Gabriel Kidd’s latest blog

I’ve wanted to write something like this for a while, but always seem to talk myself out of it because I still feel very young and I don’t want to come across like I’m telling people how to live their lives. So here we are.

I never really plan to write anything like this, I’ll have a moment where I’m thinking about something and the idea will pop in to my head, but then I never go through with writing about it. Not publicly anyway.

DISCLAIMER: I tend to go off on a lot of tangents and it might seem like I’m just rambling, but please read through until the end, it will all come round in the end. (I hope).

I want to talk today about living in the moment. I’m currently sat in my hotel room in Morioka, Iwate. That sentence in itself would get Gabe
from 2/3 years ago fired up. Just the thought of actually being in Japan. At that time, all I wanted was to be in Japan with NJPW. Honestly, It’s what my days would revolve around, whether it be preparing food, studying tape, going to the gym etc.

But looking back there was a lot of things in my life at the time that I had taken for granted. I had a lot of people who loved and cared about me that I would subconsciously reject, because I’d prioritise wrestling over spending time with them. Sometimes I think back to those times and I miss those people. People who I’m not in contact with anymore, who I wish I hadn’t taken for granted. But then you have to think, would I be here now if I hadn’t made those sacrifices?

Would I be here if I had opted going to the pub over going to the gym? Who knows, I just know that at that time, all I could focus on was becoming a professional wrestler in Japan. But now, as a professional wrestler in Japan, sometimes I want nothing more than to be in
the West End in Stapleford with all my pals. Haha, it’s a funny thought process isn’t it?

You dedicate your whole life to reaching a goal, you reach it, then when you get there you think and wish about being back to where you were when you were chasing that goal. Simply put, the grass is always greener on the other side, hence why I wanted to talk about
living in the moment.

It’s so easy for your mind to want something you don’t have at that present moment. When you’re chasing your dream, that’s all you think about. You live it, you breath it. But sometimes you just need to stop, take a step back and realise what you currently have, rather than what you want. Realise who is around you, where you are, what you’re doing.

We stopped off at a service station yesterday. Where I’d usually get off the bus, go to eat or go to the toilet and get straight back on the bus, sometimes I like to stop for a second and really take in what is around me. Have a quick check on google maps to see exactly where
I am, grab a couple photos etc.

It’s a nice reminder of where you are and what you’re doing. I’m on tour, in Japan with NJPW. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do, I’m so grateful for that. Sometimes it’s hard to see when you’re so busy working towards the next goal, but sometimes we just have to take a step back and realise what we have right now. I used to always be told “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” I wouldn’t
really understand, but now I see it clear as day.

So if you’ve made it this far, please take a step back and realise all the good you have currently in your life. We don’t have too long on this earth, so the best we can do is to live in the moment and enjoy it.

Thank you for reading.
Today’s track for this diary entry: Blass 89 – House of Straws.”