He Said F*$k That Belt

an aggressive title but important message

A couple years ago, as I was doing mental performance coaching for one of my athletes as he prepared for a kickboxing title fight.  We spent 8 weeks really dialing in his  mindset, visualizing his success, getting him to lock in, and feel  more confident.  my goal was to basically have him feel like from a mental standpoint, he was unbeatable.

It worked. 

Coupling our mental performance strategies with excellent technical and physical preparation, we had a stellar night and wound up capturing the title.

It was a very cool accomplishment and I was a very proud coach. I was even more proud, however, with what happened a few days later. People were congratulating  my athlete on his win and one person said something like “hey man, where's the belt? If i was you i would eat, sleep, and  shower with it on” and his response was

“F*$K that belt” 

It might have been one of the proudest moments I've had as a coach. 

I know that sounds crazy to a lot of you reading this..Why would something which on the surface sounds almost like it could be disrespectful be my proudest moment?

Its because this dude GOT what we had worked on for the last 8 weeks.

Belts, titles, medals all that stuff, they are all cool accomplishments  but its not the end result that matters.

Its the process that matters.

The belt was a very cool accomplishment, and it was one that should be celebrated, but in reality all it was, was just another step in his process as a combat athlete and his ultimate goal of being a pro MMA fighter, wallowing in the victory of winning that belt would have only done one thing?

Impede his growth as a fighter and an athlete.

And its the same thing in grappling and life.  Want to win a state or world championship? Cool. commit yourself  not to the medal or the podium but to the daily actions that will get you there and then when/If  you accomplish it, take time to celebrate but then ask how you can level up.

Want to lose 30 lbs? 

Don't get caught up on the numbers on the scale, but be disciplined in the daily actions it's going to take to drop that weight and then when you do, take time to celebrate your victory,  but then figure out what's next, how you can progress further, what's the next step in your process to get even better?

Having and accomplishing goals is important, but a goal met shouldn't be  seen as an ending, just a benchmark in your process.

Or to put it more bluntly..

“F*$k that belt”

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