Be Humble. Do Work.

Do you have a goal or dream?  Do you have the desire to achieve something you’ve never done?

How bad do you want to achieve this goal?

Now that you’ve asked yourself this question, I ask you this:

How much humility do you have to slow down and do it right?

How much patience do you have to methodically work from scratch to learn and perfect a skill or craft that is currently a weakness or non-existent?  Do you have the patience and due diligence to improve upon a blaring weakness?  Can you be humble enough, swallow your pride, and put in the necessary work and effort it is going to take to build solid fundamentals?  Are you hungry enough for this goal that you accept the fact that mastery will not come overnight, and in fact may take many months…possibly years to develop?

Don’t get trapped in the mentality that doing something once means you can do it again with ease…or at least get lost in the thought that you should be able to do it again.

Wouldn’t it be awesome If this approach to life was true?

Practice, training, practice, training and more practice and training is the only way to true mastery and victory.  When you learned basic arithmetic…you know, 2+2=4…did you say “okay, now I’m ready for trigonometry!”  I’m going to take a wild guess and say, you did not. 

The same concept goes with fitness and athletic performance.  The good enough mentality does not work.   Just because you got one double under yesterday, does not mean you will get 60 tomorrow. You cannot force a skill.  You cannot rush strength.  You cannot speed up the process just because you want the result now.  Sorry.  It does not work that way. 

Do you want to know what works?

Simple.  Work.

Do you want to be great or good enough?  

CrossFit founder, Greg Glassman believes that “good enough never is.”  I think many elite level athletes and performers from every sport and career would agree 100% with this wise man’s statement.  In truth, humility means nothing other than learning to be completely honest with yourself and owning it.  Once you can accept the reality of your current situation then, and only then, can true change begin to transpire.

To be good is to be average. 

We all have greatness inside.  Really, I am serious.

It may be difficult to see now, but trust me, greatness is there.  Our job is to tap into and find our greatness, and we can only accomplish greatness by constantly seeking to better ourselves.  I could go on for hours about this concept and topic, but by seeking physical mastery…we find greatness in the rest of our lives.  If you really want to find out what you are made of…you must work for it.  You must put effort into the goals that you have set for yourself. 

The price of greatness is falling along the way.  You will get knocked down a bit.  You will fumble.  You will bleed a bit.  You may get a scar or two.  Your ego will take a hit.  But that is the cost for anything worth having.  It will not come easy.  It shouldn’t or you won’t respect it or feel true accomplishment in the end.  Charles Barkley once stated that “if you’re afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful.”  He has never been known to feed anyone sugar, and his words can sting a bit…but it is the truth. 

I agree with Sir Charles 100% , and this truth was a hard pill to swallow myself...trust me.  The truth stings sometimes.  I am sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but if you don’t practice and work for something…and it doesn’t happen…you probably don’t deserve it.  It doesn’t matter whether we are talking athletic performance, professional career, or personal relationships…if you truly want something to work, you must work.

Expect that in order to succeed…you will fail at first.  When you were a baby learning to walk, you failed at hundreds…possibly thousands of attempts.  And look at you now…walking.  You succeeded!

Don’t give up because something is difficult.  Step up!  Work hard, put some effort in…and see just how great you can be.

How Bad Do You Want It?

I have one question for you in accomplishing a goal or dream.

How bad do you want it?

• You made the goal
• It's your dream
• You said you wanted to accomplish x,y,z...
• You said you wanted to run a marathon, lose weight, eat better, make more time for your hobby, spend more time with the people you love.
• You said you wanted to live your dream

But do you really mean it?

What action did you take TODAY to accomplish what you set out to do? What REAL action did you do?

Did you sign-up for the race or competition?  Did you start training?  Did you meal prep?  Did you throw out ALL of the junk food in the cupboard?  Did you call your loved one to set up a date?  Did you get to the gym?  

Again, did you take real action?  

You said you wanted what YOU said you wanted.  No one put those thoughts in your head or made you speak the goal aloud.  No one put a gun to your head and made you set that goal or dream.  But now you're having trouble getting started.  The only solution is ACTION.  It doesn't matter if all that you do today is take a seemingly small step, what matters that you TAKE that step.  Do it.  It will help you take the next step, and the next step, and the next step.  

I think you get the point.  

With that said;

What action will you take to make your goals and dreams come to fruition?  

89 Days Out: Note To Self

I am 89 days out from Battle Royale.

Below are quotes I have written, notes I have taken, and journal entries I have made over the past week.

I want to share my journey with you, and if you really want to follow along than you have to learn how I think and how I find inspiration and motivational fuel to keep working!

Enjoy.

"There may be people that have more talent than you, but there is no excuse for anyone to work harder than you." ~Derek Jeter

"Age is no barrier, It's a limitation you put on your mind." ~Jackie Joyner-Kersee

...When planning goals:

• know where you want to go.
• the modern successful business does not leave its future to chance...Should you?
• Make the plan and work the plan.  Do what you said you wanted to do!
• "The important thing is not where you were or where you are, but where you want to go."

Goal Declaration:

I want to finish in the top 10 at the Battle Royale competition.  To achieve this goal I MUST train consistently and stick to the plan.  I must eat well and on schedule.  I must rest and recover wisely.  I must be smart and diligent in my strength and skills work.  I must work my weakness until it is a strength.  I must also allow down time to unwind and relax in order to let my soul and spirit recharge and renew its passion.  I must be myself. Always. Always be yourself.

96 Days Out!

This is going to be short and sweet.  There is not going to be any deep or philosophical message today.  I am simply posting this to hold myself accountable for 96 days.  I am 96 days out from my first CrossFit competition in over 4 years.

Did you just read that?  I haven't competed in anything in over 4 years!  But I bit the bullet and signed up for a local CrossFit competition, Battle Royale that takes place on July 22nd.

This is exciting and a little nerve racking to me, because I haven't competed in FOUR YEARS! Also, because I am a business owner and my schedule is slammed.  I wake-up at 4:30am M-F, and typically don't get to bed until 10pm or later. For the last 3 1/2 years, my main focus has been setting up and running my gym successfully.  And while I still workout and train 5-6 times a week, I have placed my competitive side on the back burner.

If I'm honest, I have hidden behind the excuse that BPCF must come first and my fitness goals and potential come last.  That is going to stop now.  I am learning that my goals and dreams must come first if I am to be fulfilled.  I am also learning that adding a new challenge to the mix will only enhance BPCF and validate my credibility, because I will be walking the walk even more!

I thought I was going to make a run at the 2017 CrossFit Open that took place in March, but a small elbow injury set me back.  With that I decided not to enter in the Open, and left me a little disappointed in myself for not doing so.  The opportunity to sign up for Battle Royale presented itself, and I decided to take the plunge head first and sign up for the individual RX division.

I understand that I have A LOT of work to do.  I understand that I will probably be one of the oldest women in this division.  I understand that this will not be for the faint of heart.  And for these reasons I am fired up and ready to work my ass off to do my best.

My goal is to finish top 10.  That may not seem like such a big deal, but this is going to be a challenge.  Difficult yes, but not impossible.

I am 96 days out from my first CrossFit competition in over 4 years!

Join me on this journey as I track my progress and hold myself accountable via blog, videos, and pictures.