Hi, everyone!
Hope everyone is havin’ a fantastic Friday. It’s a beautiful day here in the Midwest, honestly it is. I love the Spring months here.
OK, “fighting your toxic thoughts”, what do I mean by that? Well, there’s a specific example happening right now with one of my boxers. As you lot know, I am all ears when it comes to mental health and love when my fighters feel they can express their darkest, most inner secrets. Most of the time it’s one thing they’re hiding from the outside world: their mental illness(es).
It’s crazy to me how people, still to this day, are embarrassed by their mental struggles. EVERYONE struggles slightly with the mentals. Do you struggle more? Maybe, but that’s not the point in this blog or in life.
One of my boxers trained with me 1:1 multiple times, I’m talking countless hours, yet the boxer still comes up with excuses like “Ah, my mind just won’t work today.” or “I’ve just felt like crying all day.” And these are VALID things to bring up to your coach, don’t get me wrong. But the way you attack this as a boxer, as an athlete, as a competitor, as a human, is to understand that yeah, my mind might be a little bitch sometimes, but I can do something about it. Can I change everything about it? Oh hell no, not even close, but I may be able to buy myself some time if I really focus those efforts on what I can change.
Even though we’re all here with mental illnesses, we can’t let that be our shield while getting back into the world. If so, you’re never truly back. We can’t let our mental health be an excuse, although sometimes valid, to not be the best we can fucking be.
Let’s beat this shit, people. You, me, all of us, we can do it. Focus on what you can control. Screw the rest. Know you’re the best. Holy shit, I rhymed right there.
I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.
The Two Sides of Me 