Beyond the surface, though, lay some intriguing parallels that feel almost as if they were created by design. Jiu-Jitsu and Mental Health are so interchangeable you could be talking about either when saying philosophical phrases, such as: It's a lifelong journey. There's always someone better. Focus on what you can control. Tapping doesn't mean giving up. (Don't worry, I can explain that).

Over the next few weeks, we'll break some of these subjects down and delve a little deeper into the fascinating similarities between Jiu-Jitsu and mental health.

Part 1: It's a lifelong journey

Mental Health is a lifelong journey.

There are things you'll learn on certain days that may be interesting, but don't necessarily hold too much significance. That's because they are only pieces of a whole puzzle. But when you look back in a year or even ten years from now, they may hold an entirely different meaning to you. Some will even become foundational building blocks you've built your entire life around.

Like with anything, though, you must put the work in.

In the same way, we build muscles in the gym, so they are there when we need them, we can build "muscles" in our mind. Take meditation, for example. It's such a useful tool that has a whole host of benefits beyond just giving yourself time or "quieting your mind."

Yet we often hear, "Oh, I meditated while I was depressed, but I'm better now, so I've stopped doing it."

Say what?

Look, it's amazing when you find something that pulls you out of the darkness and into the light. Truly. And if that's what you needed at the time, I applaud you for picking a healthy coping mechanism. But to give up when you feel better seems a little counterproductive.

Strength and conditioning is preventive maintenance. Stretching is preventive maintenance. Not rolling with the new guy that is all biceps and no brain cells is preventive maintenance. But not paying attention to these areas means, sooner or later, you're going to have to be reactive. You'll get injured, and eventually, you'll be visiting the doctor or knocking back pain killers in a desperate bid to try and stay on the mat. It's all so, well, reactive.

Meditation is just one mental health tool that you should consider for your preventive maintenance. It's unlikely to create an impenetrable fortress on its own, but to put it in language we understand, it'll form an integral piece of your guard game. There's only one way to get better, though, and that's to keep working at it… forever.

Giving up when you feel better is the equivalent of getting fit for a wedding or working on that summer beach bod. Once you've achieved the goal, you stop going to the gym, and slowly but surely, all that good work starts to fade away. Then, one day, when that little brat on a moped swipes your new cell phone out of your hand, you've got zero chance of catching him; you should have stayed ready.

Now, as I said, mental health is more than just meditation. It's a combination of dozens (hundreds) of components that intersect every area of your life. It's the people you hang around with, the voice inside your head, the books you read, and the way you see the past. It's how you identify. It's how you interpret the world. It's how you perceive reality. And in that sense, it's pretty much everything.

Just like martial arts, it's a lifelong journey with no finish line and no way to complete it. It takes constant work and commitment. And the only way to get better at it is, you've guessed it, to do the work. Relentlessly, tirelessly, with passion, curiosity, determination, and accountability. You have to learn and relearn and effectively "drill" the same things over and over and over again. It can be boring sometimes, sure. But it's better than the alternative.

You must keep showing up and revisiting even the simplest of principles. Until, one day, you become so at ease with it that it becomes second nature; your "true north."

So, on that fateful night, when you accidentally pass through some forgotten alley in your mind, and you feel a long-dormant anxiety attacking you at your most vulnerable, you'll have the tools ready and waiting to automatically protect yourself. You stayed ready.

If you can get to that point, you'll no longer be fighting for your life; you'll be fighting with it.

Read more at bbmjiujitsu.com