The biggest thing that has helped me stay in great shape, never overweight, constantly motivated, and just plain healthy Is considering myself an Athlete. Solely because I have been involved in Martial Arts since age 12.
Like Crossfit or not, one of the things I think is insanely positive about Crossfit is they call all their Crossfitters Athletes.
They point out if you participate in Crossfit you are an athlete. Whether you get paid for it or not doesn’t matter. If you start labeling yourself an athlete you WILL adjust your lifestyle.
Think about that one mindset shift. Just start considering yourself an athlete.
80-90% of JiuJitsu Practitioners probably consider themselves part-time or Hobbyists. And as such, they may treat themselves with that same mediocre title. When it comes to diet and body maintenance they may not consider it as important if they don’t feel like they are an Athlete.
Let’s reframe and come up with a better title and call every JiuJitsu Practitioner an Athlete.
That is the most positive thing about JiuJitsu to me. It’s not the self-defense, it’s not competing, it’s the transforming of one’s life to be more healthy. Changing your eating habits for JiuJitsu. Getting more sleep for JiuJitsu. Checking your ego for JiuJitsu.
This has absolutely insanely positive effects on your life.
Stop thinking you are a hobbyist. Don’t think you just train some of the time and don’t take it as seriously as others. It’s not always the accumulated time you put into it, it’s tryout self-worth that you get out of it. You’re worthy of being called an Athlete.
Start thinking today you are a JiuJitsu athlete. Regardless of how often you train.
With that thought how could you adjust your lifestyle to be a better JiuJitsu Athlete?
Go to bed earlier. Less binge-watching Netflix. Healthier choices of what you eat and when you eat. How you talk about yourself and think about yourself.
Be sincere when people ask you about JiuJitsu, don’t lie. Don’t downplay what you do. You train JiuJitsu. You participate in an Athletic Sport. You are a JiuJitsu Athlete. Don’t downplay that it’s only twice a week. Definitely don’t shrug and just say it’s something you kinda do. Be proud.
Lift weights for JiuJitsu, do calisthenics for JiuJitsu. Go for a run in order to be a better JiuJitsu athlete. Stick that big developed chest out when people ask you about that pajama party you go to and tell them it’s part of your life.
Try thinking for a week that you are a JiuJitsu Athlete and see if you start making some better choices for yourself.
Keep Moving Forward
