Having a bad day? Were you stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for over an hour? Maybe your emotionally unstable boss went on an office rampage of playing the blame game and or constantly hit the panic button all day for no reason. Did you get a call from school about your child acting up in class. Unfortunately Calgon can’t take you away. Going to happy hour will be both physically and financially costly. Sitting at home and watching The Bachelor won’t do anything to talk your emotional ledge. Ordering a bucket of fried chicken or pizza and wings are also a big mistake. Instead, when the world is stressing you out and leaving you frustrated, you need to go train BJJ for these five reasons.
Be around positive people: If you are going to a MMA gym where people just beat the crap out of each other with little regard for each other’s health and safety, then this might not apply. If you are going to the right academy for you, then you are likely surrounded by positive and happy people who helping each other grow, interested in their health, learning a new skill, acquired a sense of humility and learned how to deal with everyday problems through martial arts.
The endorphin high: Ever feel great after you workout? Your blood is pumping after spending your day sitting down at a table, in your car, or at your desk. We were meant to move and we are biologically rewarded for moving at an intense pace by the release of feel good endorphins that brighten our moods after a great workout. After a bad day, you will likely feel sluggish, but once you will feel energized after moving and warming up for 10 minutes.
Let out your aggression: Unless you are former NBA star Latrell Sprewell, there is a good chance you will never be able to choke out your boss. Even when Latrell went Sprewell on his coach, he was suspended for a year, which cost him millions of dollars. You can still let out your pent up stress and aggression that was built up from hours of stress from work or home life as you spar and roll with others in a safe training environment. Releasing your stress is good for both your physical and mental well-being and will help you let go of your bad day and sleep better at night.
Locker room therapy: Instead of talking to a bartender about your problems at happy hour, you can talk to your favorite training partners in the locker room. After training, it is common for training partners to linger on the mats or in the locker rooms to talk about Joe Rogan, life, chem trails, or their daily problems. If you have met the right friends through BJJ, they usually won’t mind hearing you vent, since they will likely vent to you at different points as well.
At least one thing went right today: Even if you don’t have enough toilet paper to wipe away the stains of your day, you can walk away from the gym knowing that at least one thing went right. You fought through the urges of going to happy hour or crying while eating a bowl of ice cream to make it to BJJ class to learn, socialize, and take a small step to becoming a better martial artist and person. As long as you trained, regardless if you tapped out 100 times, you had one to two hours of winning in life.
