IF WE DON’T? Since I was little, I have been part of many disciplines and people insisted that I practice a discipline. I did 100 meter races, marathons, and karate. I have practiced soccer, swimming, tenni- sand even ping pong. I was never connected with team sports. Not because I did not like them, simply because I could never create any connection with them. I was not comfortable with myself. I was shy and I got bullied and then my rage made me be a bully. I found out years later that this was not useful either and actually more hurtful to myself. It was not until years later, after I finished school that I felt a need to do something, anything, to keep me away from my problems, from my friends, from my future and even from my family. Since I was a kid, I have had to deal with many different levels of anxiety and depression. I always felt a connection to the water. Maybe because I used to surf a lot or maybe because I felt that when I was in the water, I was not on land where my reality was waiting for me. One step at a time I discovered alternatives: The first ones where, hiking, surfing, kayaking, rappelling, canyoning and mountain biking. I was never a pro at any of them, only a fan! I always felt that I needed to prove myself. I always felt that I needed to deserve to be part of certain group of people, so I was always testing and risking my life for another story to tell. I needed to find more places so I started to travel and I have not stopped since then. So what was it that attracted me the most? The travel? The adventure? The stories? The adrenaline? Maybe. But maybe something else.It was about knowing myself through these physical activities. I lear- ned who I am and challenged myself to learn who I want to be and challenged myself to learn who I do not need to be. Walking in the mountain I learned to rest to be able to continue; that one more step means a step closer to where I want to go and one step further from where I started. With the kayak I learned to trust my knowledge and reactions and let myself be carried by the current; it is unstoppable, it does not take breaks, youhave to keep up and keep moving forward. Surfing taught me to enjoy small moments waiting for the next wave and taught me to be patient. Each individual physical activity helped me to be a better person but it was when I began to train martial arts that I could understand my interaction with other people directly. We learn to not judge anyone, we learn to motivate and support, because on the mat it is not about our differences as individuals it is about a person who wants to be a better person. Educating the mind is very important, and there are many ways to learn. Educate your body with a discipline so your mind can keep learning. As you know, there is a difference between theory and practi- ce. You have knowledge but not experience or you have the experience but not the knowledge. In the practice of physical activities one learns more about oneself than people who only read about it. I do not mean that reading is bad, or that just having experience is enough; I say that combining expe- rience with knowledge will give you a greater advantage. There is an activity for each person and it does not have to be what others expect. It is not to receive glory or recognition; do it for the personal satisfaction. This will keep your mind much more open to adapt and overcome challenges in all of their forms.I am sure that each one of you know someone who suffers from anxiety or depression.For how long you can maintain the same energy or way of thinking to value ourselves each day to overcome the obstacles that arise in our daily life? What a great change in our thinking if instead of feeling less than others, we accept that at that moment others were better than us but we can continue learning. Instead of attacking life to always be the winner, let yourself go, trusting in what we have learned to achieve our goals. Through a physical activity you will learn more about yourself, will give you the confidence to be ok if you lose because you will keep trying regardless of what other people think. It will teach you to value yourself and you will learn to listen to yourself and learn when to listen from others to keep growing. Samoel S. E.