Life has a way of hitting you harder than anyone else. You are put to the test, broken, and pushed to your limits. I used to think being resilient meant standing strong and never giving up.
But as Roberto Cyborg Abreu once said,
“Nothing will beat you more than life will, and I think that Jiu-Jitsu is the better way of translating how to go through those struggles and loving what you’re doing.”
When I first started Jiu-Jitsu, it felt like I was always fighting against the wind. Someone swept, submitted, and crushed me under their weight. They looked too strong and skilled to be real.
It felt like every class showed me what I did not know, how much I needed to work on, and how far I still had to go. In a word, it was humbling.
But those struggles made me want to come back. I learned something new every time I was turned in. I always found a way to defend myself when I was choked.
I began to see the beauty in the grind little by little. It was not like the losses were failures anymore; they felt like steps forward.
Life outside of the gym was a lot like this journey. I began to see challenges at work the same way I saw rolling with a tougher opponent when projects fell apart or deadlines were coming up.
It was not about avoiding trouble; it was about figuring out how to get through it. Every mistake taught me something, just like on the mats.
It was not enough to just get through the hard times; you had to learn to love the process as well.
Sometimes winning is not what makes Jiu-Jitsu fun; what makes it fun is how much you improve along the way. You learn to enjoy the process as much as the result, to delight in small wins, and to relish the journey.
That way of thinking changed how I dealt with problems in my life. I stopped trying to avoid problems and instead leaned into them, believing that each one was making me stronger. And through it all, I felt like I had a purpose and was happy.
Cyborg’s words hit home because they remind us that both in life and in Jiu-Jitsu, we will have to fight. But the struggle itself does not make us who we are; how we deal with it does.
Jiu-Jitsu teaches you more than just how to fight. It teaches you how to love the fight, find joy in winning, and get stronger with each challenge.
Thanks for reading!
◣ Read Next◥
Jiu-Jitsu Teaches Me to Be Strong and Humble!
