Two words that took on new meaning during my time as student pilot…commitment and focus. I remember when my flight instructor told me to pull the plane off the taxiway, but not to go back to the ramp. Just stop it here he said, and he got out. He looked at me and asked me how I felt. Fine enough I suppose. Good, the plane is yours, give me three touch and go landings, then meet me back inside. The meaning of this short conversation hit me in slow motion, and when I realized that he was sending me up for my first solo, I about nearly sh*t myself. I don’t remember the calls to the tower or the taxi back to Runway 23. What I do remember thinking the moment those wheels left the ground on takeoff was I am committed. I have made a commitment to getting this plane back on the ground without anyone else’s help or guidance. Gravity is a funny thing in that I was coming back down regardless. It was just a matter of how hard. And so it began. Singular focus. Nothing else mattered. Nothing. You f**k this one up and you die. Plane crashes are not typically a good time. With no other thoughts or distractions, my training took over, and I completed my landings without remark. (Remind me later at some point to tell you about the time things did not go so smoothly.)
Now let us visit the race track. I have been riding motorcycles since most kids could ride a bike. My dad bought us moped that did like 50 mph when we were like 8 and 10 years old. Funny story about that moped, the town was digging up the road, and well, we thought it would be cool to play Evel Knievel and try to jump the huge hole. Needless to say I didn’t make it. It’s a wonder I’m still alive. Anyway, fast forward to roughly 10 years ago, I decided that I wanted to go to road racing school up in Loudon, NH. So I did. And it was awesome. I still go, and it is still awesome. The art and science of going really, really fast and not necessarily in a straight line takes a LOT of instruction and practice. This is where I learned the idea that practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect. Now imagine coming into very sharp turn at 100+ mph. Are you thinking about the dog sh*t that you need to pick up before you mow the grass? No. You are thinking about the sequence of events that gets you safety through the turn; otherwise, you end up looking like a Wendy’s double with bacon and extra ketchup. Singular focus. Nothing else matters. Nothing. Again, you f**k this one up and you’re quickly going to get very personal with the pavement. No bueno.
Singular focus is the reason you feel so good when you’re flying or racing. You have nothing else to occupy your mind. It is the same thing with Jiu Jitsu. Yesterday was a particularly sh*tty day for me outside of the gym, but when I stepped onto the mats, I left all that nonsense at the door. For 90 minutes, nothing else occupied my mind. Sure the whole crash and die element is removed from the equation with Jiu Jitsu, but the mental escape is very much the same. Now I’m not telling you what to do, but if you’re on the mat and your mind is elsewhere, maybe you shouldn’t be on the mat. I only say that because you’re essentially cheating yourself out of the best part of game. When class is over and you exit the building, sure all the troubles of the day will still persist, but I promise you this, you’ll have a different perspective. And it likely will be a better one.
Here are some cool videos of the grittiest men on the planet doing what some consider the impossible. Screaming through the streets of the Isle of Man at 180+ mph or pulling 10 Gs in an aerobatic plane doing 275 mph. Singular focus or you die. Literally. So, not to go too much longer here, but think about that pilot. 10 Gs. Do you know what that means? These guys are typically very fit. They have to be. They are feeling 10x their body weight on their chest while trying to maneuver a plane moving at 275 mph. If you weigh 200 lbs, that like one-ton weight on your chest. So f**king awesome. Anyway, until next time.
https://youtu.be/p2RJOvFld4M
Enjoy.