Focus on what you have control over
I am always amazed at where words of wisdom, or little nuggets of advice come from. Last week, after class, one of my team mates was trying to get more people to agree to come to the no-gi sparring class. I haven’t been able to make it as much as I would like, but told him I would try. He then went on to explain that he was going to as many sparring classes as he could, because it was increasing his cardio and stamina. Then he dropped this nugget on me, “There will always be people better than me, but if I am making mistakes because I am tired, then I am beating myself.” I thought about that statement a lot.
That statement is applicable to almost anything you do. You are your toughest competition, you are the only person you ever need to beat. Be prepared for everything, do everything you can to get better, you are in control of how good that you can be. There will always be someone better, you don’t have control over how good they are, but be the best that you can be.