Why do we fear obsession? We worry that becoming obsessed with something will take over our lives, make us crazy, make us stand out, make us different, and earn us disapproval from others.

But obsession is a requirement of greatness.

To be successful in martial arts, you really do need to dedicate all your thoughts to that goal. You need to be a so-called workaholic. You need to train really freaking hard and make a lot of sacrifices along the way. You need an aggressive sort of energy to achieve mastery.

Excellence has its price. But so does settling for mediocrity. With both you’re making a trade-off. But sadly, many of us choose the discomfort of comfort. Many of us avoid the price of excellence in order to be just like everyone else.

Obsession is seen as unhealthy, and life balance the better choice. But with balance we lose that bliss of total immersion in something we love. And we lose the bliss of pushing ourselves to achieve greater things than we thought possible.

I talk about all of this in my sixth podcast episode. You can listen to it here, as well as wherever you prefer to listen to your favourite podcasts. You can find links to all the major directories on this page here.

Episode 6

Show Notes for Episode 6

We admire those who achieve greatness in martial arts, but we also envy them. They seem to be made of better stuff than us. But they’re not. They just didn’t give up. They committed to their path, and they made it an obsession. Many of us fear obsession, worrying that it will make us stand out and earn disapproval from others. But this is a shame, because that fixation is exactly what we need in order to achieve excellence and mastery. Join me in a discussion of the positive side of obsession, and its role in achieving greater things than we ever thought possible in life and martial arts.

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.

If you prefer the video version of this episode, you can watch it here:

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What’s your take on obsession? Feel free to share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

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You’re reading Obsession in Martial Arts by Sabrina Bliem, originally posted on The Karate Shrimp. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow The Karate Shrimp on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

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