It’s more fulfilling to struggle with our friends than to celebrate with them. Both connect us, but there’s something special about tackling an obstacle together. As blissful as the birthday parties and beach days of our past can be, the greater depth is found in the reflection of overcoming our struggles, especially alongside others. We see this as we reminisce on super long practices in the rain and mud, nurses in COVID wards, a shitty childhood with siblings, and soldiers at war.
In our Jiujitsu world, we like to add a touch of struggle to each of our belt ceremonies in the form of exhausting shark bait drills, preferably alongside a teammate going through the same. We know how this further strengthens our bonds with each other, giving us an opportunity to dig down and reveal character, to our team and to ourselves. It’s a beautiful thing to watch the connection between recent rank upgrades, the hugs or proud eye contact from across the academy. We’ll forget most of our lifelong rolls, but we seldom forget who we leveled up with. Shared struggle unites us and stamps our memory.
