Setback. Step Back.

From Path2 Coaching

I hate setbacks.  Especially physical ones.  I should elaborate: I hate setbacks but I appreciate the opportunities they create when we step back to see them.

A few weeks ago, I ruptured my calf in kickboxing.  It was deflating and upsetting because I just started a new position as an MMA instructor at the school and, mere minutes before I injured myself, I agreed to be a sparring partner for a fighter over the coming weeks to help get him ready for an upcoming fight.  Time to step back and find opportunities I didn’t see before.

Five years ago, I ruptured my bicep training Brazilian jiu jitsu and it sidelined me for months.  I was devastated because I felt I was in a good developmental groove.  Instead of pouting and avoiding the dojo, I used the opportunity to improve my jiu jitsu game through study.  Without my ego in the way (which happens during training rounds on the mat), I could see things differently.  I consumed tons of information on concepts and techniques, and attended every class to watch.  I became aware of things that were camouflaged during my sparring rounds because I had the space and perspective to see what was going on without the cloud of my inner monologue critiquing me.  By watching and taking notes, I learned lessons third-hand, and by revisiting them intently with visualization, I began to program muscle memory before actually attempting it.  By the time I recovered and got back on the mats, my training partners consistently reported that my game improved dramatically during my hiatus. 

Now, with my leg elevated and resting on an ice pack, I’ve stepped back and started scanning for opportunities to continue my training but through a different path.  For starters, I can still teach, and with my athleticism compromised, I’m forced to be more conscious and deliberate with my movements, which in turn makes me a better instructor because it magnifies my awareness of details.  The details embedded in my techniques are more noticeable and I can highlight them for students more easily, since they are pronounced because I need to move slower and less fluid. 

Further, I made a commitment to be a sparring partner, so I’m incentivized to focus on my rehabilitation and ensure that my skills are crisp when I’m ready to get back in the ring.  It will also make me a more intelligent sparring partner, because I will not be willing to engage in a slugfest; instead, I will be more strategic and cunning, which will better prepare my partner.

Instead of taking my frustration and balling it up into energy pellets to throw into my emotional furnace and rage with no outlet, I’m choosing to transform the frustration into curiosity to learn new techniques and details.  Instead of taking this injury as a sign that I am too old or out-of-shape to train MMA anymore, I’m choosing to demonstrate that anyone can train MMA regardless of physical ability, because training is so much more than simply full contact on the mats.

In both capacities, as an instructor and training partner, how I demonstrate my resilience and discipline to recovery can be an example to others of how to respond to setbacks.   

We encounter setback everywhere in life.  Careers take detours.  Personal plans get derailed.  Relationships hit potholes.  How we respond to these setbacks can define the quality of things after we get through the setback.  When we step back from feeling frustrated or upset by the setback, and when we focus on finding opportunities, we can continue our journey despite the setback. 

By redirecting our energy and focus, we are able to identify another path to address the same goal or desire and transform a setback into another form of progress.