, for the benefit of both of them.

Friendship Quotes

Quotes on Appreciation and Gratitude

Gratitude exercises have been proven to have tangible benefits. According to a study by researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Florida, having participants write down a list of positive events at the close of a day—and why the events made them happy—lowered their self-reported stress levels and gave them a greater sense of calm at night.
—Arianna Huffington in Thrive

8 Quotes on Living in the Present Moment