Prepare for Getting Hooked Down, Operate to get Hooked Up

 Life on the road and in the arena can relate in many ways to one's diet.  Your hunger will come and go, fluctuating with the hour, with the day, with the week.  Some days will be better than others.  Some days will be a 20 oz prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus; others will be undercooked pork with cold green beans.  The goal is always the same; fill your body with the nutrients it needs to approach the day at your best capacity. No matter what's on your plate, your body still expects to be fueled with the proper tools to attack the tasks set in front of you.  

The same goes in the arena. The old cliche that "some days are diamonds, and some days are stones" couldn't be more true.  Just like in the previous example with the cold hog, some days you're not going to feel like stepping up to the plate.  Every day is not going to start as your best day.  The nutrients you put into your brain and your heart is what will make the ultimate difference. The things you decide to take seriously, the decisions you make on a day-to day basis, the content you take in on social media, the people you listen to, and the way you react to what you hear all play a factor in your performance. As a bullfighter, you're expected to be at the right place at the right time; every time. Autonomy is key. It will take a toll on the ill-prepared.  Even if we lay the physical demands of the job aside, so many factors can and will take its toll and affect performance.  The trick is to be so well prepared when you walk in the pen, nothing can take you down.  Once the latch cracks and thing slow down; there is no room for personal hiccups.  

Just as your body will react appropriately when well fueled, your brain operates on the same principle. Train your brain for the big moments, don't get wrapped up in the unimportant gossip that is today's world.  Stay hungry, stay humble, train for the inevitable and the unthinkable.  It will come.  Success will follow.