10 Little Things I Do When Life Is Out of Control
Besides kicking and screaming.
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Recently, my life has been nonstop.
Over the last 3 months, I’ve been on the road either training Jiu-Jitsu, teaching a seminar, competing in Jiu-Jitsu, seeing my girlfriend in San Diego, or moving/traveling every single weekend except for one. The next several weeks will follow the same structure — a structure of constant action.
While I’m grateful to be able to live this life, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy.
I get stressed out, burnt out, and overwhelmed. I’m only human.
Luckily, I’m pretty good at managing my stress.
Here are 10 things I do to manage that stress:
I go for a walk.
Walks are the way.
When I’m losing weight for a BJJ tournament, a nightly walk is a part of my routine.
Sometimes, the walk is long, with headphones on, and I listen to a book. Other times, it’s quiet and I listen to earth spin. Sometimes, the walk is fast. Today was bike sprint day at the gym, so the walk was slow.
Either way, a walk a day keeps my anxiety at bay.
I do Jiu-Jitsu.
This is predictable coming from me, but it’s also a bit more complicated than you might think.
I love Jiu-Jitsu, but at this point in my life, Jiu-Jitsu is how I make almost all of my income. Jiu-Jitsu is my passion, but it’s also my job. Jobs can be stressful.
Because of this, I sometimes become emotional about my training performance, my health, and my competition results.
However, no matter what, just going into a gym and rolling around for fun (or going to a new gym where no one knows me) is one of the best ways for me to relieve stress and remind myself of the joy of doing what I do.
I do sprints.
For a lot of people, Jiu-Jitsu is enough to cure anxiety. Not me though.
Like I said, BJJ is my job. I get stressed. Sometimes training Jiu-Jits doesn’t help me at all.
