Tuesday, September 30, 2014
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.
Monday, September 29, 2014
5 things to do when a bad mood hits
A bad mood comes, it stays, it goes. Like the formation and dissolution of a cloud. But while a bad mood is persisting, you can let it be, but make some conscious efforts to plant the seeds of positivity.
5 things to do when a bad mood hits:
1. Stand tall
Motion creates emotion and a good posture will get you into a more positive and confident mindframe on an unconscious level.
2. Breath deeply
A couple deep breathes go a long way in calming you own, refreshing you, and brining you back to the present moment. And in the present moment, problems dissipate.
3. Shake the tension in your body
You can unclinch your fist, release the tightened jaw, and unwind your legs which may be tangled up with tension. Drop your shoulders and loosen the unconscious tightness that comes with a bad mood.
4. Smile
Smiling in a bad mood can feel like lifting hundreds of pounds over your head. It may feel hard but it's a good way to chemically kick your brain into a positive mindset. Being able to generate some positivity in a negative state is crucial in life. Anything is possible in a good mood, or you feel that way; but if you can sprout some positivity while in a bad mood, it's a monumental and terrific feat. It's really the only time you need to generate positivity. In the face of adversity, that's when you need to dig deep.
5. Laugh
Do a little laughter yoga. Force out a couple laughs and all of a sudden you are laughing for real. It's a good tension releaser.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Nothing to fear but fear itself meaning
My interpretation of this legendary quotation from Franklin D. Roosevelt is that it is not the actual thing that you fear which is the problem, but, the emotion and thought fear surrounding which can have a paralyzing effect.
For instance, say that you are afraid of public speaking, which is the most common fear amongst people. The actual act of public speaking when you are engaged in it during the moment is not bad. It's not that scary, you are in the moment and just doing it. It is the anticipation, the thoughts of messing up, the uneasy butterflies in your stomach of thinking something terrible can happen and you will be mocked which causes a sense of panic and anxiety. When you're actually in the moment facing these so-called fearful events, you can do it. You can handle anything in the now. But it's the thought of future and past that is often the destroyer of happiness. And the thought that you won't be able to handle something in the future is what causes this anxiety in the pit of your gut.
Our overactive fear is probably just a survival mechanism which was rampant in our ancient brains and we were constantly in need to protect ourselves from predators and whatnot. It's better to be afraid and imagine the worst just in case, because if we do not then we might be eaten alive. But nowadays as humanity has taken dominion of the planet, there isn't such a strong need for this predatorial fear, but it is still strongly lodged inside of our brain. So paranoia which was a defense mechanism for survival thousands upon thousands of moons ago has now been transferred into modern day society issues like worry about what people will think about us.
At the end of the day, if we are able to accept our fear, and not be afraid of it, it will make our lives better. The way we react to fear is key. More accurately, the we do not react to it. If there is fear, let it be. It comes, it stays, it goes. If there is nervousness, let it come and go. If there is anger, let there be anger, let it come, let it go. With constant practice of this these emotions which totally overtake us will be allowed to just flow through our consciousness like traffic passing the streets. You have no attachment to the cars flowing down the road, and one day you will have no attachment to the fear which once consumed you.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Emotions are a bad thing for combat sport, you can't enter a contest emotionally charged, it simply does not work. It clouds your judgment, it clouds your reaction. —Conor McGregor
—Conor McGregor
Thursday, September 25, 2014
When I am fighting a guy who insults me and questions my integrity it lights more fire in me.—GSP
When I am fighting a guy who insults me and questions my integrity it lights more fire in me.
—GSP pic.twitter.com/QmkunT1Re1
— MMAquotable.com (@mmaquote) July 2, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
You are bigger than the occasion. There is nothing to rise up to. The occasion is happening within your mind.
You are bigger than the occasion. There is nothing to rise up to. The occasion is happening within your mind.
How Georges St-Pierre changed my life
Georges St-Pierre made a difference in my life when it comes to how honest he was in admitting his fear. While the MMA world can be filled with unending and unrelenting diatribes of bravado and fearlessness and courageously, GSP was a rare case in that he talked about his nerves and fears and admitted to them completely. He basically showed me it's okay to have fear before competition, it's okay to be nervous, it's okay be terrified and even want to not go out there and compete. But he also notes that admitting that fear is the ultimate act of courage because many are afraid to admit that they are scared in the first place. A bubble of invincibility is synthetically formed in their minds to protect them from getting in touch with this. Pierre, however, he fully admits his fears and uses them to his advantage. He views his nerves and fears as the tools which are going to keep him alert, on point, and as sharp as a tac in the cage. GSP basically showed me it's okay to have that fear, it's okay to admit it to yourself, and it's something that will ultimately give you power.
“Focus on performance. Outcome is going to happen. No stress about that. Focus on performance.” —Dustin Poirier
“Focus on performance. Outcome is going to happen. No stress about that. Focus on performance.”
| — | Dustin Poirier |
“I am comfortable in the uncomfortable.” —Conor McGregor
“I am comfortable in the uncomfortable.”
—Conor McGregor
Just be yourself and do your best. Really that's all you can ask for from an athlete. —Jessica Penne
Just be yourself and do your best. Really that's all you can ask for from an athlete.
—Jessica Penne
Don't let the doctors put an expiration stamp on you.—Angela Magana
| Don't let the doctors put an expiration stamp on you. —Angela Magana |
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Maintain your composure. And if you lose your composure, keep your composure about losing it.
Maintain your composure. And if you lose your composure, keep your composure about losing it.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Experience is the highest level of knowing.—Jon Fitch
Experience is the highest level of knowing.
—Jon Fitch
“I know I might rub people the wrong way sometimes, but I’m just a kid living my dream…I’m enjoying my life.” — Conor McGregor
“I know I might rub people the wrong way sometimes, but I’m just a kid living my dream…I’m enjoying my life.”
| — | Conor McGregor |
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Other people's destructive criticsm ultimately doesn't matter
At the end of the day, no matter what someone says about you, it is not going to matter in absolute terms. You may obsess over a comment that someone makes about you, but in reality that is an unbelievably miniscule part of what you are. The trillions upon trillions of cells in your body are going to continue to do their thing, the circulatory system will keep on chugging along, the digestive system will keep on churning; the miraculous body and all it's infinite inner workings will just keep on flowing.
At the end of the day other peoples' words are just a sound being made which is interpreted and then thought about afterwards. We tend to identify with these thoughts so much that we oftentimes don't realize how absolutely miniscule and non-important they are. It's like being fixated on a single speck of dust and missing out on the infinite cosmos.
Developing patience is like weight-lifting for the soul.
Developing patience is like weightlifting for the soul.
“I don’t work, I live…I don’t have a job, I just have a life.” —Conor McGregor
“I don’t work, I live…I don’t have a job, I just have a life.”
—Conor McGregor
Saturday, September 20, 2014
"A fighter, a real strong fighter should always look dignified and calm and I believe that any expression of aggression is an expression of weakness. A strong person will not be nervous and will not express aggression towards his opponent. He will be confident in his abilities and his training, then he will face the fight calm and balanced." —Fedor Emelianenko
"A fighter, a real strong fighter should always look dignified and calm and I believe that any expression of aggression is an expression of weakness. A strong person will not be nervous and will not express aggression towards his opponent. He will be confident in his abilities and his training, then he will face the fight calm and balanced."
—Fedor Emelianenko
Friday, September 19, 2014
5 Lessons from Anger
Anger's been a mainstay in my life. Felt like it's always been there, but in as many times as it has arisen over the years, it has ceased. And lessons have been learned.
1) You are not the anger
You are the watcher of the anger. It is not "your" anger, it's just "anger". It is not you, it is something that arises within your consciousness, but it is not you, nor does it belong to you.
You are the observer of it.
2) Anger is a letter way from Danger
Anger itself is harmless if you just let it arise, remain, and cease. It's dangerous though because it typically demands an instant reaction. However, if you can resist the temptation to lash out of anger, it has no power. If you react out of anger it is definitely bringing you into the danger zone, but if you watch and observe it without reacting, it's as harmless as clouds passing through picturesque blue sky on a sunny afternoon.
3) Anger and patience are two sides of the same coin
To practice patience you need anger. Anger is a subconsious emotion which arises without you wanting it to arise. People do not choose to be angry consciously, but they choose to be patience on a conscious level. So you are not an angry person, but you are a patient person.
4) Anger is a gift
Anger forces you to be in the present moment if you want to not react to it. If you are going to use anger in a positive way, you need to watch it arise, remain, and cease. Reaction is something that can be highly destructive, but observation of it is brilliant because it totally brings you to the present moment.
5) Mood determines reaction
There are certain mental states when you are not offended, irritated, or angered, by anything. However, there are other states where anything can set you off. So the state of consciousness you are in or the mood you are in will determine the subconscious emergence of anger. If you are in a joyous state where nothing bothers you and everything just rolls off you, then anger does not emerge. So you can make the argument that it's not necessarily the person, the place, the situation, or the event that causes anger to arise; but more so, it is a case where the state of consciousness that you are in heavily influences what non-conscious impulses will emerge inside you.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
GSP: The most efficient, not the most powerful animal will survive
Georges St-Pierre likes referencing the animal kingdom in some of his words, as he his an avid lover of paleontology and subjects around the same genre. This quote about the most power animal not surviving, but the most efficient one, is a great quote. It's a testament to how human beings overcome the odds and have been able to reach the heights we have. It was not our size, strength, but our intelligence that led the way. Not the brawn, but the brain, that allowed us to innovate and adapt. So no matter what the situation, you have an innate ability to find a solution, survive, thrive, innovate, adapt, and sense the opportunity in it all.
Brilliance can come from a seemingly un-brilliant source.
Brilliance can come from a seemingly un-brilliant source.
Everything happens for a reason...even if you don't know it. —Ronda Rousey
Everything happens for a reason...even if you don't know it.
—Ronda Rousey
Suffering will be the seed of compassion. Compassion will be the seed of happiness.
Suffering will be the seed of compassion. Compassion will be the seed of happiness.
Fighting has taught me to be disciplined and respectful and if you want it, you need to work for it....hard! —Polly Beauchamp
Fighting has taught me to be disciplined and respectful and if you want it, you need to work for it....hard!
—Polly Beauchamp
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