Immortal Wisdom Weekly #49
Learning To Be Happy Without A Belt, Everyone Has Their Own Journey, Progress And Evolve Your Identity
Learning To Be Happy Without A Belt
I think some guys get attached to the belt and it becomes a part of their identity.
I’ve had my goals of chasing gold in the past, but I’ve made a pivot in my career that I’m a lot happier with.
I’ll get into it later on, but it’ll make more sense if you understand the culture of Penn State wrestling.
So a mental coach that I work with works closely with Cael Sanderson, the head coach of Penn State’s wrestling program. And if you didn’t know, they are by far the most dominant college wrestling program in history.
Cael himself is easily among the top 3 or 4 wrestlers in the history of American wrestling.
But with that being said, Cael has a great philosophy on how he works with his athletes.
He builds great human beings who become great wrestlers because they are great human beings.
This is a core part of the culture at Penn State.
Cael doesn’t focus on building great wrestlers only. So a lot of these young men come into the program with their identity attached to being a wrestler. That’s all they know.
Cael transforms them into great young men which in turn has a strong impact on their performance. Wrestling is just their tool.
They’re very religious there, and I’m not. But their philosophy works the same way. One of their sayings is along the lines of "We're wrestling so we can have a platform to glorify God and impact others.”
That’s a lot different than “We’re wrestling to win or dominate the competition.” The vast majority of other teams are just focused on beating Penn State. They’re only focused on winning.
It can be a huge problem for these young guys. What if they get injured? They won’t have something to fall back on.
And that’s how I’ve pivoted personally.
I focus on being a great person. A great father. A great friend.
It goes back to my mantra too. Nowhere in that mantra does it say I’m going to be a winner or champion.
It emphasizes why I do what I do and all the impact and inspiration I’ll have on others.
Basing your identity around what you do inside a meaningless Octagon, fighting others for money – it’s very shallow.
I just don’t believe it’s going to be mentally healthy for you in the long run.
Israel Adesanya said he learned to be happy without the belt. I’m glad he’s in that space. It tells me he’s mentally healthy and strong.
In my opinion, there’s also another side to this. You may not perform as well in this mental space. A lot of guys didn’t come up this way.
So there is a possibility that Izzy doesn’t perform as well as before because he’s too comfortable.
But like I said a million times before, in the bigger picture this is all meaningless. We’re all gonna die, the sun’s gonna burn out, and the Earth will cease to exist.
So let’s do the best we can while we’re here.
Winning belts is something for yourself, it’s not gonna impact the world and build our civilization.
Everyone Has Their Own Journey
One thing I’ve learned about this sport is that everyone has their own way of doing things.
Some people like to hop from gym to gym, I personally like going to the same place and being around the same people.
Sometimes I take a “vacation” and visit other gyms to see different styles. Or other people are in town and they come in to train.
It does teach you a lot about what you could work on in your own gym though.
There is no right or wrong way. I’ve seen guys succeed both ways.
But with that being said, the highest level and longest reigning champions have stuck with one gym or a core group of guys. GSP, Anderson Silva, DC, Stipe, Aljo, etc.
Figuring out what works best for you is part of the journey. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, motivations, and what helps you perform at your peak.
That’s the game.
Progress And Evolve Your Identity
As you progress in life and accomplish things you set out for yourself, it’s natural to have bigger and better goals.
But to accomplish those, you need to progress and evolve your identity.
What gets you from 0-90, doesn’t get you from 90-100.
It’s like the belt system in jiu-jitsu. To become a blue belt is different from becoming a purple, brown, or black belt.
I like to describe evolving and progressing your identity as aiming for smaller circles.
The first time you’re doing archery, you’re just aiming to hit the target. But as you get better, you aim for the smaller circles within the circle.
That goes for life. As you get bigger or your goals get bigger, you have to make smaller circles.
That might include getting rid of people who aren’t conducive to your goals. Getting rid of people who are holding you back.
As a fighter, your training might be different. A lot of time, training becomes a lot more monotonous.
I always say, “Boring work creates exciting results.”
Because at this stage, it’s about refining the tiny details that can be the difference between a win or a loss.
I’ve definitely gone through this. We don’t always make the right decisions. And evolving your identity is certainly not an easy thing to do.
I came from a small town with a small town mentality. Stay who you are and stay true to yourself.
You come around these people and they’re always like, “Oh you’re too good for me now.”
I try not to be that guy. But the fact is, you gotta let those people go. They’re just holding you back and you are not gonna progress.
That’s just how it is.
Slay Your Inner Demon Weekly
The real game is on the inside.
Every day I wake up and pick a tougher fight. A fight with that bitch ass inner demon inside of me. Every day my purpose is to starve that motherfucker of any little drop.
He never dies though! He’s always there, ready to strike at any moment and take over my mind and take me where I don’t need to go.
So in this weekly series, I’m gonna document challenging shit I’m doing to test myself. I hope this encourages you to do the same and unlock your highest potential!
I’m helping a lot of my guys get ready for their fights.
So I’m doing hour-long rounds, Sometimes it’s each guy doing 30 min rounds and I’m staying in the whole time. Or I’m holding pads or doing light sparring.
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That ends it for this week’s Immortal Wisdom Weekly.
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Matt “The Immortal” Brown
Great words! My instructor that has long past. He told me something very similar, just to be myself and believe it or not I understood what he meant. My master instructor told me a belt don't make a man, a man make a belt. Honor yourself for who you are, because you are the one who truly knows who you are. You can be anything you want to be. If you don't like who you are in the world you live in, change your world. Thank you Matt for the great inspiration you give us all. I know I read your messages alot, and take them to heart.
Great words! My instructor that has long past. He told me something very similar, just to be myself and believe it or not I understood what he meant. My master instructor told me a belt don't make a man, a man make a belt. Honor yourself for who you are, because you are the one who truly knows who you are. You can be anything you want to be. If you don't like who you are in the world you live in, change your world. Thank you Matt for the great inspiration you give us all. I know I read your messages alot, and take them to heart.