Top 100 Chris Matakas Quotes
#1. We have an obligation to ourselves to foster the environment that allows for our self-actualization. Rather than my gifts serving me, I must serve them. I want to be a steward of the best aspects of my character and assist them in their fulfillment through proper discipline and habits.
Chris Matakas
#2. The possessions themselves were not the problem, it was my relationship with possessing.
Chris Matakas
#3. You have been blessed to stand on the shoulders of giants. Make sure that someone stands on yours as well. This is the only way of human progress.
Chris Matakas
#4. Jiu Jitsu is a vehicle for self-discovery and growth. It reminds me of my ego, of my insecurities, and of my shortcomings.
Chris Matakas
#5. When you give your weakness permission to be because you understand that it is simply an expression of your strength, it tends to no longer be a weakness.
Chris Matakas
#6. We must remember that science is a way of using empirical evidence to better understand our world. We are all scientists, just many of us are not very good ones. However, we are all capable of exercising our intellects in a purposeful, linear pursuit of knowledge.
Chris Matakas
#7. I had no desire of being professionally successful. No desire for material wealth. All I wanted out of life was Jiu Jitsu.
Chris Matakas
#8. Self-improvement is generally a removal of a vice rather than an acquisition of a virtue.
Chris Matakas
#9. Every moment is an opportunity to exercise effort in pursuit of your dreams. Whether you do or do not rests solely on your shoulders.
Chris Matakas
#10. Society is a collection of selves perpetuating their myth.
Chris Matakas
#11. We are force-fed beliefs through incessant advertisements by a culture that ceaselessly fosters our conformity to values which are of no service to the individual.
Chris Matakas
#12. I have found the more worthwhile something is, the more of your life is required to achieve it.
Chris Matakas
#13. It was my letting go that gave me a better hold.
Chris Matakas
#14. Jiu Jitsu gave me the opportunity to be a real human being. It opened my heart and my mind. I am kinder, more gentle and more loving due to my efforts in this art.
Chris Matakas
#15. 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.
Chris Matakas
#17. Nothing feels dirtier than living a life that is not your own. No amount of money is worth my soul. I would rather be homeless and go out in a blaze of glory than subject myself to a slow and steady death of apathy and government by my environment.
Chris Matakas
#18. It is a shock to many college graduates that their segway into the real world is one of obligation, profound debt, and countless sacrifices of the soul.
Chris Matakas
#19. Your progress as a Jiu Jitsu practitioner is a direct reflection of the standards you have for yourself.
Chris Matakas
#20. The only way to consistently perform at your potential is to ask: Am I better than I was yesterday?
Chris Matakas
#21. Those who serve others have purpose. Those who serve themselves are lost.
Chris Matakas
#22. Jiu Jitsu has given me an education in education, which I now see is the most valuable education there is.
Chris Matakas
#23. As a culture we tend to feel great pride towards our strengths, and shame for our weaknesses. It is time we take notice that these are two pieces of the same whole.
Chris Matakas
#24. The rare opportunity to exist, no matter how brief, is worth the pain left in the wake of its disappearance.
Chris Matakas
#25. We are just too busy trying to appear smart to realize how intelligent we actually are.
Chris Matakas
#26. A life of joy awaits the man who sits alone quietly in a room and determines what he himself believes rather than simply adopting the values of another.
Chris Matakas
#27. We seek to understand Jiu Jitsu as a vehicle to understand ourselves. We have different explicit goals, from getting in shape, learning self-defense or competition, but tacitly we all seek mastery of ourselves.
Chris Matakas
#28. I have never been as alive or awake as I have been through Jiu Jitsu.
Chris Matakas
#29. Jiu Jitsu is cognitively-complex, so much so that there is a great barrier to entry in terms of intellect. I have never met a great Jiu Jitsu player who was not highly intelligent, and I don't think I ever will.
Chris Matakas
#30. Habits are infinitely more beneficial to the aspiring student than motivation. Motivation may get you started, but habits keep you going.
Chris Matakas
#31. To achieve anything we must grind, but to enjoy anything we must flow.
Chris Matakas
#32. The greatest effects we have on the world are the ones we can never see.
Chris Matakas
#33. 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.
Chris Matakas
#34. We are all philosophers. The only question is to what extent is our philosophy sound!
Chris Matakas
#35. Language has created a barrier that prevents us from seeing existence as it truly is.
Chris Matakas
#36. Do not seek victory, for victory in itself will not serve you. Seek to understand what made the victory possible.
Chris Matakas
#37. All of Jiu Jitsu is finding a way to get your partner to willingly go where you want him to go in the first place.
Chris Matakas
#38. If you can wrestle but not play Jiu Jitsu, or you can play Jiu Jitsu but not wrestle, you are not a complete grappler and lack the sufficient skills to safely subdue an opponent.
Chris Matakas
#39. I believe that which you study is only matched in importance by the sincerity with which you approach it.
Chris Matakas
#40. This constant mental diatribe and the frustrations, worries, insecurities and muscular tension that ensues are the self.
Chris Matakas
#41. Jiu Jitsu uses us to express itself, and the best thing we can do to is to become a vehicle capable of expressing Jiu Jitsu with all of its perfection minus our imperfections.
Chris Matakas
#42. Jiu Jitsu provides a place of fellowship that, unfortunately, our society has largely failed to create.
Chris Matakas
#43. We forget that things can only be things when there is something which is not a thing, the space.
Chris Matakas
#44. This is the opportunity the fellowship of Jiu Jitsu affords us. To reach our highest potential of self, and then to offer that self to another.
Chris Matakas
#45. Empathy is a breaking down of the false constructs of division between the observer and the observed.
Chris Matakas
#46. 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.
Chris Matakas
#47. There are no trophies for the real victories in life.
Chris Matakas
#48. Anyone can be tough for a season. It takes a special kind of human to rise to life's challenges for a lifetime.
Chris Matakas
#49. Philosophy is then nothing more than properly directed questions made in an attempt to better understand the world in which we live as a means of improving the quality of one's life.
Chris Matakas
#50. As an instructor, my goal has always been to use Jiu Jitsu as a vehicle to help our students achieve their goals, whatever the case may be. I have yet to find a better vehicle for growth, and the moment I do I will certainly pursue it with the rivaled fervor that I approached Jiu Jitsu.
Chris Matakas
#51. Nothing better cements the false self than one's Facebook page.
Chris Matakas
#52. Yes, you have been molding your ability to perform Jiu Jitsu for all these years, but you have been more importantly molding who you are as a person. Jiu Jitsu is the sculptor, and you are the clay. It is with this art that we strive and reach for our highest ideals not as athletes, but as people.
Chris Matakas
#53. Wearing a black belt does not make you a super hero, and wearing a white belt does not mean you have little to offer as a person. It is what we do in the belts we wear, and not the belts themselves that matter.
Chris Matakas
#54. Consistently failing is nothing more than an indication that you are progressing. The more we fail the farther we will see. Failure is not an option; it is the only option. A master is a master because he has had the courage to fail and the wisdom to learn from it.
Chris Matakas
#55. Being part of the whole, as I grow so does that which contains me.
Chris Matakas
#56. Who you are as a person far outweighs what you do in an athletic arena.
Chris Matakas
#57. A man has only so much life, and must diversify his efforts according to his values.
Chris Matakas
#58. If we do not master ourselves, we will be a slave to ourselves.
Chris Matakas
#59. The point of meditating is not to learn to sit quietly in a room. The point is to live that way in the world.
Chris Matakas
#60. 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.
Chris Matakas
#61. A core group of guys, all sharing similar goals, can move mountains.
Chris Matakas
#62. Systems and processes will always surpass motivation.
Chris Matakas
#63. All successful people live how great guard passers pass.
Chris Matakas
#64. Relationships formed through Jiu Jitsu are deeply rooted in respect for one another, and this is often not the case in matters of modern society.
Chris Matakas
#65. Our most valuable victories are those which go without praise.
Chris Matakas
#66. We are now forced to actively pursue our struggles. If we do not go out of our way to stretch our comfort zones and grow, no one nor nature will do it for us.
Chris Matakas
#67. Jiu Jitsu removes the societal walls that we have been forced to unknowingly hold up with our adopted beliefs. It removes the limits of common thought, and allows for expression of our highest ideals.
Chris Matakas
#68. Freedom from the thinking mind is our underlying goal for most of human activity.
Chris Matakas
#69. Words make the intangible aspects of human experience communicable, and a single sentence can shatter our world view and assist us in the formulation of a new one.
Chris Matakas
#70. All of the great writers and sages we are so quick to quote have simply given their interpretation of what it means to be human.
Chris Matakas
#71. It is in community where we find our very selves.
Chris Matakas
#72. That nagging state of constant thought that exists somewhere between the ears and behind the eyes is the self.
Chris Matakas
#73. All these men recognized what they themselves valued, and lived according to these values regardless of their relationship to the values of their community. Each lived according to what brought them happiness and peace rather than commonplace prescriptions of the multitudes.
Chris Matakas
#74. The very fact that you can observe this thinking mind is proof that you are not this thinking mind.
Chris Matakas
#75. Every opportunity with another was an opportunity to serve my fellow man. Every moment alone was a chance to grow and become more of who I already was. I instantly felt how great a life could be, and that was only made possible by service toward others.
Chris Matakas
#76. I train because it makes every area of my life better, and it makes me better at every area of my life.
Chris Matakas
#77. I can think of no more worthwhile aim than pursuing mastery in this craft while transcending one's own limitations.
Chris Matakas
#78. 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.
Chris Matakas
#79. Your greatest attribute, that which allows you to accomplish most in life and the most treasured aspect of your being will often be the source of your greatest suffering.
Chris Matakas
#80. In the modern world we are surrounded by so much abundance that we cannot see it.
Chris Matakas
#81. Service, it seems, is the only antidote to existential frustration.
Chris Matakas
#82. Jiu Jitsu gives each of us something that no other sport can. We have the opportunity to become truly great regardless of what circumstance fate has handed us. We have complete freedom and responsibility to achieve whatever level of mastery we wish.
Chris Matakas
#83. There is no greater truth in determining one's philosophy as to the way they live their lives. This is an all-pervading, bull****-repellent way to understand what you or anyone else truly believes.
Chris Matakas
#84. There is no concrete way to play Jiu Jitsu, and this is why so many different types of people find joy in it.
Chris Matakas
#85. The only permanent aspect of creation is constant impermanence.
Chris Matakas
#86. Make no mistake, you earn a white belt. The belt is a physical representation of a commitment to the beginner's mind. It is a vulnerability and a willingness to learn that shines through.
Chris Matakas
#87. 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.
Chris Matakas
#88. The infinitude of Jiu Jitsu allows for the infinitude of the types of practitioners. There exists a game for each and every one of us which is specifically possible within the confines of our particular skill set.
Chris Matakas
#89. Through Jiu Jitsu I have developed many of the most meaningful relationships in my life, and if that were the only benefit of my practice, Jiu Jitsu would still be the best endeavor I have ever undertaken.
Chris Matakas
#90. This is what it means to be mindful. To watch the thoughts as they come and go without judgment while completely accepting what arises in the present moment.
Chris Matakas
#91. 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.
Chris Matakas
#92. The more closely two organisms depend upon each other the harder it becomes to tell where one organism ends and the other begins.
Chris Matakas
#93. Everyone, no matter how historically famous or modernly praised, has no idea about the ultimate truth of what it means to be human.
Chris Matakas
#94. 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.
Chris Matakas
#95. We rise to meet each day because there will come a time when the day will rise without us
Chris Matakas
#96. We are not practicing Jiu Jitsu to learn how to fight, we are learning how to live.
Chris Matakas
#97. Let's live our lives with great meaning and purpose in the attempt to influence the world to whatever degree our circumstance allows.
Chris Matakas
#98. There is an opportunity cost for everything we do. This is why we must have the awareness to ensure that what we are pursuing is really what we value, because the pursuit leaves countless lost opportunities in its wake. We choose one experience at the sacrifice of all other experiences.
Chris Matakas
#99. When we know our values, we can easily measure whether or not our actions are in accordance with them. Values are the measuring sticks with which we determine the worthiness of our actions. To be better associated with one's own values is to remove a lot of the needless activities of daily life.
Chris Matakas
#100. Mastery, to whatever degree your circumstance allows, is determined by a handful of choices repeated daily.
Chris Matakas
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