20 years ago, I competed in an unsanctioned, underground mixed martial arts fight.
I was in my 30s and had only been training for about six months. I wanted to experience the challenge and test myself. Probably not my brightest moment, but I wanted to do it all the same.
My opponent didn’t show up and I was thrown into very deep waters against a much more experienced opponent that was available. The results illustrated that experience gap as I lost in under 2 minutes.
The life take away from that experience was that I could get beaten down to a pulp yet still had the courage to stand back up, shake my opponent’s hand and carry on with my life.
Like many other defeats in life, that moment didn’t define or break me. It showed me that I had the courage to do something that many others will never experience and I survived it.
I carry this lesson in life. It makes up a part of my personality and who I am. It helps me to continue moving forward, even at times where I am struggling so hard and just want to give up. But you can’t, you have to get back up, shake it off and keep going forward. What other choice do you have?
Just a life long New Yorker sharing the journey through my lens. Please take note of a post’s date. The views I express here are subject to change and evolving as I grow and learn.
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