Sunday Story…Reluctant Caterpillar

We can all understand not wanting to break out of our cocoon and become the butterfly. After all, our cocoon is safe and warm and even though we are this weird grey mush we don’t have to unfurl our wings and fly. Lots of cocoons never open. Lots of butterflies never enter the world. And that’s Ok I suppose. You do not have to become the butterfly you were meant to be.

In the natural world the caterpillar becomes the cocoon and then, in many cases, becomes the butterfly. It is a natural progression. It is going to happen. At no point does the caterpillar get to say, “I think I’m done now. I am going to stay right where I am. I have reached my full potential as a caterpillar and being a butterfly looks just too hard and exceeds my capabilities. So I will just sit back and be a caterpillar.”

We humans are the only living thing I know of that that can choose to not grow to its potential. Does the tree choose to stop growing? No! It may be stunted due to other issues but the tree will always grow as tall as it can, sprout as many leaves as it can, and bear as much fruit as it can. The caterpillar will always grow into a butterfly…that is its nature. This is the way of the world.

Sadly this is not the way of most people. We put limits on our growth. We decide not to grow into our full potential. We play small. We are afraid of being as powerful, as big, or as important as we were meant to be. We decide to not grow into butterflies, as matter of fact we decide not to even move into our cocoons. We are reluctant caterpillars.

The way of my people is to live up to and surpass our potential. The way of my people is to find their purpose and fulfill it. The way of my people is the path of constant and never ending introspection and growth. The way of my people is to face the scary stuff and move into the cocoon so we can be we were meant to be. The way of my people is to strive for more consciousness, more awareness, more knowledge, more growth and more of being us.

You can easily join us. Stop playing small. Start playing for it all. Stop stunting your growth. Start growing as tall as you can. Stop admitting to arbitrary limits that put a cap on your potential as a human. Start producing as much as you can. Stop settling for mediocrity. Start accepting excellence.

Join the tribe!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
Follow me on FaceBook and Instagram!

Sunday Story…Hello, Good Bye

Say Hello to the person you could’ve been. Say Good Bye to the person you are.

Think about it…How would you feel, if, upon your deathbed, if someone sat down, clasped your hand and waited for you to open your tired, dying eyes? When you look up you see a face that looks vaguely familiar. You feel a presence you recognize deep in the recesses of your being. But you can’t quite place it. The person is you but not you. This is the person you could have become.

This is the person who took full responsibility for their life.
This is the person who was willing to take everything personally.
This is the person who realized every dream.
This is the person who took the chance, made the effort to write every book, sing every song, paint every picture, build every castle, and create every beauty they were supposed to.
This is the person who lived the way you always knew you could but didn’t.
This is the person who loved as deeply and as often as humanely possible.
This is the person who did every kindness and never missed an opportunity to smile.
This is the person who lived life full out, took every chance, and did all the things you said “someday” to.
This is the person who lived your dreams.
This is the person who waited for you to do all of these things.

Meeting this person is one definition of hell. If you are lucky you will only meet them on your death bed. How about now? How would you feel if tomorrow at coffee a strangely familiar person sat down and greeted you with a frown and a subtle shake of their head, saying “When did you give up?”

You can stop giving up. You are that person. It isn’t too late to take your life personally. There is still time to meet the person you could’ve been and greet them warmly as your twin.

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
Follow me on Facebook & Instagram

Sunday Story…Murder

It’s not a quest unless you might lose your life.

Let’s be honest…if you don’t get fit you probably won’t lose your life…right away anyway. If you jump out of that airplane you probably won’t lose your life…at least statistically the odds are in your favor. If you climb Everest you probably won’t lose your life…not in this day and age unless someone really screws something up. All of these things carry some measure of risk, I grant you but are they going to kill you? Physically I would expect to continue on this corporeal plane after any of these activities.

And I would expect to die after each one.

Yes you read that right. I would expect to die. I would not only expect to die I would be trying to pierce my heart with a blade and pour my life’s blood out. I would commit murder upon the person I am.

If I choose my quest correctly I am going to kill the person who chose that quest. The person who chose to jump, climb, or dedicate themselves must die in order for me to become the new person who has attempted the quest. Just the very act of setting out will cut the throat of who I was so that I may become who I will be. The quest is not an incubator. The quest is not a cocoon. The quest is not a benign easy process. The quest is an active, homicidal activity designed to put you in a crucible of change.

So are you willing to put who you are to the test? Are you willing to step, like the explorers of yore, into the unknown abyss where monsters and incredible creatures may lie in waiting to devour you? Are you willing to walk through the fires of change to discover who you may become?

I am giving you permission to kill the person you are in order to become the person you want to be. I am giving you permission to go on a quest to find that person.

Let’s launch your ship on a Homeric hero’s journey. Get on board or get left behind! It’s never too late to be who you were meant to be.

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

Sunday Story…Success

Recently Kim McLaughlin from CrossFit Invictus put up a blog post about the three types of success. You can read it here: http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/three-types-of-success/

This got me to thinking about how we measure success in some other areas of our lives. The work we do in the gym or the box is great. I want you to set a PR. It feels freaking great to lift something you previously thought was impossible. What about your life outside these four walls? I know most of you have one (except maybe me!)

Where are your personal records in your life? Not the size of your bank account or the type of automobile you drive or your zip code? What personal records do you have that you are trying to surpass? Are you trying to be more philanthropic? Get to church more? Volunteer more? How much more? Is there 1 more thing you can do to help this world and the people in it who really need your gifts, skills and talents?

Can I get better? At my job? At my parenting? At my personal growth? At my self-talk? Am I spending some time each day in gratitude? Will you write down where you are kind? I know we are trained from an early age to be self-deprecating but how does that really serve you? I was told…”don’t be too full of yourself.” Really? Who should I be full of? I am not saying you should run around and tell the world what a great person you are (your actions will do that) but you should recognize to yourself the things you do that are good and kind. It’s ok to pat yourself on the back for being a great human.

Do you show up? Do you do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it? Are you consistent in your approach to your life and the people around you? Can I count on you to be consistent? We all know people who are not. We are never sure who is going to show up from one day to the next. At least with certain people we know who they are…we don’t like it, we don’t enjoy that person but we know who they are…we can count on them to lie, cheat and steal. There is a consistency there. Will you be consistent…can I count on your word, can I count on you to be the person you say you are? Am I who you think I am? Am I that guy day in and day out? This is a consistency to be admired and celebrated. I want to hang out with people like that.

Your life should be a celebration of person bests. Your life should be one of constant and never ending improvement…if you aren’t growing, you are dying. Your life should be consistent and congruent. You are walking your talk.

The beautiful thing about being human where we are right now is You Can Change. If you look at yourself and see something you don’t like, we can change. We can do better more often.

Life is like a burpee…you can’t fail as long as you keep getting up off the floor.

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram!