Sprawl- I agree with some of what you say, but actually I’ve been listening to various friends who advise me to rest more, take it easy, etc etc.

I think that’s incorrect, now that I look back. Pushing pushing pushing is what got me ahead. I have to do more, not less. Well…my body always breaks first, before my mind.

It’s something to consider. <3 I’m lucky to know people like you.

So my friend Jim decides upon the mandolin and bluegrass music (!) to be his weapon of choice. A far cry from our days growing up listening to Frank Zappa and Pink Floyd, for sure! Bluegrass is a VERY challenging style of music in its’ own right (kind of like acoustic speed metal and even though I have been playing guitar for 30 yrs now, within the first 8 months or so I could barely keep up with him!

He is lucky to have a job that affords him time alone to practice after his duties are complete, and so practice he does, sometimes several hours every day. Effective, for sure, but at a price.

Now, a few years down the line, he has some nagging issues with tendonitis and joint pain that actually are serving to slow down his progress in spite of the fact that the point of the practice is to grow. In the face of this chronic pain, he pushes on, and talks badly of himself if he takes so much as a day off! I mention this because I see similarities in your approach to MMA.

Clearly your dedication is a key to growing in the sport (especially at an elite level), and your strength of character is admirable, more than the average joe by far. However, there comes a point of diminishing returns, past which you do more harm than good. Much like Jim, I think that you would start to rise from this developmental plateau by actually doing LESS!

I wish you could see the kids’ cartoon Kung Fu Panda over there. The Sifu has long ago mastered his techniques, but the biggest struggle he faces (and the most important one at that) is finding inner peace, and accepting that he cannot control nor force circumstances to meet his desires. It’s great what you learn having an 11 year old in the house!

A quiet mind is partly the product of a quiet body, so don’t rush back to weight (or any other) training tomorrow, or even this month! To put it into perspective, look at the fight pic you posted, especially at your arm as you punch. That is pure, chiseled muscle that I see.

What I don’t see, and what I hear you saying now, is that what you lack is that same inner peace that Sifu pursues. This requires a different kind of dedication, and it requires a time commitment as well. Take the time you need to recover, recuperate and even rejuvenate! Mind your diet, but not too closely.

Your skills won’t simply vanish if you take a couple months at 1/3 the pace you have been operating at, nor will your physical strength disappear as quickly as you might think! In fact, if you took 6 months off completely to refocus your chi and devote to Roxy the PERSON instead of Roxy the FIGHTER, you would probably come back healthier, happier and stronger than ever!

When circumstances kept me from jamming with my friend Jim for many months this summer, nothing felt better, more natural and more straight from the soul than the first time we got together again. My fingers were a bit rusty and my pace a bit slower, but it felt so good to be back that the music just flowed from me without a bit of intervention on my mind’s part. I found myself playing with my eyes closed as it flowed through me.

My time off was forced, but also fortuitous, as it gave me back my spark for many things, from fumbling my way through bluegrass standards to living a cleaner, more ordered life. I had no choice but to take the time to put my physical self back in order, and in so doing I gained a lot of clarity and peace of mind that was impossible in my hurried, hectic workaday life.

Commit to and enjoy some time off instead of rushing to get across the city for an extra workout every time, starting now. Enjoy your work, and actually treat MMA like a hobby for a while while your body realigns with your spirit. It’s OK for your body to feel good, not a thing to feel guilty about. It is also OK to step away from training for a while to gain a clearer perspective of your way forward.

You can recapture that spark, that exuberance and enthusiasm, but you cannot force it to be so. A wise old animated character taught me that, and it is a lesson I hope you will take to heart as you chart your course forward from here.