Blood & Ink: Saturday

psychological strength / body-mind connection / warrior initiations

I’m the strongest I’ve ever been right now…

I had a period in my early twenties of going to the gym regularly, but haven’t reclaimed that level of strength in almost a decade.

I’ve far surpassed that now.

I’m not a Hulk by any stretch of the imagination, but the difference is visible and felt.

Sparked by my WARRRIOR100 initiation last year, I’ve stoked the flame of regular strength and combat training into an inferno. I’ve broken my weightlifting records, submitted people in jiu-jitsu, and watched my body develop.

The psychological implications of developing physical strength are under-discussed in modern discourse.

Maybe it’s just me (though I suspect I’m not unique in this), but I spent a lot of my life being the smaller, skinnier, weaker one. That inner knowing pervades every interaction. 

A small voice—nearly inaudible—whispers, “Don’t rock the boat, you won’t be able to do anything if they get upset.”

Developing physical strength and skill in combat changes this.

When you know that you can take a hit and give one back, psychological space for boldness opens.

Things have become significantly easier:

• Being radically honest with myself

• Sharing dissenting opinions in conversation

• Establishing and enforcing boundaries

• Sitting in uncomfortable conversations

The mind and body are intimately connected. No separation exists.

Strong body, strong mind, strong will,
Eric Brown.