When a Lack of Self-Discipline Smells…Bad
One of the biggest components as I continue my transformation into a Noble Alpha, the topic of self-discipline makes its way into the conversation again and again. I'd like to share a quick story to reinforce the point…
As I've mentioned in previous posts, I train in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu on a weekly basis; my goal is to train a minimum of three times a week. I have found that, for me, this frequency allows me to progress at a rate that I'm still able to consume the techniques taken from each session while allowing me to roll after each class and recover for the next class/session. This frequency also allows me to keep the focus of continued progress in jiu-jitsu within other aspects of my life - diet, exercise outside of jiu-jitsu, quality sleep, etc.
One of the aspects of my health that I'm continually experimenting with is diet. Typically, on training days, I have the most success during training by starting the day with a protein shake and a couple of espresso shots over ice or an iced coffee -black with a sprinkle or two of cinnamon.
For those that might be interested, I'll put links to the protein shakes and coffee/espresso I drink every morning. For the sake of complete disclosure, I have no relationship with either of these companies - I genuinely like and use their products.
Today was an exception - I had to be up early to take one of our pets to our vet, and on the way home I pulled through a local fast food establishment for a breakfast sandwich. The meal? Delicious. The after effects for me on this particular day? Not so much.
I'm typically a mid-day class attendee, and today was no different. During class, the topic covered was defending the double-under guard pass. In this case, one of the defenses of the guard pass led to a potential arm bar or shoulder lock. I volunteered to try the technique with my usual training partner first, and during the transition passed gas ( thankfully not directly in my partner's face ). To add insult to injury, it was loud enough that our instructor made a joke about 'wild barking frogs' being loose in the gym. As you can imagine, not my proudest moment…
As I was driving home from class, instead of beating myself up about ( like I might have done in the past ), I decided to take a logical look at the situation and review what I could have done to prevent the embarrassment then as well as in the future. The answer seems pretty obvious - which in this case it was :
Don’t eat a heavy meal before class.
I knew better. When I first started training jiu-jitsu, I made some less than optimal choices with pre-training meals. Today just served as a reminder of those lessons learned. I also had to remind myself that it wasn't the end of the world that I made a 'not so great' choice - I made an error, noted it ( again ) and the goal going forward is to not make that same choice again.
The greater point here is that as I continue on this path to become a better version of myself, I must continue to consider the greater effects of my actions - what I put in my body, where I invest my money, the time I spend on my relationships with member of my tribe - all of these are important aspects of my life that I want to improve upon.
Small, measurable changes can have a huge impact as you begin ( or continue on ) your journey of self-improvement. 1% daily improvement, noble alpha - 1% daily improvement.
NOTE :
For those who might be interested, here are the products I use daily :
Black Rifle Coffee Silencer Smooth - I order whole bean and grind it myself with a conical burr grinder I bought on Amazon for my espresso machine at home. Personally, I prefer a lighter roast…
Atkins Plus Milk Chocolate Protein Shakes - say what you want about the Atkins Diet, but for a pre-mixed shake with 30+ grams of protein these taste really good.
One other note - I've mentioned in a few posts about training in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Everything else being equal, regular training in a martial art has been one of the biggest improvements I've added to my life over the years. I've included a few links to some online resources that will familiarize those who are not familiar with Gracie Jiu-Jitsu with "the gentle art" :
Chewjitsu : one of the YouTube resources I use when reinforcing a technique learned in class
Knight Jiu-Jitsu : Eli Knight is a Royce Gracie Black Belt, and an excellent instructor - another YouTube resource I use on a regular basis