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.