Life Doesn't Fight In Its Weight Class - The Second Stripe

A few months ago, after receiving my first white belt stripe in Jiu-Jitsu, I took time to reflect on what I had learned. In short, I began to learn how to become humble, resilient, and not play the victim when hardships in life come. You can read more about that here.

Yesterday marked the second milestone in my journey when I received my second stripe. My big takeaway this time around:

Life doesn’t fight in its weight class!

In combat sports men and women compete in a certain weight classes. This is done in hopes to create a fair fight.

Life, however, doesn’t fight fair.

In life, loved ones die. Jobs are lost. Injuries, sickness, and disease happen. Possessions break. Those we love leave us.

Chaos is hiding behind every corner, waiting to sucker punch you in the face.

Life is many times bigger, stronger, and more skilled than what we are prepared for.

Jiu-Jitsu can be the same way. There is always someone bigger, stronger, and more skilled than you are - and you are forced to train with them. It is tempting to concede defeat - even if only in your mind - from the start. It is tempting to tap early, or go easier, because you justify in your mind, “I’m going to lose anyway”.

Screw that!

Even if I’m going to lose, I want to lose honorably. I want exert myself in such a way that makes me proud and prepares me for the next bigger guy I am forced to fight. I want to mentally prepare myself for when life is the one coming at me.

I want to do hard things so I am prepared when life gets hard.

Life will always be bigger and stronger than me, but I want to do what I can to close the distance between myself and life. I want to do battle with life honorably. Life may win, but I want Life to think before picking a fight with me again.

How about you? Will you seek out and embrace the hard things in your life? The things that will humble you, yet make you stronger? The things that will prepare you for when life gets hard?

Because if there is one thing I know:

Life doesn’t fight in its weight class!