This week’s “Monday Mindset” lines up with a very important holiday in the Thai tradition.

Yes, it is St. Patrick’s Day–and if you are planning on celebrating, I hope you have (or, had) a safe and awesome time!  But more importantly, it is Nai Khanom Tom Day, also known as “Trainer’s Day,” for those of us in the Muay Thai community.

In short, Nai Khanom Tom was a legendary Thai warrior who was captured by the Burmese in the 1700’s.  As a prisoner of war, he was forced to fight for the Burmese King’s entertainment.

The legend goes that after defeating ten men using his special Muay Thai techniques, Nai Khanom Tom was granted freedom by the Burmese King, who remarked that every part of the Thai fighters were “blessed with venom.”

Nai Khanom Tom is widely regarded as the “father of Muay Thai” and we celebrate his legacy on the 17th of each March.

This holiday is also known as “Boxer’s Day,” a day in which we celebrate the art and also pay respect to the teachers who have passed on the warrior spirit and traditions of the sport.

Today I remembered and honored those people in my life who have made me what I am today–both in and out of the ring.  

As an up-and-coming athlete, I often didn’t understand or didn’t appreciate some of the roughness with which I was handled.  Muay Thai is an unforgiving sport, and this “tough love” approach to training prepared me for some of the challenges I’d face inside the ring and cage.

Looking back I am grateful for some of my worst moments.  Grateful that there was someone to hold me accountable, to guide me in the right direction, and to accept me whether I succeeded or failed.

So today, take a moment to reflect upon those people in your life who have helped guide you along in your journey.  And also honestly reflect upon those polarizing figures in your life, whose “bedside manner” may not have been to your liking, but by virtue of their presence may have helped you achieve growth in one way or another.

We can just as easily learn from the positive figures in our life, as well as the negative.  Teachers appear everywhere if we are willing to learn their lessons.