Showing Up in a Slump is Hard, But Worth It.

When motivation leaves, it can be hard to get back on the mats.

Perhaps something happened in your personal life, or maybe something happened on the mats that discouraged you. Whatever it may be, the motivation was lost and now you’re sitting on the couch, missing out on the sport you love.

I’ve been there too: not wanting to wake up and go to the 6 a.m. class or feeling demoralized because I wasn’t hitting any submissions or controlling any rolls.

The thing is: if you only do something when you’re motivated, you’re not actually going to get better.

Any time you get the motivation to do something, there are spurts of progress, but these aren’t sustainable unless you have the discipline to keep going even when you don’t want to.

Think about it like this: if you only trained when you wanted to train, how often would you be at the gym?

For some people, it’s all the time. For others, maybe once a week.

Now think about this: When have you left the gym after training wishing that you did not go?

The majority of people will say they always feel better after training.

“I wasn’t going to come tonight, but I’m so glad I did,” is a sentiment heard often.

See, when discipline takes over, and you go because you have made a commitment to yourself to do so, you are putting aside excuses and bettering yourself.

It’s simple, really: if you want to get good at Jiu Jitsu, you need to train Jiu Jitsu, whether you’re motivated or not.

“Motivation is not a reliable tool,” Professor Markus said. “It’s good to feel motivated, but it’s not always available.”

As Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion says: an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object at rest tends to stay at rest.

This is why it’s important to build discipline rather than rely on motivation: the discipline develops the momentum you need to keep going, rather than “staying at rest,” as Newton would say.

“The tendency is to do more of what we are already doing, so if we are slacking, we tend to slack more. If we’re training, we tend to train more,” Professor Markus said.

When you are disciplined to show up, the hard things get easier.

As humans in the 21st century, we are hardwired for ease and comfort. We naturally tend to gravitate toward what is easier and more comfortable — there’s a reason why it’s called “the comfort zone” after all.

However, when we strengthen our spirits through discipline and mortify the desires of ease and comfort, we are able to push our boundaries, which, in turn, develops our character.

Just as gold does not get refined and purified unless it goes through immense heat, so we are unable to grow and change unless we are put under “heat” by doing hard things.

Showing up, disciplining yourself to come even when you don’t want to, pushing through hard things — all of this will be for your benefit.

A year from now, you’ll look back on yourself and say one of two things:

I wonder where I would have been if I had kept going.

Or…

Look how far I’ve come!

Ultimately, it’s your choice which path you’re going to take. However, from my own experience, I see a greater return on my investment when I am disciplined and show up. I have gone farther and learned more because I subdued my desires for ease and comfort.

Jiu Jitsu is hard: that’s the reality.

But, Jiu Jitsu is worth it.