Hi, how’s it going? I hope this evening finds you well. Things are good here and I’ve spent the majority of the week busy with work, life and everything else in-between. I still need to get running back on track but next week onwards I intend to get that resolved. Procrastination often packs up and goes home in the face of persistence.

Although my fitness is good at present it can never be good enough. Today I ran around  4.5 to 5k which was awesome and I want to make sure I start to push it towards 6 next week onwards. It looks like I may be fighting at the end of March provided I get matched so keeping training consistent and my fitness up is pretty much essential.

Just recently, I’ve found the best way to resolve mental hurdles when it comes to training and other areas of my life is to change the way I  look at a situation. Being the kind of guy I am I often internalize and sometimes over think what’s ahead of me. That sort of explains why I am so big about staying present or in the now. 

Staying in the here and now has helped me deal with everything from pre-fight nerves to self-doubt, limiting beliefs and anything else my mind, not my subconscious can throw at me. The anything else is usually fear, but that’s a much longer conversation for a different blog.

Just recently I’ve started reframing situations I find myself in relating to goals ahead of me. I’ve found it’s a great way to offload some mental clutter and also when it comes to fighting, in particular, can help keep you stay clear, present and focused. Ever had Mr or Mrs negative take varying shapes, situations and characters and try to put through you hell?.. yeah. Me too.

I’ve found it’s important to be able to detach myself from a problem area or more appropriately a situation and see it for what it is (Just a situation) but like with everything else in training it’s a work in progress, These days, I’m pleased to say I find myself succeeding more often than not. When I do, I can observe rather than engage with my emotions and my goal seems clearer than it did before.

If I want to work towards something I really want, then I put myself in the position of having already achieved that goal. I ask myself what it would feel like when I’ve achieved what it is what I want the most and I step into it. Sometimes I draw on past experience to remember what it feels like to win. I ask myself how it benefits not just me but those around me and I focus on having got there. I focus on not just getting through the fight but on winning it and I see myself win. Maybe if I focus on kicking like Pakorn then one day I’ll get there too.

By changing the way I think about a situation I’ve found that I seem to head faster towards what I really want. As I’ve said it also lets me offload the negatives and mental clutter that tries to get in the way of my focus. When it comes to physical training I’ve found that it’s starting to pay off and although there’s always room for improvement I seem to switch on from the moment I walk in the gym.

It’s similar to what happens just before I fight. I’ve started working on setting a trigger “ok I’m here now.” to help me get my head in the game. If distracted by the rest of the day I break that state by focusing on the present situation.

There’s a lot to be said for “flow state” mental training and Muay Thai and I think it’s something that always going to be different for each and every one of us. Just like with all things martial in my life it’s something I intend to develop and continue to apply to the physical aspects of what I do too. In the meantime, have a good week train hard and just like the time before… I’ll see you on that road.