09/19/2026
Some pursuits are valuable precisely because they refuse to let you remain comfortable.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu repeatedly puts me in situations where strength, experience, and confidence are not enough. You fail. You adjust. You learn to stay composed under pressure and begin again.
That practice extends far beyond the mat. It has made me more patient as a parent, more controlled under pressure as a surgeon, and more aware of the person I continue to become.
The injuries are real. So is what the practice gives back.
Find something that challenges your ego, teaches you how to fail, and requires you to keep returning. What you develop through that process will follow you into every part of your life.