Chris Matakas Quotes

Plateaus are a manifestation of the law of diminishing returns, and when we reach one it simply means that it is time to adjust our methods.

After I received my blue belt, I soon recognized that the belts were simply an external representation of an inner experience, and that they mattered little compared to the person I was becoming.

Being part of the whole, as I grow so does that which contains me.

You are never as good as you think you are, and you are never as bad as you believe yourself to be.

There is no higher calling than service to your fellow man, and to do so through your own personal mastery of a craft is a gift enjoyed by few. Cultivate this gift, and give it away.

Jiu Jitsu is a vehicle for self-discovery and growth. It reminds me of my ego, of my insecurities, and of my shortcomings.

Your potential for growth is directly proportionate to the degree to which you are willing to make mistakes.

It is only when we admit our ignorance that we can hope to overcome it.

A core group of guys, all sharing similar goals, can move mountains.

The most meaningful endeavors are the ones that come without an end.

Do not get caught pursuing the goals of who you used to be instead of who you are.

The more specifically you define your goals the more attainable they become.

Constantly re-evaluating your purpose is the best way to ensure that you are pursuing the goals of who you are and not who you used to be.

We are free to live the life we have imagined, not the life imagined for us.

It is in community where we find our very selves.

We strive toward the middle, and we run from ourselves.

If nothing lasts then everything has meaning. If everything dies that means we actually live.

Let's live our lives with great meaning and purpose in the attempt to influence the world to whatever degree our circumstance allows.

I envision a world in which the vast majority of us are actively striving toward our potential as human beings by spending our lives serving others through mediums we are most passionate.

I can think of no more worthwhile aim than pursuing mastery in this craft while transcending one's own limitations.

By becoming a black belt, you will become whatever it is you wanted to be in the first place, and Jiu Jitsu will have served its aim.

we must remember that the end of personal mastery is service to others.

In my own life, I have always viewed personal mastery as simply a medium through which I become capable of providing more service toward my fellow man.

We can either approach Jiu Jitsu through the lens of the "real world" or we can approach the real world through the lens of Jiu Jitsu. I have found the latter to be far more rewarding.

We must not learn to try harder. The key is to learn how not to try in the first place.

Any advanced student will tell you the best way to recover guard is simply not to get your guard passed in the first place.

In Jiu Jitsu, we often fall into the trap of simply trying a technique "harder, " rather than recognizing that it is a poorly chosen tool for the task at hand.

A saw by itself holds no value, but when coupled with your labor can clear forests.

Language has created a barrier that prevents us from seeing existence as it truly is.

The very fact that you can observe this thinking mind is proof that you are not this thinking mind.

Your job as a young adult is to become as valuable to the marketplace as you can. Your job as a human is to do so without working a day in your life.

Everyone, no matter how historically famous or modernly praised, has no idea about the ultimate truth of what it means to be human.

He plays the same game, but for the first time in his life he is truly playing, rather than working, being a human, and this is a vast distinction realized by few.

The knowledge you acquire in an area of study is accompanied by an incalculable ignorance. The farther we get into anything, we learn that we have even farther to go.

We are the estranged orphans of our nations and tribes, and we now bear the weight not of survival of the group but of personal identity.

It is important to realize that we so often define ourselves by what is in opposition to ourselves.

This constant mental diatribe and the frustrations, worries, insecurities and muscular tension that ensues are the self.

That nagging state of constant thought that exists somewhere between the ears and behind the eyes is the self.

We tend to view ourselves as this, lying in contradiction with everything that is not ourselves, that.

We are never truly ourselves as we are mid-roll.

In the modern world we are surrounded by so much abundance that we cannot see it.

You have become more and therefore expect more, but never become too purpose-driven to step back and realize just how far you have progressed.

When we honestly take stock of our ability, we are then granted the opportunity to improve our circumstance. Accessing where you stand is the only way to stand somewhere else.

Deep down I believe each of us is a well-spring of understanding and wisdom, but we simply never allow the space or time for this understanding to rise to the level of conscious thought.

The most obvious, most absurdly recognizable phenomena in day-to-day life often become the hardest to remain consciously aware of.

The more we have outside ourselves the harder it is to get inside ourselves.

Nothing worthwhile ever came from divided attention.

Life is so unlikely, so rare and beautiful an opportunity it is to live, we must be on constant guard to ensure that our actions are worthy of the life it takes to perform them.

If something’s existence is contingent upon the existence of another entity, can we truthfully call them separate beings?

Autopilot is great, and removal of thought is one of the highest ideals of training. But removal of thought in the moment must be preceded by purposeful thought beforehand.