Professor Ben had shared this video with me the other day, its about how a Seal Team 6 member motivated himself and his team to face a mission they were relatively positive would be fatal. In the video, he describes key steps that he takes every single day to ensure he is oriented in the right direction -- that he is staying on mission.

At the time I watched the video, I knew it was profound and I knew it had a remarkable impact on our day-to-day lives. It took me a while to put into words what I felt after first watching it.

I’ve been helping a number of people in Whole Health Chiropractic's first year of business. From the weekend warrior to the elite warrior and from the infrequent amateur athlete to the professional athlete, and I noticed a commonality. We are all in the same fight one way or another. We all have personal missions and it can get complicated attempting to accomplish them. Our days are often marked with various hurdles that stymie our progress and deflate our ambition. All too often, it can be all too easy to abandon the process altogether and resign to keep things the same, to keep things simple, to keep things safe.

Even the process of writing this blog was a battle; it was easy to try and focus my energy on other tasks or diversions. Various excuses and delays slowed my progress, but like in any fight or in the preparation for a fight, as described in the video, the secret to winning is the subtle and resilient resolution to simply not quit.

Last night I watched UFC 217, and I watched three champions fall to opponents whose behavior likely mirrored the Seal featured in the video. One in particular, George St. Pierre, was perhaps the most inspiring. Fighting against a 4 year absence, and in a weight class almost 15 pounds higher than where he spent his career, he took on the current (as of last night) champion, Michael Bisping. What was perhaps the most inspiring was not his victory, but the manner in which he achieved it.
Despite surprising Bisping with his clout and relevance at a different weight class, it appeared going into the 2nd round that GSP might be losing some of his edge. An interesting fact is that despite having no collegiate wrestling pedigree as a part of George’s career, he has been able to cement himself in a position as the current UFC takedown leader. So it came as no surprise that when striking seemed an ineffective means of subduing Bisping, St. Pierre decided to take the match to his ground game. What was surprising is that after ending up in Bisping’s guard, GSP found himself in a bit of a woodcutter. The champ’s elbows lacerated George’s face in critical areas, and after a painful minute or two he abandoned Bisping’s guard altogether.

At this point, there are a lot of similarities in not only in the UFC fight to the takedown of Bin Laden, but also in the day to day fights we experience. Our struggles can feel overwhelming. A young Seal in the video was described as wondering why take on a mission that likely ends in death, George St. Pierre could wonder if at 36 he is past his prime and when his go-to fight strategy ends in a literal blood bath, it may be hard to determine if it’s really worth the pain. We experience all the time, if we choose to see it. It’s easy to quit the new workout plan, or abandon the new diet. You could have resolved to read more, go back to school, meditate or pray more often, or start up that business you have been talking about, but then it just gets too difficult and maybe a little scary. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it.

The video went on to explain that by not quitting and continuing on to the next drill, the next meal, the next exercise -- they were able to take a seemingly insurmountable task and break it into manageable chunks. In last night’s fight, GSP entered the 3rd round with a similar mentality, taking shots were he could get them. For the Navy Seals, their resolve despite major issues like a helicopter crash mid-mission resulted in capturing and executing Osama Bin Laden, which for many Americans represented some semblance of justice. For George St. Pierre, it resulted in a left hook that caught Michael Bisping off guard and staggered Bisping enough for GSP to go to his ground game, get the takedown, and transition into a belt-clutching rear naked choke. It's poetic that a move synonymous with Mixed Martial Arts (the rear naked choke) would be the move to recapture a title for George St. Pierre, a man who embodies the sport so well. In both instances he never quitting, charging forward, and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

In the end, I think the greatest lesson is not simply in the fact that our fight bears similarities to these elite men. Rather, accomplishing our goals is a day-to-day event, not just something that shows up on the day of the mission or a big event. Those fights were won in a single day -- even during short moments leading up to their ultimate victories. They were a process forged through time and tenacity. Their fight and ours are won through attrition. If we resolve to not quit in the same manner -- to keep fighting, then there is no reason why we can’t accomplish a measure of the same success or even greater success than the aforementioned brilliant and tenacious warriors.

The question remains if you want it, whatever "it" may be. And if you do… keep fighting.