Monday Mindset: Embrace the Chaos
Every year we attend the WKAs, it’s a total mess. And every year we say we’re never coming back.
Yet, here we are.
(And yes, about 1000 times we said we’re never doing this tournament again but when it was all over we were like “Ok, that wasn’t so bad.. see you all next year 
).
There’s something special about chaotic, high pressure situations that really brings out your true colors. Can you handle the heat? Or will you fold?
Most first-timers in this tournament struggle with the erratic timing and the intense “hurry up and wait” environment that can really throw you for a loop from one extreme of emotion to another.
And the tournament veterans, who all perform well, always display the same basic attitude: it is what it is.
A big part of becoming a successful fighter, it seems, is learning how to warm up properly. This is a physical, emotional, and mental transformation that takes you into that side of yourself that can walk bravely into fire and come out the other side victorious.
Novice fighters tend to believe that this transformation is static in some ways — that it will always be the same. And so they often are thrown off when the environment around them creates instability. How can we perform a stable routine in an unstable environment?
The experienced fighters understand that the transformation is more about adaptability. There is a flexibility there, a willingness to embrace the chaos of the moment and have confidence that you can, and will, see it through regardless of what curve balls are thrown your way. That you can improvise a little bit when you have to solve a problem on the fly, and that your training and experience give you all the tools you need for the challenges ahead.
Obviously, we are talking about fighting. But, obviously too, we are also talking about life.
One of the greatest skills you can take from your martial arts training is a healthy and effective approach to problem solving. What we do on the mats is a metaphor for what we do in life.
If you’ve been reading my weekly newsletters I think you’ve picked that up by now 
Although we may not always get the results we want on the mat, or in the ring, the character we develop there will undoubtedly lead us to victory in the more important challenges we face in our personal and professional lives.