Fighting your Biggest Opponent

No, this article is not really about mixed martial arts, boxing or fighting with another person, rather it's about fighting your own feelings.  If you're trying to take things to the next level of performance regardless if it's your career, your education or personal health and fitness there will be a time when you find yourself fighting against your toughest opponent; yourself.

The simple reason most people don't reach there goals is because they give in to their feelings and quit before they succeed, not because they aren't capable.  The best advice I can give you is to fight through your feelings.  If you want to lose weight, you have to fight through those uncomfortable moments of hunger.  If you want to excel with your school work this semester, you have to fight through those moments of psychological fatigue.  If you want to be a world-class athlete, you have to fight through those moments of physical fatigue.  If you want to be a superstar salesperson, you have to fight through those moments of rejection and dejection.  What's the best way to go about this?  Here's a wonderful piece of advice from a world-class boxing trainer named Teddy Atlas (Atlas, T., 2006.  Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring: A Son's Struggle to Become a Man). 

"At a certain point, if he’s going to get to the top of the boxing profession, a fighter has to learn the difference between the truth and a lie.  The lie is thinking that submission is an acceptable option.  The truth is that if you give up, afterward you'll realize any of those punches that you thought you couldn't deal with, or those rough moments you didn't think you could make it through, were just moments.  Enduring them is not nearly as tough as having to deal with the next day and the next month and the next year, knowing that you quit, that you failed, that you submitted.  It’s a trainer’s job to make a fighter understand that difference, that the parts of a fight that are urgent last only seconds; seconds during which you have to stave off the convenient excuse — “I’m too tired” or “I hurt too much” or “I can’t do this” or even simply “I’m not going to deal with this.” Sometimes it just comes down to not floating — just being there and understanding that if you give in, you’ll hurt more tomorrow. Maybe there is no more important lesson to learn from a boxer than that."

And there you have it.  The difficult times we encounter may slow us down, sting, bruise or even downright hurt but remember, they are just moments.  The unfortunate reality is that the biggest pain comes when we realize that we could have pushed through and succeeded if only we would have persevered for a few moments longer.  So the next time you find yourself in a battle of will remember two things; the opponent is most likely your own head and the ultimately you'll win the fight if you just hold.  If you don't, you may find yourself hurting more tomorrow.