When a fighter steps into the ring, they experience incredible anxiety, much like the average person would. Even if they manage to disengage from it, their heart rate is elevated, adrenaline is flowing, and their brain is in a state of fight or flight.
In this state, all of their muscle memory, cardio training, breathing techniques, and mental chatter come into play. Whatever they trained for in the two months before the fight becomes their reflex in the ring.
The two months of training camp determine who will win, unless some stroke of fantastic luck gives them a miracle. If we train with thoughts of failure and losing in the back of our minds, those thoughts will be present in the ring on fight night, pushing on our minds. If we think the wrong things during hard fights, lose focus, and can’t find our breath, courage, determination, accountability, drive, and tenacity, we are more likely to lose. We have to have faith in our training, our bodies, and the fundamental aspects of our character in painful moments to remind ourselves that we are in it to win it.
It’s especially important to use the metaphor of the fighter and their mindset to keep ourselves focused through our own rough times. We face difficult times such as conflicts with a partner, economic instability, boredom, apathy, exhaustion, and hunger. Whatever a fighter tells themselves during those eight weeks becomes what they can access when they step into the ring. This principle applies not only to fighters but also to athletes on the field, mothers about to give birth, and yoga practitioners.
We teach ourselves to breathe and maintain composure. When we hit a wall, whatever we told ourselves the last time we faced a challenge will be what we find in our fight or flight state. If we breathe, there’s a chance we can bring ourselves back to a state of enjoyment and relaxation. This is where we shine, combining muscle memory with talent, flowing with the universe, and channeling our abilities. There is no flow in anxiety, only reaction.