If we have anything in common as humans it's the instinct to survive. When you go in the ring you are going against that instinct. You're running into conflict instead of away from That's when the complexity really begins.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the human instinct to survive and the courageous choice to confront challenges instead of avoiding them.
Teddy Atlas highlights a fundamental aspect of human nature: the survival instinct. He observes that when one chooses to face conflicts, especially in metaphorical or literal 'rings', it signifies a departure from our natural tendency to avoid danger. This engagement with conflict brings forth complexity, as it forces us to confront fears, challenges, and adversities head-on, ultimately leading to personal growth and resilience.
In practice
In a motivational speech about overcoming challenges, this quote can inspire resilience.
I often say to the athletes, that I know about their 'neon skills' - the ones that light up and make them easily recognizable. The power of a fighter, the finesse, the agility, the legs, the quickness. But what about being steady, or being dependable? These are more important traits.
The worst thing is for a fighter to be in the ring with no hope - where he's missing and getting caught. You need to have hope.
Every day in camp is a difficult day because you worry whether or not you're going to get it right. You worry - or I do, at least - whether or not you're going to live up to the trust as the trainer that the fighter gave you when he asked you to train him.
You're not in a fight until there's pressure. Resistance. Overcoming something. Otherwise, it's just an exhibition.
I was 14 when I placed a bet on Muhammad Ali to beat Joe Frazier in their first fight. There was something magical about Ali, like the first time I heard Ray Charles sing 'America The Beautiful' or Louie Armstrong blow the trumpet - feeling as if they could influence the cosmos, make anything right when they performed.
It does not matter who is stronger or more aggressive or even throws harder punches. All that matters is what lands.
To his enemies the householder must be a hero. Them he must resist. That is the duty of the householder. He must not sit down in a corner and weep, and talk nonsense about non-resistance. If he does not show himself a hero to his enemies he has not done his duty.
I am going to give you such a weapon that the police and the army will not be able to stand against it. It is the weapon of the Prophet, but you are not aware of it. That weapon is patience and righteousness. No power on earth can stand against it.
There's an antidote to our fears- trust. If we trust God more,we can fear less.
Freedom is not a gift of heaven, you have to fight for it every day
To be courageous requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place, and circumstance. It is an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to us all.
The fears that assault us are mostly simple anxieties about social skills, about intimacy, about likeableness, or about performance. We need not give emotional food or charge to these fears or become attached to them. We don’t even have to shame ourselves for having these fears. Simply ask your fears, “What are you trying to teach me?” Some say that FEAR is merely an acronym for “False Evidence Appearing Real.” From Everything Belongs, p. 143
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