“Given everything you’ve been through in your martial arts journey, all of your starts and stops and your neck injury, all the work you’ve done to get you here today, if you pass this test, and there’s no guarantee that you will, but if you pass this test, is this the beginning of your martial arts journey? Or the end?”

This question was asked by one of my judges on my black belt test.

The correct answer was, “The beginning.” However, with everything I’ve gone through, that answer didn’t feel entirely accurate, this was the middle of my journey.

But what he really wanted to know was, “Are you going to quit training as so many people do right after they earn their black belts?”

In that regard, “The beginning” was an accurate answer and so that’s what I said.

Indeed, three years later I’m still training, I have earned my second degree black belt and I’ve recently added Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to my martial art repertoire. It took my neck more than two years to heal enough for me to do BJJ, but with a lot of hard work, determination, and a bit of luck it got there.

In order to earn my black belt, the lesson I needed to learn was accepting my body. Growing up with unrecognized ADHD I learned to ignore my feelings and put everyone else first. I had to unlearn the kind of dissociation that allowed me to push myself past injury and keep going. In order to take my test, I had to feel the excruciating pain and hear what it was telling me. Earning my black belt meant I had to learn to stop pushing myself past the point of breaking—I had already broken—and finally make peace with my body.

What lesson do you need to learn in order to achieve your goal?

A client recently told me the lesson he needed to learn was similar to mine, "Don't fight a battle on two fronts. Don't fight for your goal and fight yourself at the same time."

What challenge keeps showing up for you in different forms? What might it be trying to teach you?

What's the theme of your Hero's Journey?

Please share your thoughts and experiences, I’d love to hear them!

Post 6 of 6. If you're just now joining my journey, you may read from the beginning here.