“You can’t always beat everyone with your mind, but you certainly can lose to everybody with your mind.” — Bill Kennedy

It’s another awesome quote I just heard recently. I was talking to Bill, a long-time member of MINORSAN Self-Defense & Fitness (for at least 16 years), just after KickAeroBix™ class the other day. Bill was in our Martial Arts Program years ago.

We were discussing the fight at the Staples Center last weekend, between Rhonda Rousey (Venice, CA) and Cat Zingano (Colorado), in which Rousey locked up Zingano with an arm bar (Rousey being trained in Judo primarily) in the first 14 seconds of the fight, and won by submission. They weren’t quite fighting for life, but more fighting to win (almost synonymous). They certainly were using the Art of Mind.

Bill watched the fight as it was happening. He said you could hear people in the audience, close to the microphones, making statements about the fight being over already (and it had not even begun).

It was all Rousey’s look, her intention, and her commitment to win this fight. She was 100% mentally prepared. She was physically primed (that’s the easy part). The hard part is the mental state of mind. Both fighters were at 0 losses (zero).

Several people in the audience who were up close made the comments about the fight being over already. Bill could also see her face on TV. She was totally IN. Her eyes did not leave Zingano’s. Full 100% commitment.

And then Bill made his comment quoted above. The power of our thinking and intentions cannot be overemphasized. What you think about, what you imagine, what you desire, and continue to focus on, you will achieve.

Look at our professional sporting events (football, baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, etc). Watching these teams win/lose is always a lesson in the power of the mind. It becomes very clear when an entire team loses the mental confidence needed to win. Sometimes all it takes is one player doing one awesome move, and the confidence comes back.

Games are 90% mental, 10% physical skills. The same with fights. The same with life. You truly can win with your mind, and your mind can also cause you to lose. If your thinking isn’t in the right place, you can lose to everyone, including yourself.

So when your focus is going the other way, what will you achieve? Exactly that which you are thinking. It does not matter if it is positive, negative, adverse, happy, joy-filled, challenging, sad, overwhelming, whatever. That is what will manifest in your life. And then some people will easily reinforce it with thoughts such as ‘See, that always happens to me.’ Or, ‘I told you that would happen.’ Or, ‘I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it.’

And then the ‘give up’ part happens. We think it is not possible because, well, ‘see what happened in the past?’ ‘That didn’t work, so I won’t try it again.’ And why ‘try’ anyway?

‘Try’ is a non-committed attempt at action. It’s easy to ‘try’ to do anything. It is a way out…one foot out the door already, before you have even begun. Trying is a half-xxsed attempt…at anything.

Rhonda Rousey did not ‘try’ to win that fight. She did not ‘try’ to get Zingano into a submission. She did not ‘try’ the arm bar. She just did it. Her mind was already made up. Do you think Cat Zingano is going to ‘try’ to win her next fight? If she does, she will surely lose again. She knows she needs to up her mental game, each fight, every time. To say Zingano was disappointed is putting it mildly. Very mildly.

So next time you are thinking about ‘trying’ something, stop and check in. What are you really saying to yourself? How are you still programming your mind? If you truly want a change to happen, stop ‘trying,’ stop giving yourself an ‘out,’ stop doubting yourself, stop doing the same thing over and over. Stop listening to others. Stop letting others overpower you.

Start thinking in the ‘yes.’ Start to program yourself with everything you have, to be successful. Start to ‘yes yourself,’ every day. In fact, make it a goal for one week only. Say yes to yourself, your health, your well-being, your body, your life, every day, in every decision you make. Even say ‘yes’ in the face of your opponents. On a daily basis, you know who they are. No matter what they say to you, say ‘yes’ to what will make your life better. Be in 100%. Fight for your right to live exactly how you want to live. Do it for a week. How will your week be different?

It could be the start of something BIG…huge.

Clara E Minor is the Owner and Master Instructor/Trainer of MINORSAN Self-Defense & Fitness. She teaches and continues to develop her Martial Arts Program, is continually developing her Self-Defense Program, offers classes and a bootcamp for fitness & health-inspired people, and loves to teach people to kick butt in their lives, and go BIG.