Weeds

This week, for some reason, I attracted some weeds. When you are outgrowing people and circumstances, you will find the weeds trying to grow in your garden. Your garden is your life and it has a cycle just like everything nature. The weeds will grow with no effort or maintenance required.  This inevitable ability to grow with no effort is what I call, life’s inevitable reality.

In the pursuit of becoming a mixed martial arts champion, I trained at a school with some elite wrestlers who received much more attention than I did. For three years I experienced new faces coming in and getting coaching attention, when I was shoved to the side. The new faces were neither elite wrestlers nor were they better athletes than me; they simply fit the social demographic easier than I did. Not fitting in was my crime and reason for being alienated, not a lack of talent or skill.

Now, my schedule has opened up and I’ve started fighting. I’m knocking people out and promoters are taking notice. When I attributed some credit to one of the coaches at my former gym, who is also, not on the inside, the gym went on the defensive and verbally attacked me on Facebook. The gym (which will remain nameless) is run by uneducated individuals lacking moral sophistication and common sense with regards to treating the public with equal respect. The individuals running this gym are weeds and sooner or later, they will be plucked out of existence by the natural course of life. You can’t mistreat the public and get away with it forever. Sooner or later Karma has a swift and hard blow.

The hardest part of the journey is maintaining focus on continuing to water my garden as opposed to watching the weeds grow. The weeds are a constant distraction and when your journey involves overcoming odds and digging into your personal reservoir of discipline to calm your ego and behave in a professional manner, retaliation is always making a legitimate argument at your door. I wrestle internally with wanting to publically call these people out. But I won’t, instead they will remain nameless and I must focus on winning with the strategies that are fit for consistent success.

When you have to overcome insurmountable odds, being your personal doubt, logic, the closest people to you, your co-workers and society at large, mental toughness and hope or faith are all that you can rely on. If the path still says go, then go. If the path temporarily says stop, push beyond it. Tell life no, this is really what I want. Not with some emotional push but with subtle persistence. Subtle persistence is the most valuable assets you can acquire in pursuit of a long term goal.

When I started on my journey, I was told by people in the UFC, it would take me 5-7 years and that I would have to retain my athletic ability well into my 40’s. Imagine wanting to start training to be a fighter at age 32 and having to mentally wait 7 years until you are 39 just to start. It’s crazy! But yes I am crazy. I’ve got nothing better to do and I would rather die trying than work a boring job or live a life incongruent with which God created me to be.

Never give up when the weeds pop up, never! They are as I said before the inevitable. Focus on your goal and how it will make you feel. My goal includes my family so there is more to share and enjoy than my own personal gratification. If your goal is to lose weight or retire early….whatever, it helps to benefit someone else. It’s a law that nature rewards more than an individual victory.