A member of the academy posted this question on her Instagram story the other day and it got me thinking how everyone has so many different ways of defining success.
For me, success is my leaving a legacy for my children and grandchildren and even great grandchildren. What does legacy mean? Webster’s dictionary defines legacy as, “anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.” Yes, that means I want to leave them money, a good amount of money so they can freely chase their dreams and pursue their goals with a head start if you will. Besides money, my hope is that their dad will be remembered as one of the greatest mixed martial arts coaches in his time.
That people will remember High Altitude Martial Arts as a place that made a small difference in their lives. If I can achieve that, I will have lived a successful life.
Success can be big or small. Long term or short term. Don’t compare your success with someone else’s. This goes for victories on and off the mat. Their journey is not your journey.
Some of our students’ success is making it to the big show, the UFC. For other students who have no desire to compete, their success is to learn the sport and keep advancing. Most want their black belt BJJ or black shirt in Striking. Myself on the other hand, I just want to be able to roll live and hope that Cora will start BJJ soon.
For someone battling depression, getting out of bed might be their success. For someone fighting cancer, not throwing up from chemo might be their success. For those suffering from infertility, having a baby is their success. Having a roof over their head or being able to feed their family could also be someone’s success.
Don’t compare yourself to others. You may be a millionaire and someone making minimum wage can be just as happy and successful…in different ways. Money doesn’t always buy happiness. The only thing that matters is how happy YOU are. Same goes for stripes, belts and shirts (in the School of Striking). Don’t beat yourself up because your training partner advances quicker than you. It’s not a race, it’s not a contest. Martial arts is definitely a marathon not a sprint. You should be trying to better yourself and your training partners/teammates everyday.
Everynight before I got to bed, I think about one thing I could have done better. While some think that’s a negative way to end my day, it motivates me to do better the next day, so I can be successful.
Success means reaching a goal or accomplishing a task that you set for yourself. You measure your own success. Success is always doing your best…win, lose or draw. No one else can define what success means to you. You define it, you reach it, you celebrate it.
