The Wall

You encounter them all the time, a mental or physical barrier that prevents you from making progress. For me, getting past the intimidation factor to start training was a wall. Just setting foot on the mat was a mental hurtle for me. It is 8 months down the line now, and I can't really remember what my mindset was, but I do recall being a little concerned that I was going to show up and get laughed at. It wasn't that way at all of course, but it was a legit concern in my mind before I understood the mentality of the school.
I felt a similar sensation this evening. It was a wall. I hadn't trained in a week due to travel, and here I was going into a foreign environment- a different school with instructors and students that were unknown to me. The wall presented itself as a deal I was making with myself on the way to the school- I'll just have a look. I'll see what it looks like and if I don't like what I see, I'll just keep going, head back home and watch The Ultimate Fighter. I was making excuses in my mind.

I countered the excuses with commitments

The first commitment was just pulling into a parking spot in front of the School, and putting the car in park. The second was grabbing my gear bag and heading inside. After you are standing in the School, bag in hand you are going to train, and that is exactly what I did. It wasn't my best night on the mat, but I went through with it and I feel better for it.  In the end the deals were just distractions. I drove to the School, I went in, and I trained. I learned something too- not just on the mat. I learned that these walls are getting easier to overcome as I go.