Training this week has been pretty light on the ground, from dog bites to October colds it seems that every man and his dog (believe it or not no pun intended) has seemingly done their level best to keep me out the gym. Despite the latter I’ve still managed to get some time in so I guess really that’s the main thing.
I’m going to hit the ground running next week and intend to spend Tuesday to Friday evening training hard, and hope that it stays in that vein (with the occasional Saturday thrown in for good measure) for a while. There’s a big difference between hoping to do something and intending, and like with everything else it’s intention that’s the key.
Intention plays a big part in most things in fact it plays a part in everything I want to achieve in my life and has always served me well when it comes to training and fighting. I’ve found it’s also been a big factor in overcoming nerves or that old friend of mine, fear. (I think it’s a friend of most with a heart and a soul.
I always do my best to take what I learn and what I’ve learnt in training and competing and apply the same attitude to other areas of my life so if I say I’m going to do something, then I’m going to go out and do it. From time to time, it may get procrastinated over and side tracked but these days 99.9 of the time it gets done. And procrastination is starting to take a back seat too. (except with keeping this blog up to date and making sure I write more.. I will overcome and all that stuff.)
I can remember changing my mentality when it came to competing from focusing on a fight to focusing on winning. A friend of mine popped round in the week for a beer and a chat, and the subject of fighting came up. We got talking about fight mentality and it made me remember something an old trainer of mine told me. “Your not just going to fight.” he said. “Your going to win.”
It wasn’t until I was walking home that evening after training that it really sank in. “I’m not just going to fight.” I said to myself. “I’m going to win.”. I said it again. “I’m going to win.” I think at that point, after what had probably been an eternity the light bulb truly switched on. I had always gone into fights with the intention to win but with a lot of nerves and anxiety to deal with too.
When I started just to focus on success not just on the challenge that lay ahead, my intention became sharp, clear and ultimately focused. When it comes to fighting I’ve learnt to focus not just on the person in front of me but more on what I want.
I guess how we deal with nerves much in the same way we deal with failure and are always unique to us, but for me focusing on what I want like it’s already in the here and now produces the best results. Self doubt can often be crushed by an overwhelming desire to succeed and that applies to no matter what situation your in. Fear can be smashed in the same way too. And the best way I’ve found to deal with that, is to put yourself in front of it because it’s only ever false evidence appearing real.
So looking at the week ahead, I am as always looking forward to leaping back onto my proverbial horse. There’s a lot I have to do and getting training up to speed and consistently on track has become less of a priority and more of an intention. And that’s the triple truth. Have a great week, and just like the last time.. I’ll see you on that road.