Engaging in martial arts goes beyond acquiring skills and confidence as you take part in self-defense. It also has tremendous benefits to your well-being – promoting a healthy lifestyle and serving as a noble cure to your emotional struggles.
Whenever we’re having a bad day, we often look for a way to uplift our mood. And comfort foods, like chocolates, are the go-to-stress reliever of many, which undeniably provide pleasure and help reduce stress.
But there is a healthier, more practical way of coping with our emotional dilemmas – in this case, martial arts. It is a great approach to keep your thoughts intact and overcome pessimistic thinking. It will even make you feel-good since it releases chemicals like endorphins in the brain that help increase pleasant feelings and attract positive vibes.
Belief in yourself
One of the primary objectives of martial arts is to enable self-discipline and self-confidence. Martial arts training teaches individuals the value of dedication, perseverance, and having an internal drive to be able to constantly grow and learn.
And the key component towards succeeding with martial arts is practicing goal-setting – giving you something to aim for as a motivation to make things happen. As the progress becomes visible, breaking goals down into smaller, tangible parts, taking one step at a time, builds a positive outlook, and increases confidence level, are ways to achieve these visible goals.
Have you ever thought about what difference would it make if you have utter, solid faith in your ability to achieve the goals you put your mind to?
Most people start with low self-esteem and their minds are filled with fear and negativity. Martial arts allows you to slowly build the foundation of your confidence without compromising your potential to grow due to self-limiting doubts.
Hence, confidence is achieved from a belief that comes from within. As the Law of Attraction says, the things you ought to think is what’s most likely to happen in your life. By believing in yourself, you will find the courage to put your thoughts into words, and those words will eventually turn into actions.
Living to your potential (and beyond!)
Your life is what you make it, thus, the decisions you make define who you are and primarily decide how you’ll live your life. From the thoughts that fuel our minds, to words and actions we use to express ourselves, we are who we are as a result of our choices. Choose to become the best possible version of yourself, and never stop working to be better.
Living up to your fullest potential will not happen overnight neither will it happen by accident. It will slowly happen over some time and only after you decide to take action to do so. Similar to martial arts, it takes time and effort to master the process and live to its routine. But, if you have the willingness, courage, and drive, you can make your goals attainable in no time.
“Believe in your infinite potential. Your only limitations are those you set upon yourself.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Be brave and be you!
Bravery doesn’t necessarily mean you are fearless – it means that you are afraid, but you choose to move forward anyway. As Nelson Mandela said: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Being brave doesn’t have to involve huge moves or big decisions. It can simply be the way that we build our thoughts, face life’s challenges, take responsibility for our doings, and seek for ways to do better.
The feeling of fear is often associated with being weak, which is the reason why most people question their strengths and capabilities. But, you need to know that it is okay to be true with your emotions as you will be able to deal with it better when you’re honest about them.
Hence, the courage to be frank with yourself is one outstanding virtue to cultivate as it helps foster your action mindset to boost your potential.
Many of life’s greatest achievements require going out of your comfort zone – taking risks and learning to sail with uncertainties. Having the courage to explore new things or hobbies with the hope of enabling beneficial changes is one form of bravery.
One relevant example is a change of routine – having the drive to leave your old unhealthy habits and engage in more wholesome activities such as martial arts.
Handling Other People’s Pessimism
Pessimism is the state of mind that often goes one step further – expecting the worst in every situation. A pessimistic approach in life brings nothing but unhappiness even way before something bad happens. It is a form of conditioning associated with the belief that bad things outweigh the good things, and develop negative thinking.
Have you ever wondered how you are going to handle a pessimistic person in your life, in case you encounter one?
Pessimists can instantly ruin your mood with just a snap of their negative aura. You have to keep reminding yourself that you are in control of your mind and emotions to not let their negativity get in your head. Hence, it is better if you’ll turn the tables around, make them adapt your optimism instead of you adapting their pessimism.
Expand your understanding and focus your attention on the positive traits of a person and seek to balance out the negatives. As much as possible, maintain an optimistic attitude around them and do not let them feel that their negativity has overpowered you. In that case, you will have the chance to give them positive reinforcement and encourage them to consider looking at the positive side of situations.
Going through difficulty with a positive mindset
In martial arts, there are a number of challenging training requiring self-discipline and perseverance to achieve your goal – physical and mental. It serves as a way towards improving your physical traits as well as cultivating optimistic thinking and self-confidence which are great attributes you can apply in real-life situations.
As an individual, we inevitably face challenges, struggles, and temporary setbacks in life. It’s rather easier to be positive when everything is smooth sailing, but real positive thinking is revealed when you can maintain it in times of difficulty.
It is indeed a challenge for our minds to be calm and optimistic when there is a lot going on in our lives. We often feel overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated, or even depressed because there is a feeling that we are in no control of the situation.
But, with a brighter outlook, you will realize that those problems have a purpose beyond pain and struggle. And difficult situations only exist if we allow our minds to create it.