Philosophical Fight Log: Day 3- Contingencies
So, it appears that my original opponent has pulled out of the fight (already) and we are now scrambling to find a new opponent in time for the 27th. I was never given an explanation as to the specific reason that my opponent pulled out, but it is what it is. Onward we go.
I suppose these types of contingencies are just part-and-parcel of this sport in particular. Unlike seasonal team sports like football or basketball, individual fight sports, like MMA, Boxing, etc., seem to hover in that mid-ground space between sporting event and rock concert, athletic event and spectacle; complete with opening and headlining acts, last minute cancellations or substitutions, and a healthy dose of theatre. It’s not like the coach can just tell me to sit this particular game out with plans of putting me back in the line-up next week. I can only begin to imagine what an absolute mind-screw such incidents must be for folks actually trying to do this for a full-time living and with a dream of ‘making it big’ one day. It must be even more deflating as well as anxiety producing when big amounts of money are on the line.
In addition to the conditioning, skills-training, nutrition, weight-cutting, recovery, sickness, injuries, etc., there has got to be this huge other mental, emotional, and expectations management piece to this game, both in the short and long-term, that is probably far less appreciated and far less talked about.
Such contingencies in life immediately bring me back to the writings of the Stoics, who saw the gap between one’s expectations and reality as being the primary source of man’s unhappiness, and who would intentionally imagine themselves as being in situations that were far worse than their current predicament in order to habituate their will and temperament to not be knocked off kilter by the predictable unpredictability of life. To quote the Stoic philosopher, Seneca,
"Expectations are the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, we lose today."
I guess this minor hiccup is one of those times. That said, I should have more clarity on Monday as to what the plan is going forward. Until then, I will continue to train, to thoroughly enjoy my weekend, and to be grateful that I’m not in Baghdad running missions anymore or in some other desperate part of the world right now where people face actual problems.