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I'm a change practitioner...and a fight fan.Now that some of my favourite fighters are approaching the end of their careers, it's interesting to see how they adapt.
What can a UFC fighter teach us about change?
Change is constant. Being willing to adapt to change is crucial to maintaining control of your career, no matter what your age or experience level. And to adapt, you have to be open to learning new things. Case in point is Glover Teixeira. 20 years into his MMA career he won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at an age when 90% of pro fighters have already retired.
In the normal world, 42 isn't old, but when it comes to top-level MMA fighting, being 42 is roughly equivalent to living in assisted living and eating the early bird special for dinner.
Late in his career, Teixeira looked at how he was training and realized:
"It didn't work out right. It didn't get me a title shot, didn't get me a championship, so I had to humble myself and start learning new things and start improving what I do best. After that my boxing got better, my jiu jitsu got better because of the drilling and the push."
No matter if you're just starting out, mid-career, or thinking about retirement, don't be afraid to upskill, to make adjustments, to be a beginner at something if that's more likely to get you where you want to be. Doing things the way you've always done them is not how you progress. Change is uncomfortable. Getting humbled is uncomfortable. The older you are, the less comfortable it is. But it is absolutely possible and it's a pretty cool story.