medalist, 12 time winning Bantamweight champion and ultimately a certified badass. Heck, she’s inspired Demi Lovato’s “Stars” with her opening line “knock ‘em all out, beat them like Rousey”, and even Beyoncé, who played her “Do Nothing B*tch” pep talk before preforming at her own concert.
But there’s more to Ronda Rousey then just her fame, beauty and “badassery”. Before the fame and success was nights of crying, sleeping in her bashed up beater, and wondering how she will get her next meal. From sleeping out of her car to becoming the world's most dominant athlete, here are just six of the incredible life lesson’s we can learn from our hero, Rowdy Ronda Rousey:1. Stand Up For What You Believe In
Ronda is proof that if you believe in yourself, you don’t have to convince anyone else. They will be convinced through your strength and confidence to stand up for what you believe, no matter how wild.
2. Never Be Afraid of the (Dis)Approval Of Others
Not all fighters have a memorable walk to the cage. But Ronda Rousey’s walk out to the octagon is one of the most anticipated and exciting, as it seems to awe the world. And why is that? Blasting in the background of her “mean face” showcasing the violence she plans to unleash on her opponent, is the song “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett. In an interview, Ronda explains her choice behind the song:
“The song was perfect. If you’re constantly stressing over trying to get everyone to like you, you’re giving them the power to control your well being. For me it’s better to embrace the role of the heel and chase after being disliked. It’s an element of control and leaves room for error.”
You can’t please everyone – and that’s okay. No matter what you say or do, people will never fully understand where you’re coming from. I mean if Ronda Rousey doesn’t give a damn about her reputation, why should you?
3. Always Give 110%... and Then Another 10%
Rousey is not only loved and admired for her strength and beauty – but because of her discipline, toughness, and heart. It’s turned her into a symbol of strength as she’s been fighting since the day she’s been born. Her severe speech impediment from brain damaged was inevitable due to her traumatic birth.
Ronda has a history of fighting like hell to not only survive, but excel. She fought after life gave her no choice, and she continues to bring that same aggression to each fight she has. Ronda’s mother has a great line in which she’s molded her life around “you're not training to be the best in the world, you're training to be the best in the world on your worst day.”
Every day counts, but only if you make it.
4. The Importance of Discipline... and Hot Wings.
Rousey dedicates her life to be a champion. She spends endless days in the gym pushing her starving, exhausted body. But as hard as Rousey works, she knows how to take a break, rest and celebrate her accomplishments.
'After every fight, it’s really important that I just have a big mound of hot wings in front of me. I’ve had points where they didn’t get me the right hot wings after a fight and I cried. Literally tears because I look forward to it for so long and I’m so perfect on my diet and I’m like I can’t wait to beat this chick and just have a plate of hot wings and a side of beer. That’s all I want in the world.'
Rest is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, regardless of age or career. It rejuvenates your body, mind and can directly affect you. If you keep working your body with no rewards, your body will feel too tired and over-worked. So once and a while, go ahead. Have some hot wings.
Rest is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, regardless of age or career. It rejuvenates your body, mind and can directly affect you. If you keep working your body with no rewards, your body will feel too tired and over-worked. So once and a while, go ahead. Have some hot wings.
5. Humble Yourself Before, You Get Humbled
I don’t think any one could ignore all the buzz around Ronda Rousey’s UFC fight against Bethe Correia, who had been trash talking her leading up to the event. She had been ridiculing her of her physical appearance, taunting her, and worst of all: making fun of her father’s suicide, implying that Rousey was mentally unstable. During weight-ins Rousey was silent, and never said a word. Of course, her silent revenge is what allowed Correia’s ego too kiss the octagon floor in a quick 34 seconds. Correia was from Brazil, which is where the fight took place and even then the entire crowd was happy to watch her get knocked out.
The moral of this story is: Humble yourself before you get humbled. The bigger the ego, the father there is to fall. These are important words to remember because if you’re not humble you will be soon. Nobody likes a big ego. Nobody succeeds at everything forever. Nobody is bullet proof. And everybody wants to see an big ego, bruised.
6. It’s About Rising, Even After The Fall
The interesting thing about success is the way it changes you. No matter how grounded you are, the human mind is wired to believe its own hype. Arrogance grows, and it is extremely off-putting to people which can cause people to have pleasure from someone else’s misfortune.
They say all good things come to an end. For UFC & Mixed Martial Arts champion Rowdy Ronda Rousey, who ended most of her opponents in under 2 rounds and remained undefeated for 12 professional fights, that meant getting KO’d and losing her Bantam Weight Championship belt by Holly Holm. It’s arguable that her possible arrogance, fame and glory cost her the belt as she began to lose focus from the juggling of training, TV show appearances, acting in multiple movies, etc. At weigh-ins the night before we saw her lash out – seeming somewhat insecure about the fight ahead. Ultimately, her dreams of retiring undefeated were crushed from a brutal head-kick followed by some vicious punches to the head. There were no comments made until a few days later when she posted on her Instagram that she was fine, that she was going to take some time, but she will be back.
We've all heard the saying "fall down 7 times, stand up 8" and in our case, as well as Rousey's, it's important to never give up. We are all human. We need to realize it's okay to make mistakes and fail because it's only part of the ultimate goal. Learning and moving forward comes from doing something wrong and doing it again and again until it's perfect. Behind every successful person, there is a story and a long-fought journey to get to where they are today.
Sadly, the only thing people love more than building up a hero is knocking one down. Many people are sudden haters of Rousey and her first official loss. Rowdy Ronda Rousey has no doubt completely changed the world’s perception of athletic women. She represents much more than a simple cage UFC fighter – she’s a brave woman who constantly makes goals for herself and does everything she can to achieve them. People can hate on her for a lot of reasons but the truth is - she’s one of, if not, the most dominant athlete alive. She’s opened the gates for so many possibilities and this is just the beginning for her. I dare even say Ronda Rousey’s loss could be one of the greatest things that ever happened to her. A single defeat is not a final defeat, and that’s something we could all learn from our hero Ronda Rousey.
This article was just a taste of what Rousey has to offer. She has written an inspirational book called “My Fight Your Fight” to enable the unleashing of your inner champion. In this inspiring book, the champion shares her undeniable success and the difficult path of getting there. She reveals her tough lessons she’s learned in life – inside and outside the Octagon.
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