Motivation is a liar (here’s what actually works)

Hey you,

Can I tell you a secret?

I used to be the king of quitting things halfway.
Started strong. Fired up. Then… fizzled out. 🙃

But then Jiu Jitsu came into my life.

And something shifted.

I didn’t magically become more motivated. Nah. I just learned that discipline > motivation.

Because real talk?

Most days, you’re not gonna feel like training.

You’ll be tired. Sore. Busy. Netflix will be calling your name.

But what if you show up anyway?

That’s where the growth happens.

I made a deal with myself: no matter what, I’d stick to my training days. Monday. Wednesday. Friday. Period.

And the crazy part? That little habit started bleeding into the rest of my life.

• I started waking up earlier.

• Eating better.

• Planning my days more intentionally.

All because I didn’t wanna show up to class feeling like garbage. 😂

Jiu Jitsu gave me structure—and that structure gave me peace.

• It kept me grounded when life got chaotic.

• It helped me stay focused when distractions were everywhere.

• It made me trust myself—because I knew I could stick to hard things.

And on the mat? You have to focus.

You can’t think about your phone, your inbox, or that awkward thing you said yesterday.

You’ve got grips to fight for. Balance to hold. Breathing to control.

That kind of laser focus trained my brain to stay here—not all over the place.

And the more I trained it? The better I showed up at work, with family, with friends.

Here’s the lesson:

• You don’t need to be perfect.

• You just need to be consistent.

• And the more you show up, the stronger your discipline gets.

That’s real freedom—being in control of your actions, not just your feelings.

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap this series up with the big one: confidence—how Jiu Jitsu helped me build it one roll at a time.

Can’t wait to share that one with you.

Talk soon,
—Ben at jiujitsu-news.com

P.S. Ever trained on a day you really didn’t feel like it… and ended up having one of your best sessions? Hit reply—I love those kinds of stories.