Silence that evil voice in your head and go train!
Dear BJJ players,
It’s impressive the excuses I can come up with:
- I’m tired (how original!)
- I’m still sore from last training (So what? Get TF up and get those sore muscles moving)!
- My back hurts a lot today (I know damn well that working out will make it better!)
- I could go tomorrow instead (yeah you could also get hit by a bus tomorrow)
- I’m not in the mood (what's next, you’ll have a migraine too?)
- My favorite kimonos are dirty and I don’t want to wear the pink one (yeah I’ve really used that excuse before!)
- I should write a Steemit post instead (well ok, that one may be legit)
My mother once told me that human beings are the only species capable of lying to themselves, and that we are true masters at it.
I know for a fact that I’m a black belt at finding excuses for not going to practice, but the curious thing is, once I’m there I’m having so much fun and can’t comprehend my own hesitation.
So why is it that I have to go through this argument with that evil voice in my head every single time?
Now I thought that I was alone with this inner struggle, until I heard one of my teammates say “man, so many times I didn’t want to come, and when I’m here fighting, I feel so happy and glad that I did”. It was my revelation to me, that I am normal after all.
What helps me shut up this annoying lazy-a$$ voice in my head is to remind me of the following things:
Once I spar, I realize that I’m in fact not tired at all. The fatigue that I feel at the end of the day is not a physical one. After all, I’m not a construction worker!
It’s just mental fatigue, which is cured by doing a physical activity. Whenever the lazy voice claims I’m too tired to go, I remind myself of that fact.I realize that the lazy voice also puts me in a cranky mood when I cave in to her demands, and that the only thing that cheers me up and makes me snap out of it is a good training session. In fact, every time I’ve been in a bad mood, BJJ was the best cure.
I remember that it’s so much fun! It’s like playing, when I roll with my friends. We laugh and tease each other, because we are like kids trying to get each other's weak spot. It’s just what I need at the end of a serious day at work, during which I have to be serious and polite with clients. During BJJ I can just be myself and have a good time.
So there you go, it’s a never ending circle. You have enormous fun, and want to go again the next day, but then you start to feel tired and you make excuses. You fight the excuses, end up going, and remember how much fun you are having. Because let's face it, there's nothing that we love more than our gentle art!
Are you feeling the same? What do you do to silence that evil voice in your head?
We all need a kick under our butt when it comes to this. It helps training in a team so you also are able to motivate each other.
Solo training sucks...no body to tell you you sucked for not going!
Good post madame!
thank you @karinxxl =) I train in a team but I'm alone at home before going...which is the tricky part ahahah
The fatigue that I feel at the end of the day is not a physical one
Soo true! I used to always drink an espesso shot in between Uni/work and bjj practice. Cuz I always felt soo tired, especially after work...but exactly as you said, it's just a mental fatigue which goes away once the blood starts going...
Soo yeah, I stopped my pre-training coffee ritual cuz it really is not needed since I sit in front of the PC most of the day...and it always caused me miss one round because of...well, because that coffee always "hit" me and I had to go to the toilet haha :D
LOL that's funny ahahah. I do that too though, I sometimes have coffee before =)
Knowing we are animals who have the natural tendency to be at rest, it is an ongoing struggle for me that starts with habits. Breaking bad ones and starting new ones. Having default answers for the inevitable questions works for me!
Then when I am at a point of indecision, stand up and walk towards where the gym bag is! The first step is the most important.
BJJ: You will be glad you did and wondered what took you so long to start.
so very true! And I love your last sentence. I definitely regret not starting 10 years earlier =)
Thanks for stopping by =)
Always hapopy to follow and support the other BJJ athletes on Steem. Especially the kickass women on this international women's day!
aww thank you!!!!! Followed you too =)
Am still trying to fight it out with excuses, most times I just spend an entire day doing nothing, but at the last moment I rush things, it bad, I procrastinate alot. But I learnt something from my mentor, he said I should follow the slogan of Nike, just do it, and it really working for me.
hahaha yes, I tell myself something similar every day, usually it involves an insult too =)
This is one of the best posts I have read on Steemit so far. Because I can relate so much and really needed this. 5 months in, I am in a similar rut with motivation. I know I love jiu-jitsu, I read about it, talk about it, watch videos about it, and just cannot wait to go to learn more. It feels so good to learn and experience. In the beginning of the week especially I am super pumped and cannot wait to go. But then work happens...if I do get home on time to get ready for class, I just feel so fried...I think one of the toughest things is bjj takes so much focus and I don't feel like I have much after work. If it's a yoga class or cycling class, I feel like you just need to show up, but with bjj it's so engaging and you cant just tune out for drilling.
Thing is..when I do push myself to go..I feel amazing, my mind kicks into high gear and I feel euphoric afterwards. "I must keep going!" My injuries and the foundation of past excuses evaporates.
Then the next day, the same thing happens..
What I realized recently is motivation does not before action, but it's actually the other way around, action actually inspires motivation.
But still, that doesn't completely solve the issue, I need to find a way to get there. So far..one of my new ideas is actively looking for a sparring partner to go to class with. Another person to hold me accountable for going. But waiting for that to happens and depending on someone else to get me there does not seem genuine, I still want to find more ways to get my ass to the mats without question.
Hearing someone (you) say the exact things I am thinking , somehow makes me feel better. I am going to make it in tomorrow! No excuses. Turning the brain off!
Aw thanks for the compliment, i'm glad you liked this post =). I will have the same fight with myself again tonight hehehe, but I promise I will go!
A training partner definitely helps! Once I've told someone that I'm coming for sure, I feel committed to my promise, so it's a good method.
Thanks for stopping by!
I only relate all too well. It's actually rare that I do want to train but I just force myself to because without fail I'm always very happy that I did.
isn't it funny how we all have that same problem? LOL
mmmm I should stop lying to myself... and start running again a bit every day. Thank you! :)
Our minds cook up excuses for us sometimes. It happens to everyone.
So cool to learn about this! Upvoted :)
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