The Flow of Fighting | FlowCast #22 with Mike Doherty
In this week’s FlowCast episode we dive into the flow of fighting with Mike Doherty. Mike is the owner of Dohjo Muay Thai gym and is fresh off of an IKF Worlds tournament win.
We talk about the recent fights him and his teammates won as well as get into some past stories about how Mike used his mastery of his emotions to beat a fighter in Thailand at his own mental game. I love this story and think that level of awareness in such a high-stakes environment shows an exceptional level of self-awareness and flow.
We also got into how Mike balances his emotional states and the challenges of running a business with being a world-class fighter.
You will not want to miss this episode, so let’s dive right in!
Show Notes:
1:30 - Fresh off of an IKF World’s win
3:20 - Growth opportunity from a loss and how the growth mindset spreads
6:00 - Motives for fighting - Mike’s philosophy
6:30 - How Mike defines self-mastery
10:00 - Daily journal practice used for separating different parts of life.
12:30 - Stoic philosophy - what it means to Mike
15:20 - Dealing with performance anxiety
17:55 - Why Mike became a fighter
19:50 - The story of how he beat a Thai fighter at his own mental game
22:55 - The Flow of Fighting
23:15 - Key components of Flow Mike identifies with in fights
25:25 - How long in his fight career did it take him to recognize the flow state
29:30 - Fight rituals or superstitions
31:45 - Ultimate end-goal with fighting
32:50 - How to perform at such a high level in fighting while also running a business?
36:50 - Best ways to overcome anxiety?
41:15 - Thoughts on social media and how to handle it as a business
47:00 - Mike’s time tracking method for productivity.