The 4 Things You Need To Stop Doing!
1. Stop wondering when things will get easier. We do difficult things because they are good for us. Commitment, perseverance, and sacrifice produce in us the character needed for a good life. This is true in the gym and out. I’ve been told that athletics is a microcosm of life. It fleshes out in us who we are and who we are BECOMING. I have found this to be true in my own life. The self-imposed suffering in the gym and how we respond to it serves as mirror from which we look inside ourselves… our training can and will strengthen our character producing lasting benefits both in and out of the gym. However, we must be humble and we must let it have the intended effect.
2. Stop thinking something besides you holds the key to your success. This is a BIGGIE! we love to shift responsibility for our plight onto those people and things around us. It has to stop. Blame of others or circumstances is the ultimate junk food of emotions. It is cheap, goes down easy and tastes good. Indulge in it enough however and you find yourself disease ridden, unfit and wondering why you feel powerless in your plight. There is no substitute for taking responsibility and there is no other course known to man that produces and sustains positive results in one’s life. REMEMBER… “Your system is perfectly designed to produce the results you're getting.” Read that again.
3. Stop saying you don’t have the time, money, margin, drive etc… to make a change. One thing I have learned is that it is never a good time to make a big change. The stars never align and the universe never confers it’s unconditional blessing upon some step we must take to change or get healthy. There are always roadblocks, impediments to progress and unforeseen things that get in our way. Jesus, in a parable made reference to weeds and thorns choking truth so it wouldn't grow. This is just a natural condition of being human and living in this world. The fact is, we must reallocate our time, money and margin around our goal and then be prepared to let other things be sacrificed on the altar of our pursuit. It won’t be convenient, but it will be good.
4. Stop focusing on what you have to say “No” to. This is a huge problem in the beginning of one’s fitness journey. It is often most apparent in regards to the food we eat. As the new athlete begins to accept that a healthy diet and good habits didn’t get them to where they are today, they often get very anxious about ALL the things they may have to give up. We can’t spend all of our time thinking about, romanticising, and desiring those things we must leave behind in our pursuit of health. If we locate freedom and happiness precisely in the place we are trying to leave, health will always be an unbearable uphill battle! The struggle is so intense because you can’t yet imagine the benefits of your training and new lifestyle, but the comfort of your old routine is still so close and familiar to you. Focus on the life you are saying yes to! Don’t focus on the things you must give up to achieve the goals you want.
Crossfit Downtown Santa Ana sees our athletes not as mere bodies that have to get fit. We see a whole person, a past, a present, and a potential future. We see fitness as one aspect of a well ordered life. We recognize the community of crossfit is a powerful and healthy thing. We seek to help athletes integrate Crossfit into a well ordered life that values character, sacrifice, community and health in general. If you can work on cutting out the four things above, you can own your journey in a new way.