Yesterday, a martial arts student of mine gave a research presentation at his local high school.
He had been researching and preparing this presentation for around eight months and was focused on how martial arts affects self-esteem and personal growth.
And one of his key findings was the role that community and the “martial arts family environment” played. His original hypothesis was focused on testing the effects of martial arts training on the individual, but the sweeping majority of people he interviewed mentioned the power, importance, and impact of the other martial artists.
It’s just another reminder that it’s not necessarily what you do… but who you’re able to do it with.
As another example, when I was in school, whoever my favorite teacher was and whichever class had my friends (and cutest girls) in it—was my favorite class. It wasn’t the subject matter that made the big difference per se… it was the people.
And the same is true for many things in life. Get your tribe right… and the rest usually takes care of itself.