TFS#64: Absorb Your Surroundings

Well, I shouldn’t tell you to do so because you will naturally absorb your surroundings.

If you don’t already know, what you surround yourself with matters more than you think. It will affect the way you think.

Which affect your actions, which affect your decisions, which affect your outcomes.

If you want to improve your Jiu-Jitsu, you’ll have to make small decisions that nudges you towards the results you want.

Watch your partners

You have your favorite training partners and you’ve got your reasons why.

But watch how they move, how they carry themselves, how they speak.

Do they have a good attitude towards failure?

Are they intentional with their training?

Nothing wrong with having a friend, but it’s helpful to have friends that are also helping you improve.

You might not like a particular person in your gym because you have a competitive rivalry with them. They may be the same size, same age, same skill level so you shy away from this in fear that they’ll “win” during sparring.

This person is probably your best training partner. This will help you get over the insecurity and force you to adapt.

Watch what you’re watching

Pay attention to the news feed you’re getting.

Whatever social media platform you’re using has the algorithm set up for you to continue to consume the same material.

So the material on your social media says a lot about what’s going on in your mind.

If you’re embarrassed about it, stop defaulting to those posts.

“Harmless” scrolling is harmless in the short term.

But when someone starts to yammer about their opinions that you might not agree with, it’s interesting and even engaging, but ask yourself what are you filling your brain with?

Watch the bullpen

If you attend competitions, either as a spectator or a competitor, watch how the higher belts prep in the bullpen.

That’s what you’re striving to become one day.

Think about what is it that you’re missing between you and them. That’s what you should be working on.

Summary

If you’re focusing on technique, choose a partner that gives the realistic reactions.

If you’re recovering from an injury, roll with someone who knows how to control their intensity level.

If you’re competing, spar with other competitors.

Whatever it is you do, do it with intent.

Otherwise, everything else is distraction.

The fewer exposure you have to different subjects, the more you can focus on those few subjects.

Closing Words

As I get older and see my social circle shrink, I have to be intentional with who I surround myself with.

(You don’t have to approach it the way I do.)

I want to make the most of my time on the mats when I’m there.

Most of us don’t have the time or the body to train a lot of classes per week so we must be deliberate with how we approach our training.

For The Dedicated

→ For the “plateaued”: This is a reminder if you’re feeling like you haven’t made progress.

→ For blue belts: Blue belts looking to add to your arsenal? Check out this nifty submission.

→ For your motivation: Here’s a little advice from Jocko.

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