Finding an Outlet for Our Personal Struggles

Struggle is normal… but it still sucks, doesn’t it. And working through our personal struggles can be incredibly difficult amidst societal pressure to “Toughen up” and “Suck it up.”

But sucking it up doesn’t make the pain go away, does it. No. Sucking it up often equates to burying it down deep and putting on a composed face and pretending “Everything is fine!”

But we’re not fine, are we. No. We’re anything BUT fine.

We need an outlet.

Martial arts are incredible for this. We can take all of that pain and suffering and work through it in the ring. We can take all of our struggles and use them to fuel our practice, thereby transforming our pain into something positive. Martial arts are invaluable as an outlet for our struggles.

But we need more.

We need to talk about this stuff. We need to normalize saying it out loud, however that looks.

Whatever we’re comfortable with—this can be therapy, or talking to a friend, or chatting with a stranger online, or writing in a journal, or recording it as a video or podcast, or going out into the middle of the forest and yelling it at the top of our lungs.

However that looks, we need to let it out. We need a physical outlet—as with martial arts, to help dissipate that stress—and we need to verbalize it some way and somehow. Because when we do this—when we take that scary step and say it out loud—we take away the power of that pain to control us. All of that pressure we put on ourselves to act like we’re fine—we take all of that pressure off of ourselves when we let that pain out. When we do that very simple but very difficult thing of saying it out loud.

We need to get that pain out however we can. And the more we can do this, the more we normalize it—not only for ourselves but also for others. We ALL need this. And the more of us that do this—scary as it is, and it can indeed be scary—the safer it will feel for EVERYONE to let it out.

Episode 11

Show Notes for Episode 11

So many people are struggling right now, and we need to support one another more than ever. Join me in this episode as I open up about my personal struggles, and discuss the importance of connecting with one another and finding a healthy outlet for our pain. No one should feel alone. We are all stronger together.

Thank you for joining me on my martial arts journey, and in the exploration of all the ways we can perform better in life and martial arts.

You can also find me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thekarateshrimp

Check out my online courses here: https://thekarateshrimp.podia.com/

If you’re interested in starting your own podcast, I highly recommend Buzzsprout. The platform is incredibly easy to use. If you sign up for a paid plan through my link you’ll get a $20 credit, and you’ll help support my show! Here’s that sign-up link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2039494

Thank you for listening! Together let’s build a community of strong, healthy, awesome martial artists.

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So… how are YOU doing? Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need support.

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