I am currently reading a book about the famous boxing trainer Teddy Atlas. He trained Michael Moorer who beat Evander Holyfield in 1994 to win the heavyweight championship. He also trained Mike Tyson when he first began boxing at age 12. Atlas would take kids that were heading down the wrong path and give them discipline and something to live for other than a life of crime. He changed lives. (Note that Tyson wasn't his failure. He stopped training him before he ever became pro.)
The most common theme he brings up with every fighter he trained is fear. He mentions that discipline is the most important thing for any fighter and that overcoming their fear is the key to being great. It's an interesting thought isn't it? Mike Tyson was nearly 200 pounds as a young teenager, a giant compared to others his age. You wouldn't expect him to be afraid of anything or anyone. But he was afraid. He was insecure.
Atlas never said the fear was a bad thing. His goal with every fighter was to get them to channel that fear into a strength rather than a weakness. He knew every fighter had it. There wasn't a way around the fear. Actually, it was a good thing to be a bit afraid. It was even a better thing when that fear became a strength rather than a hesitation.
Because of this fear, Atlas told stories about fighters looking for reasons to lose or to not fight. Some would want to take a day off from training. Others would lose discipline and resort to smoking, drinking, or drugs. These things gave them an excuse. If they lost the fight they could always blame it on the drinking. It was Atlas's job to not allow them to create these excuses.
It's quite the paradox. Our fear of failure or disappointment is keeping us from being successful, from accomplishing the thing we set out to do in the first place, the thing we wanted so badly and sacrificed for.
Don't you think we're all a bit like that? This isn't just a boxing thing. We all have fears. Fear of taking that interview, or making the one phone call about the job, approaching the boss about that one concern, pitching that one idea, or asking that girl out. There's a fear of being excellent at something, being the very best, reaching our full potential. There's a price to pay to do that. You have to put yourself on the line. It's hard. And when we overcome that fear and become great (or you get the job, your idea is selected, or she says yes!) we incur responsibility. The true fear is not that we may fail but that we may succeed and have a tremendous responsibility on our shoulders.
The most common theme he brings up with every fighter he trained is fear. He mentions that discipline is the most important thing for any fighter and that overcoming their fear is the key to being great. It's an interesting thought isn't it? Mike Tyson was nearly 200 pounds as a young teenager, a giant compared to others his age. You wouldn't expect him to be afraid of anything or anyone. But he was afraid. He was insecure.
Atlas never said the fear was a bad thing. His goal with every fighter was to get them to channel that fear into a strength rather than a weakness. He knew every fighter had it. There wasn't a way around the fear. Actually, it was a good thing to be a bit afraid. It was even a better thing when that fear became a strength rather than a hesitation.
Because of this fear, Atlas told stories about fighters looking for reasons to lose or to not fight. Some would want to take a day off from training. Others would lose discipline and resort to smoking, drinking, or drugs. These things gave them an excuse. If they lost the fight they could always blame it on the drinking. It was Atlas's job to not allow them to create these excuses.
It's quite the paradox. Our fear of failure or disappointment is keeping us from being successful, from accomplishing the thing we set out to do in the first place, the thing we wanted so badly and sacrificed for.
Don't you think we're all a bit like that? This isn't just a boxing thing. We all have fears. Fear of taking that interview, or making the one phone call about the job, approaching the boss about that one concern, pitching that one idea, or asking that girl out. There's a fear of being excellent at something, being the very best, reaching our full potential. There's a price to pay to do that. You have to put yourself on the line. It's hard. And when we overcome that fear and become great (or you get the job, your idea is selected, or she says yes!) we incur responsibility. The true fear is not that we may fail but that we may succeed and have a tremendous responsibility on our shoulders.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
--Marianne Williamson
My college basketball coach observed that one of our players who lost his starting position earlier in the year preferred not to start. Coming off the bench was easier. He didn't have to perform every day when he wasn't starting. That burden was on someone else. He was relieved of that responsibility. Coach also says that "hard is good."
2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
So how do we overcome that fear? My stubborn mind wants to think we can just grit our teeth, man up and do it, but maybe we need a Teddy Atlas to deter us from taking that opportunity to create an excuse. And maybe recognizing that it is an inherent quality of humans to make these excuses is a start to overcoming them.
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