The beginning of a New Year and everyone wants to start out the year strong, but it’s finishing strong that’s also important. Many resolutions and goals are never reached because people get caught up in what’s happening in their lives, and because they haven’t developed the mental strength to keep themselves going when the momentum from the New Year wears off.
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A lot of getting yourself to your goals and surpassing them, is about being mentally strong for when those hard moments hit. But being mentally stronger doesn’t mean it has to be a tough grind.
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Becoming better and stronger at your martial arts, doesn’t start in the dojo. It starts in your head. No matter what your goals are, you’ll need mental strength to get there.
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Building mental strength is fundamental to improving your martial arts. Just as you go to the gym and lift weights in order to build your muscles, you must also develop your mental health through the use of mental tools and techniques.
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Most people struggle with intrusive thoughts that leap into our head unannounced. However, we can use meditative practices to assist us in reducing the impact these thoughts have on our martial arts, as well our daily life.
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Our thoughts and beliefs directly lead to our emotions, and once we recognize how we think triggers our feelings, one of the practices we can utilize is meditation, to help us change the way we think.
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Meditation is about training in awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective. You’re not trying to turn off your thoughts or feelings. You’re learning to observe them without judgment.
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Learning to meditate is like learning any other skill. Like looking deeply into a kata or drill. It takes consistent practice to get comfortable. And the ultimate goal of meditation isn’t to control your thoughts…. it’s to stop those thoughts controlling you.
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Mentally tough people know exactly what they want to achieve and are committed to making it happen. When you are resolute, you make decisions that will get you to your ultimate goal. When you are committed to yourself and continually show up to training, it is not a matter of if you accomplish your goals, but when.
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Being motivated is not the answer either, it’s too easy. You can read an inspiring article and get motivated. Motivation doesn’t keep you going….. commitment does.
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As martial artists, you must stay in the present moment, keep your focus on the things you can control, and not be distracted by everything life throws at you. However, it’s not easy to stay in the present moment, as your mind tends to wander quite easily. Like everything in the martial arts you have to practice being present, deliberate practice, which will help keep focus where it needs to be.
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The road to success in martial arts is never straightforward or easy. It’s full of challenges that force you to make a choice between quitting or continuing. These crossroads separate the mentally tough from the mediocre.
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In order to become the best martial artist you can be, you need to overcome your weaknesses and look at your failures straight in the eye. You need to keep on pushing yourself to the limit, stepping out of your comfort zone. This is the only way to take your martial arts journey to the next level.
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 Photo Credit: Freepik
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