and so is talent and genetics — but those for another time.
I love psychology. I’ve been perpetually immersed in psychology; psychoanalysis is something that’s part of me — something that’s inseparable from my personality. And I’ve always been a curious person — if you ever asked my mom what my personality was like as a toddler, she’d tell you about how I would always inquire “why” — why the sky is blue. Why my sister, at age 3, wasn’t like all the other 3-year olds. Why our apartment was on the third floor and not the first.
Most these questions are nonsensical but some of them, arguably, reflected something deeper within me: an unquenchable thirst — a bottomless hunger for the (capital-t intentional) Truth.
In human beings, one of the ways Truth is reflected is through a person’s charachter — how true that person is to what he/she thinks is the Truth (no matter whether it’s demonstrably right or wrong) and more practically, what steps he/she takes to actualize it. Meaning: how much action does a person take in order to manifest his/her truth?
Which is why I find Chael Sonnen so fascinating. One of “his” more honest interviews:
Objectively, Chael’s been ranked in the top 10 in a weight division (and still is) that’s highly touted by many as one of the most competitive divisions in the premier mixed martial arts (the most primal and most effective form of fighting) federation in the history of mankind. To not listen and learn from what somebody in his standing has achieved would be foolish. So with that said:
Well if I don’t mean it, I won’t say it. Ever. I don’t do hyperbole, I don’t do exaggeration and [stares directly at camera] I damn sure don’t give apologies.
I also don’t know what’s up with these fighters and their little fake egos that refuse to admit when they get hurt … is your ego that small when you can’t admit a guy rung your bell? … I’m proud of the fact that Michael Bisping drilled me and I walked through it. He hit me and it hurt — and I don’t care.
I don’t have respect, period. And I would encourage you in your life to get it out as well. Respect is for children. If somebody is my senior, I will ‘respect’ them. If somebody is a competitor I’m going to compete — at anything. And I’m not going to walk in there with a hat in my hand and I’m not going to walk on eggshells. I’m going to be big and boisterous and I’m going to take care of business. That’s it.
To explain the implications regarding these quotations would be a bit much if you’re not already familiar with Chael’s personality and what he’s said regarding some of his opponents.
But simply look at the intentions behind what he’s saying given his standing as one of the best kick-assers in the history of mankind. Honesty not only to himself but also to his truth (which in this case, happens to be objectively demonstrable).
My thoughts in the flesh 