In today’s “Ask DeBlass”, Professor DeBlass addresses the age old and always popular topic of how to get motivated and stay motivated. Please continue to send your questions for Tom DeBlass to address to jiujitsutimessubmissions@gmail.com. Enjoy and show up!
The journey IS Worth It.
Everyone has heard that the path to black belt is equally as lengthy and demanding as the path to receiving a doctoral degree. I can’t say if that is true or not, but I can promise you one thing, the day you wrap that black belt around your waist, you will realize that all the years of sacrifice were worth it.
Question What Your Mind is Telling You
It is very common for students to hit a “rough patch” in their training, or feel stuck. When this happens our motivation can feel depleted. When individuals stop seeing improvement, thoughts may pop up that tell them it’s time to move on to something easier. My friends, don’t believe the lies that your mind is telling you.
This Too Shall Pass.
This is when its imperative to stay disciplined. Understand that “the juice is worth the squeeze.” Find comfort in knowing that ALL TOUGH TIMES PASS.
Understand that if you wake up feeling unmotivated, you are not alone. No one is superman, and no stays motivated 365 days a year. However, YOU CAN stay disciplined. Train when you are tired, train when everything else in life seems to be going wrong, train knowing that your motivation will resurface. You owe it to yourself, your teammates, and your Professor.
The Eye of the Beholder
I’ll never forget the day I messaged one of my students to let them know how impressed I was with his work and progress. He is a middle aged man, with no aspirations to compete. He’s already very successful and in so many aspects of his life his personal goals were already reached. To my surprise when I reached out, he informed me that he was very close to calling it quits.
He couldn’t understand the fact that I thought he was doing great. He had lost his motivation and he felt it was to hard to keep up with the young guys. I told him, “You are an inspiration to the young guys! We want go be like you when we grow up.”
It was imperative he changed his outlook and perception of his training. He had placed an inordinate amount of stress on his journey by believing that anyone expected him to always train as hard as the younger students. Now, changing one’s mentality like this can’t happen overnight. He vowed to stay disciplined and show up, even when he wasn’t feeling motivated. A few months went by and he found a new motivation by focusing on the small incremental changes and improvements in his BJJ, rather than putting extra pressure on himself to compete with the younger students. The consequence of this change in outlook was that his Jiu-Jitsu started improving more then ever. He had achieved a sense of happiness as he renewed and continued on his Jiu-Jitsu journey.
Never Give Up, No Matter What
To often in life people give up on their goals the moment things become tough. Remember you started training for a reason, and soon discovered it was because it’s something we needed in our lives. Don’t ever forget that, and don’t ever give that up, even if your motivation is telling you a different story.
