When was the last time you doubted yourself and thought that you don’t have what it takes to overcome the challenge in front of you? Maybe yesterday, or even this morning?
Let’s talk about why counting yourself out makes no sense.
Last Saturday night, one of the greatest moments ever in the sport of MMA took place. Israel Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira to reclaim the UFC middleweight title that he lost to him last year.
What makes this one of the greatest moments ever in the sport that keeps on delivering jaw-dropping and inspiring moments is the fact that what happened that night is a perfect comeback story that can teach you a valuable lesson regardless of whether you care about MMA.
That night, Israel Adesanya entered the octagon to fight a man who had already beat him 3 times. Adesanya and Pereira fought twice in kickboxing. In the first fight, Pereira won by unanimous decision. In the second fight, Pereira viciously knocked out Adesanya. After this loss, Adesanya stopped competing in kickboxing and focused on MMA.
Just a couple of years later, he became one of the most dominant champions in recent years in the UFC, the most elite MMA organization. It seemed like Adesanya was on top of the world. That is, until Pereira followed him into MMA to hunt him down once again.
Last November, two old rivals faced off once again, this time in MMA. Pereira defeated Adesanya once again by knocking him out.
The world of MMA was in awe of Pereira. He had far less experience in MMA than Adesanya and only a couple of fights at the highest level, while Adesanya had been beating the very best MMA fighters in the world for years. But even with a clear advantage in experience, Adesanya wasn't able to defeat him.
There is this expression that is often used in combat sports: "to have someone’s number." It means that, no matter how good of a fighter someone is, there is this person who will always beat them.
It seemed that if anyone ever had someone’s number, it was Pereira having Adesanya’s number.
And last Saturday, they stepped into the octagon to fight once again.
Ever since the previous fight happened, up until last weekend, the internet was full of memes mocking Adesanya and the fact that Pereira was apparently his boogeyman.
Other fighters and MMA analysts didn’t question Adesanya’s quality as a fighter. But all of them wondered if he would be able to fight confidently and to the best of his ability against a man who already beat him 3 times, including twice via knockout. Anyone who follows combat sports knows that the psychological side is as important, if not more important, than the physical side.
Adesanya was going into the fight risking being defeated for the fourth time by the same man. A defeat that, if it happened, would undoubtedly leave a big mark on his career, no matter how dominant and successful he was. It seemed like all the chips were stacked against Adesanya.
However, on the night when the world believed in him less than ever, he proved his greatness. He knocked out Pereira in the second round to reclaim his champion title and go down in history as someone who defeated the odds and conquered his demon.
Why should you care about this?
Because Israel Adesanya gave us a valuable lesson that night. The lesson that we shouldn’t judge based solely on results.
Looking at the results of their past 3 fights means not looking at the full picture.
Their first kickboxing fight, which Pereira won by unanimous decision, was a highly competitive fight, and many argued that the victory could’ve been given to Adesanya. In their second fight, Adesanya had Pereira badly hurt and on the verge of a knockout before Pereira recovered and knocked out Adesanya.
In their third overall and first MMA fight, Adesanya was winning the fight. He was on his way to winning via decision when Pereira knocked him out with just a couple of minutes left on the clock.
Looking solely at results, Pereira was Adesanya’s nightmare. He was someone for whom it seemed Adesanya simply had no answer. By looking solely at results, Adesanya had no chance against Pereira in their fourth fight, and he was going into a certain defeat.
But looking at the full picture, Adesanya has proven in all those fights that he has what it takes to beat Pereira. He had it all along. And even though the whole world looked at the results, Adesanya and his team looked at the full picture.
He entered the toughest, scariest, and most important fight of his life as confident as ever. Because he knew that his qualities and abilities were greater than the results showed.
So I ask you to do the same in your life. You should stop looking just at the results of your previous efforts. If you have accumulated some losses and failures in your past, as all of us have, you have to stop judging yourself based on them. Start looking at the full picture. There were definitely qualities that you showed in those situations, even though they ended in an unfavorable outcome. The whole story most definitely shows that you are stronger and more capable than the results would have you and others believe that you are.
Recognize the mistakes you've made and learn from them. But also acknowledge where you showed your strengths and give yourself the credit you deserve.
Don’t count yourself out based on previous results. Look at the whole picture and go into the next battle of your life confident in your ability to win. You have what it takes.
Thank you for reading.
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This beautiful and meaningful write up makes me emotional, in a good way! Thank you for this perspective!! 🥹
Thank you❤️🙏