“Rule number one is, don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it’s all small stuff.” ~Robert Eliot
The above quotation has been paraphrased many times; there’s even a book series by a similar name dedicated to helping people live with less worry. Anxiety and troubles are a fact of life for everyone…it’s our perspective that dictates just how much we allow our worries to control us. Training in martial arts, whether it be Muay Thai kickboxing, Kali, MMA, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or Krav Maga, can affect this perspective for better or for worse, so it’s vital to recognize how to make your training work for you in a positive way.
Keeping worries and outside problems away from our training time is important for many reasons, not the least of which is how they affect our training partner and his or her learning process; if we allow our personal outside frustration to cause us to be overly aggressive or even just mentally absent from training it’s not only unfair to our partner but unacceptable. Another major reason to “leave our worries in our shoes” as the Japanese say, is the affect that training has on those worries. If you can step onto the mat with an open mind and actually leave those worries at the door, you will likely find that when you step back out the door your problems feel more manageable…you have gained a fresh perspective. However, if you allow worries to affect your attitude and performance on the mat, you will usually find that your perception of the magnitude of your problems is worse, and your anxiety will have been amplified.
Martial arts training can have a powerful effect on your attitude. Respect it and do your best to come and train with a clear head…As Mark Twain said, “Drag your thoughts away from your troubles…by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.” Find a way that works for you, and you will be happily surprised by the positive influence that training can have on your approach to your troubles if you permit it…it will be easier to remember that the issues that had felt so overwhelming truly are “small stuff” when measured against what is really most important in life.
