The best martial artist uses worry to make them better. Worry or shinpai (心配) is the martial artist’s frenemy. Worry is our frenemy because it can be used to our advantage but in excess it can hurt us as well. In Japanese, they say bushi wo mitaradoroboutoomoe (武士を見たら泥棒と思え) or that “Warriors always assume the worst in people.” Warriors have to always err on the side of caution because they never want to be on the receiving end of a surprise attack or an act of betrayal. Therefore, up to a certain level, worrying is a tool that helps to keep us safe. However, too much worry like in a catastrophizing way can mi wo kezuru (身を削る) or “take a toll on our bodies.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The ancestor of every action is a thought.” Emerson’s quote could be the impetus that led to the idea that if we want to change our circumstances then we should merely change our thoughts. The only problem is that thoughts are hard to change. Some researchers think that the average person has up to 60,000 thoughts per day and that 80% of those thoughts are negative. Martial artists understand that things on the inside are harder and slower to change. Therefore, they attack their problems from the outside and seek to change their minds with action. From a neurological standpoint there is some evidence that supports this idea from something called muscle-brain cross talk. In muscle-brain cross talk, the theory is that when we contract our muscles, they secrete hormones and chemicals into our bloodstream that travel to our brains and act as an antidepressant. This is one reason why exercise makes us feel better. Therefore, when we feel the pangs of worry, we should use that as a signal that it is time to get up and move and this supports the assertion that “every action begins with a thought” but we don’t change our thoughts to change our actions. We change our minds by moving our bodies which in turn will improve our moods. Martial arts training deals in things that are designed to be lethal and so it is only natural that its practice can elicit fear or worry. On a certain level, martial arts training is exposure therapy or that it helps people “to overcome their fears and anxieties by breaking the pattern of fear and avoidance.” Ideally, the more we stand up and move to confront our fears, the less our fears manage us and the faster we can overcome them. At a certain point in our training, this desensitization begins to crossover into our daily lives and worry controls us less and less. There is no one who is without worry or fear. A good martial artist learns how to manage their fears or worries. However, the best martial artists use worry to motivate them and go from good to great. In Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s book Hagakure, he writes, “Whenever you meet difficult situations, dash forward bravely and joyfully.” Thus, in the martial arts and in life, whenever something causes you concern, don’t worry, just move forward and attack. The best martial artists don’t mind a little worry, they just use it to make them better.
Today’s goal: Whenever you feel yourself start to worry, get up and move.
Watch this video to better understand using fear to make you better