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I’m Terrified That I Peaked at 22
The cognitive distortion of external validation.
Before 22, I considered myself to be particularly unremarkable.
My athletic career — jiu-jitsu and wrestling — had been pretty average, in school I was mediocre, and I had pretty much quit everything else that I did whether it was relationships, business ventures, or artistic endeavors. The grade I would have given my life was a C.
In December of 2019, I had to change the way that I looked at myself because I did something I’d never done before. I did something that was pretty remarkable.
It’s not that I suddenly realized that I was amazing, but I had to face the undeniable reality that I wasn’t average in at least one area. I couldn’t hide in the crowd. As an introvert, that was pretty terrifying.
What happened was that I won a world championship in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I feel like I write about this achievement a lot because, in reality, it’s the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever done. Life feels like it’s been all downhill from there.
But has it really?
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there…
