Sunday Story…The Whole Enchilada

I love to cook. I hate to do dishes. But I can’t have one without the other.

If you are going to cook you need to be ready to clean up. If you are going to write you need to be ready to edit. If you are going to start a new workout regimen you need to take care of your nutrition as well.

You can’t just do the “fun” stuff or the stuff you like. You have to do the hard stuff, the stuff that isn’t fun, the stuff that forces you to really dig deep. You need to warm up before you work. You need to cool down when you’re done. If you only do half the work you only get half the results. This is true throughout your life.

Your relationship isn’t a honeymoon week for 50 years.
Your workout/diet regimen requires discipline as well as fun.
Your career is going to have set backs as you move forward.

It is in the grind, the tedium, the day to day that real change happens. It may be imperceptible to you on a day to day basis but after 100 days? Shift will happen.

Do it all. Especially the things you don’t want to do. You’ll be glad you did.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Merry Ho Ho

It’s that time of year again. We get all caught up in the gift giving and the going hither and yon, the party circuit, and all the rest of the year-end things. And that’s all well and good…necessary even. We need a respite from the day to day grind we all do. We need a chance to slow down and re-connect with our loved ones and the people around us who make our loves richer and more fulfilling.



In this time of reflection don’t forget the most important person…You. Without you, all of us would be poorer and less fulfilled. You are the glue that holds so many things together. You are the one needed to lead. You are the one.



When each New Year starts we all begin with a sense of refreshment and rejuvenation. Dreams are re-visited. Goals are re-stated. Progress is reviewed and reset. 2019 is upon us and this is Your year. Unfortunately so was last year and the one before that. Maybe it’s time to really do something truly amazing. Maybe this is the year your star will really shine.



Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is one definition of insanity. Let’s do something different. Write 3 goals down. Make a map of how to get those things done. Get an accountability coach…someone who will check in and talk about your progress and keep you accountable for reaching your goals. Hire one if necessary. Make this year Your year.



Happy Holidays! Thanks for being you and for being here on the journey to extraordinary with me!



John Mariotti

www.crossfitodayssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Tribes

We are all born into a certain tribe. It wasn’t a choice, it just happened that way. Then we are forced by circumstance to be in other tribes…school, work, church. At some point we may realize that those tribes are not really the ones we want to belong to.

As you grow up you get to make some choices about the tribes you belong to. You can change your church affiliation if you decide the one you were defaulted into doesn’t serve your purpose. You can switch jobs or schools. You probably can’t get a different family but you can distance yourself from the one you were born into in order to create some distance.

More importantly you get to decide which tribes and what level of engagement you are going to have with your new tribes. You also get to create a new tribe if you can’t find one that works for you. That’s right, you are authorized to create a new tribe and invite the folks you want to join you. Invite the people who “get” you and who you “get”. Grab the ones that have been through things with you. Find the people who truly “see” you.

Your life has been a series of tribes. The best ones are the ones you connect with deeply and truly. These tribes demand the best of you, they raise the expectations you have of yourself and provide a base for what comes next.

If you are reading this, Thanks for being part of this tribe. I appreciate your presence and input. Let’s do more better.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Outside the Box

We all have limits. Some of them are real and inviolable, others are made up. You can’t deadlift 3000 pounds. You can’t breathe underwater without assistance. These things are real. You can’t change them no matter how hard you try. Most of them are pretty obvious and easy to find.

False limits, however, are a bit more complicated. Those limits are often habitual puts upon us by well-meaning people. They are just trying to save us from experiencing some sort of pain. Pain is part of the price we pay for wisdom. If I don’t get out of my box and expand my horizons I won’t be able to experience anything new.

Will you fall? Will you fail? Will it hurt? Will you quit? Yes, yes, yes, and I hope not. These limits don’t define you unless you let them. All they are is a story about what some thought was possible. They aren’t real unless you let them become real.

It won’t always work but it’s possible. You are capable of bringing your best self to the issue…not a self-defined by other people’s limitations. Make your own limits then surpass them.

Color outside the lines or make new lines…do not accept someone else’s limitations as your own.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Fitness

One of the greatest gifts CrossFit has given to the Fitness industry is an actual definition of fitness. That definition is measurable, observable, and repeatable…it isn’t just the state of being “fit”. Move a load over a certain distance…then do it again and move more weight faster, further. We all know this by now.

But physical fitness is only one aspect of your fitness. What about your mental/intellectual fitness? What about your spiritual fitness? What about your relationship fitness?

How will define those? How will you know you are more fit in those areas? Have you ever even thought about what it would take? After all, we all know if I lose weight, lift more, run faster, look better naked I am more physically fit.

How will I know my intellectual fitness is improving? Am I reading more? Am I doing things that will expand my thinking? Or am I closing myself in…only reading and thinking the things I already know? What am I learning new this week?

Your spiritual fitness? What did you do every day to connect with spirit? What practices are you using? How can you improve those practices?

Are you finding new relationship tools to improve All of your relationships...with your significant other, your kids, and your colleagues?

Just like your physical fitness, you ignore these other areas at your own peril. As we grow and age we can grow and improve or we can begin that long slow trek into a closed off and dark corner until the light goes out.

If you aren’t growing you’re dying.
John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Enlightenment

There is an old saying that goes something like this:
If you think you are enlightened go spend the holidays with your family.
It isn’t that there is something wrong with Your family; it’s that your family knows what buttons to push on your console. Your family knows what will and won’t light you up. Your family has a dynamic that you have been trying to navigate (both successfully and unsuccessfully) for the last few decades.

It’s easy to maintain your calm and considered demeanor in your daily life. You get to set your life up in ways that fuel your highest aspirations. You keep people around you who inspire and help you find your highest and best.

You don’t get to pick your family though. You don’t get to kick out the ones who are way less than inspiring or who are actually people you would never choose to hang out with. You are stuck with them; they are the ones who are here to really challenge your aspirations.

In those stressful moments with our families is when we can find true peace and contentment. In those moments we can find peace when we are no longer resisting any feeling or thought no matter if it is positive or negative. My family is my family, it is up to me to decide how I will react and find the peace no matter what they do.

Enlightenment is found in my every day not just in the quiet moments of self reflection.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Wakey, wakey

Way too often we are not 100% awake. Maybe we are dazed, or sleepy, or zoned out but we are not awake. When we are awake, fully aware of our surroundings, present to the moment, hearing for the first time, seeing with new eyes, approaching life with a beginners mind, it is a gift to ourselves and the universe.

This is the dilemma of our life. Awake feels good. Awake honors us and the people around us. Awake is the currency we use to pay for the change we want to see. Yet, Awake is fleeting and hard to hold.

The world we live in is conspiring to keep us asleep. Bored, distracted, over-occupied, busy all excuse us from our true nature. Our true nature is awake and fully present in the moment. When you are awake and I am awake we can move mountains.

All too often we find it easier to not be awake. Sleep walking through life is easy. Awake is hard to get there, harder to stay there, and nearly impossible to share with others. Getting there is a quest. Remaining there is a labor of love. Awake is a state to be cherished and reveled in.

Wakey, wakey.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Insanity

Is often defined as doing the same things and expecting a different result. For most of us, this is an obvious principle. It is not always obvious when we are talking about the stories that run our lives.

Shifting those stories may be one of the hardest things to do. We built those stories piece by piece over our entire lives. They are comfortable, like a favorite blanket. They feel good to us. They validate our worldview. They create a cocoon for us to feel comfortable in. But from the outside, they look tattered and worn.

Putting those stories away and creating new ones that serve you where you are today is difficult and scary. After all, if the old story isn’t really serving, isn’t really representing who and where you are; what good is it anyway?

Find a useful story will serve you better in the long run. A story that will help us do the things we desire make the changes we want to make in ourselves and the world and feel happy and satisfied. Now that's a worthwhile pursuit.

If you can’t do it yourself…get some help creating and placing that new story. It will be worth it.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Mindful Moments

Many years ago before you could go to kindergarten you had to be able to do a couple things; you needed to be able to tie your shoes and you had to know your name, address, and phone number. Considering there were no Velcro fastening shoes at that time you might be able to see why tying your shoes would be important. That address and phone number have long escaped me but I can still tie my shoes (well, sort of, right now).

When I turned 18 a couple things happened then as well…I registered to vote and for the selective service---the draft. I have no idea what my draft number was in 1974 but I’m still voting all these years later.

We can often guess what is going to be important many years later. We will be right about some of the big things that become unconscious…walking, tying shoes, driving, and things like that. But we are often wrong about the little things…the chance encounter, the thing that gave you momentary pause and a hmmm, or a simple choice of an a over a b.

It’s the little things going on around you that are going to make the difference down the road. Little things you may not remember when their import becomes apparent.

Be mindful of your moments.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot .com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Pulling the Trigger

As we enter the season of feasts and parties and over-indulgence it is important to recognize this fact: We all have triggers. Thos things that start us on a cycle of overeating or drinking, a cycle of social media rage, or something that feels like it forces us back into our shell. That trigger leads us into a cycle, or more likely a spiral where we continue our behavior even though we know it is detrimental to our overall health/fitness/mental state.

The first question is can you see the cycle? Can you see how it doesn’t work for you in your life? The continuous twitter war with some internet trolls that gets you fired up over something and keeps you fired up for days returning over and over again to the scene of the crime? To break the cycle, to stop the spiral stop pulling the trigger.

Do you know your triggers? Do you know what will start that downward spiral? It is hard to stop a spiral once it starts. It takes a tremendous amount of willpower to cease a cycle once it has taken hold. It is much easier to not pull the trigger at all. It is much easier to control that trigger, to eliminate that trigger than it is to stop the cycle.

Decide to stop pulling the trigger before you are in the pull of the spiral. Eliminate the trigger, eliminate the cycle. Simple, not easy.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Before ABC

A=Awareness
B=Boundaries
C=Confrontation

I have taught self-defense (Fear Adrenaline Stress Training) to hundreds of women, men, and children. The ABC’s was where we started and finished. But as I have listened and read the stories from #metoo, #whyididn’treportit, the recent SCOTUS hearing, and more I have come to the realization that I should have been teaching something before awareness.

Once I am aware of a potential situation (or even just having heightened awareness) it can be too late. Now, that awareness can give me the knowledge needed to recognize the “golden moments” that occur so I can avoid further complications. But what happens before that?

What happens before that is the way we speak about each other. I’m sure none of you have ever said, “that’s gay” and meant it as an insult. I’m sure I’ve never called anyone a p#$#$y and meant to call them weak and powerless. I’m sure no one has ever said things like, “Indian giver” to demean someone who isn’t honest or “trailer trash” to insult a person who isn’t as wealthy or as smart as you. No, none of us has ever used any of those turns of a phrase. Those are just a few of the insults we throw around casually. Often we find them buried in our speech and thought patterns without really knowing they are there.

What happens before that is not owning our no. How many times were you forced to hug or kiss a relative or friend of the family when you didn’t want to just to be “polite or a good boy/girl?” How many times have you asked your children to do the same? We need to proudly own our no. Not say yes when we mean no just to get along or not cause any ripples. On the other side, we also need to say yes when we mean yes. Too often we say no or I don’t know when we want to be asked again or to be pursued. No means no, it shouldn’t mean try again, or not yet, or maybe later (after I’ve had more to drink.)

When we start to fix what happens before awareness we might have a chance to stop the endless cycle of mindless violence. Ending it starts in my mind, my language, and my actions. It starts with me.

Be aware of your internal dialogue first. Own your no and when you are a yes be an unequivocal f%&*k yes!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Sinners

And saints. Cops and criminals. Perpetrator and victim.

I am both things. We all are. Think about it.

I have done things that weren’t right, weren’t OK. I have had things done to me that weren’t OK, that weren’t right. I have overstepped my own boundaries and overstepped other people’s boundaries as well. Both things are true. For me to say otherwise would be an untruth.

Admitting this doesn’t remove the stain, nor does it make it worse. What it does is make me more human. My foibles are mine. I need to own them. I need to forgive myself for all the times I didn’t stand up for one of my own boundaries. I need to hope that the boundaries I transgressed weren’t so egregious as to cause permanent damage. If they were, I am sorry. I didn’t realize what I was doing at the time. It wasn’t intentional. I will do my very best not to let it happen again.

We live in a changing culture, one that is almost quicksand. I look back at our attitudes 50 years ago and I see that we were badly mistaken. There were so many things we (especially the we that is I) believed, picked up from various places, said, and did that were, looking back at them now were wrong, very wrong.

As I said, I am sorry. I’m not perfect but I will do better. We (all of us) need to do better.

“There is a field beyond right and wrong. I will meet you there.” - Rumi

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.Johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…EDD

Every. Day. Duty. Or... Every. Damn. Day.

Years ago when I began my journey to CrossFit competition, Jim Fitzsimmons the Crossfit coach at the University of Nevada, Reno told me if I wanted to really “get” my double unders they needed to be EDD…everyday duty. So that’s what I did. Every day I practiced double unders for 5 minutes. Eventually I “got” them and got good at them as well.

What are you doing every day that builds a new skill or a new asset or a new bit of creativity that belongs to you? I own double unders now. It took quite a few days but eventually they became mine.

Every day I write. That little bit of work becomes my duty every damn day. Every day I get a little better at putting words to paper. Every day I increase the value of that asset (the writing asset).

Every day I work out. That commitment to my fitness is my duty every day. It is part and parcel of what I own. Every day I get a little more fit. My fitness is an asset I want to increase the value of.

What assets are you trying to increase? What did you do today to increase that value? Whether it is intellectual property, personal property, or financial property the increase in value is an Every Day Duty.

Small efforts done consistently over a long period of time yield large results.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Find Your

Center and extend from there. Then return to center. Extend and return. Lather rinse and repeat.

So how do you find your center and how will you know when you do?

Your center is the place where everything is right with the world. You are calm when you are there. The world is right. When life is flowing and seems effortless you are centered. The opposite is true as well…when you are struggling and it feels like everything you do is swimming against the current you may not be centered. This could be because you are trying to get somewhere or something that is outside your current zone of comfort. That’s OK. Remember we are extending from center. When the scales are balanced nothing is moving…there is no effort against the tide since you aren’t going anywhere.

When we start from center we are beginning with the end in mind. It is our intention to return to center even if we bring a new perspective and attitude with us. We can extend out; reach past our comfort zone in order to achieve the goals we want to achieve. Then we return to center and begin to look for a new target.

Your center is your “happy” place. It also the place that fuels your desires and has you see your goals in the distance. If you live a life constantly outside of center you will find it difficult to achieve very much. The old saying about seeing the forest for the trees applies here.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com
775-338-2412
no copyright infringement intended

Sunday Story…The Scales

Of Life have a tendency to move up and down. Rarely are they perfectly balanced. After all, when they are balanced there is no motion at all…everything is perfectly still and in stasis. The problem with balance is there is no place for movement. When the scale is centered I can’t go forward or back or even side to side.

If I want to do something I am going to have to move the scale to one side or the other. Sometimes we move the scale because it’s time….time to raise the kids, time to focus on the career or relationship or time to relax and reset after a period of intense focus.

Sometimes I move the scale purposefully. I make a decision to push all the weight to one side and do what is on that side and nothing else. Often, though, this is at the expense of all the other things on the other side of the scale. If I spend too long in the singular pursuit of a thing in complete abandonment to everything else the scales could end up permanently broken.

Depending on what you want it may be better to move the scale back and forth shifting the emphasis back and forth or in several different directions, always coming back to center, to stasis. In other words whatever your concentration be single-minded and focused. Don’t multitask your concentration.

Do what you are doing. Finish that and go do the other thing.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Scarcity vs. Connection

In our daily interactions with the people around us, we don’t often think in terms of winners and losers. We usually think about the connection we have.

But in my interactions with the car dealer or the jeweler, we often find ourselves in a “zero-sum” game. If I give too much I lose. The converse is true as well. If she gives too much she loses.

What if there was only a mutually beneficial transaction? What if there was no fear of losing, of being “taken?” And, conversely, what if there was no joy in winning, in being “on top?” What would be left?

In today’s world connection is King. I can be connected or I can be right. It is difficult to be both. Transactions based on connection, reliability, and confidence far outweigh those transactions built only to satisfy someone else’s narcissistic need to win at all and any costs.

Choose connection.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…political discourse

These days is almost impossible. It seems that having an actual discussion…a give and take, a back and forth based on facts, figures, proof, science, effectiveness, or correctness has disappeared. That discussion has been replaced with intractable positions based on tribalism.

In this discussion, people don’t care about the facts. Facts are not the point at all. The answer is always “no” if the question comes down to changing your mind. You are so bound to your position that you will go to your grave before you free yourself from the mast of self-righteousness.

The subject doesn’t matter. The conflict is what counts and I never want to lose. Changing my mind, shifting my position is losing. And I may lose my tribe if I shift or change so we all go down with the ship.

This is why so many of us refrain from “talking politics” (or religion). There is little or no room for a reasoned exchange of ideas revolving around the facts. And the more things we call “political” the less we have to talk about. And the less opportunity any of us have to learn and grow and understand one another.

We can argue if we want. But if we want to move forward we must be willing to listen. And that means accepting we might have to shift our position.

Tribalism serves the tribe. Serve a bigger ideal.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…real vs. unreal

When I pursue an external goal like a particular career or athletic goal (the CrossFit Games!) the end is obvious, the path is well documented, and the boundaries are set. It’s mostly a straight path. The rules rarely change mid-stream and you can see what you need to do and do it.

This is for a lot of people an easy way of being and doing. The problem comes when there is a major hiccup along the way. Maybe you get injured or you don’t make the cut or the path gets cut off. The other problem is what happens after you are done. At that point the realization hits that what you have been doing is not a lot like real life.

Real life is messy. The boundaries aren’t clear. The goal is gauzy and the rules are often like quicksand…they change, they hide, and they aren’t fair.

Here’s the fix:
First, find some goals.
Second, set some boundaries.
Own these things as yours, not anyone else’s. Your goals are yours not mine. Your boundaries are yours not mine. Don’t worry if mine are different from yours or anyone else’s. Just own yours. Don’t grieve over the unreal life you used to lead with goals and boundaries that were delineated for you by a whole bunch of other people.

This is the reality you are in now. Your goals. Your boundaries. Apply the discipline, motivation, grit and desire you cultivated in your unreal life to these things.

Now go do work.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Unmoored

So I have been cast off from my normal docking station. My schedule has followed an extremely disciplined and rigid daily form for the last several years.

On one hand, it is a pleasant change, like discovering a hidden restaurant in your neighborhood or a special little shop. On the other it is disconcerting and a bit frightening, like being plopped down in a vaguely familiar landscape but with no map or GPS to help orientate you. Where do you go, how do you find your way, and what do you do first and then second?

Lots of people have asked about my current schedule and when or if I will start training for the games again. Sadly, I won’t be training for the games in 2019. There are several reasons for this. Allow me to iterate some of them:

I’m injured. My rotator cuff is torn, my biceps tendon is ruptured and my knee doesn’t function properly. I need to get all of these things taken care of. Between the rehab and the downtime, there won’t be enough training time to be in the kind of shape needed to perform at the highest level.

I’m tired. I have spent the last 6 years or so in pursuit of the highest level of fitness. I started this journey (technically) way back in 2003 or 4 when I joined the Ultimate Black Belt Test. We were tasked to get in the best shape of our lives. That sent me on a quest to define and refine my fitness. The last 5 years have been the culmination of that journey. And now I am ready to dial it back and reflect on the trip.

I’ve got other stuff to do! Lately, I have been feeling the pull to expand myself…in writing, providing content, coaching and other things. It was too hard to do these other things and train 2-4 hours a day along with the requisite recovery and rejuvenation. Look for new and exciting things soon (besides hanging weight belts up!)

So I will be allowing my boat to drift a little and then start moving once I figure out what the 1st next thing is!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Thanks!

It’s over…a week in Madison for the CrossFit games. A week of competing against the other 19 best 60 plus fittest men in the world. A week of hobnobbing with some of the fittest people on earth. A week of basking in recognition and congratulations.

As I said before, if I could just get through Sunday intact I would notch that as a win. So I did and I shall. I finished 13th. It was obvious that there were certain things that really impacted by my injuries but there were a couple that weren’t…I took 2nd on the swim workout and the handstand workout. Those were my performance highlights.

The highlight of the whole experience, however, was the opening ceremony on Thursday night. Walking through the crowd to high fives and cheers and then into the Coliseum, packed with people yelling and screaming gave me goose bumps. It was an amazing experience that was unequaled in my experience.

I want to Thank everyone who helped get me here. Unfortunately, that list is very long and I wouldn’t want to forget many of you. Everyone who put their name on our 2018 shirts…I thank you for your financial support. All of you who support our box financially I also want to thank profusely. Without you, I couldn’t do what I have done for the last 5 years.

Now I am off to heal. To paraphrase an old saying…before the CrossFit games chop wood, carry water; After the CrossFit games chop wood, carry water. In other words, we keep doing what we need to do to have life work.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Game day

It’s time…Gameday is upon me. Up until now, I have been so unexcited to go to Madison. Partly because my injury profile is currently off the charts and partly because I just don’t feel ready.

And now none of that matters. 3 days from now the bell will go off and it will be ON. The chips will fall where they fall. We have had a couple pronouncements of the first 2 days of workouts. I can feel my excitement and anticipation building. My body is feeling better than it has in weeks, maybe months. The work has been done that can be done, and now it’s time to put the head down and get to the finish line.

As I go into this competition my thought process has been vastly different than the past 2 times.
The first time I was wondrous, a bit shell-shocked that I actually made it (#20!) and had no idea what to expect.
The second time I felt confident, having fought through a couple injuries requiring surgery (I was #2) and was really looking forward to showing up and performing.
This time is different. I am, in many ways, broken. Although I qualified #9 I know that any workout could be my last and that includes the ones I will do this afternoon and tomorrow.
So…
The first time was an emotional battle. Did I belong? Could I compete? Was I good enough, tough enough, strong enough?
The second time was a physical battle. Would my strength and endurance be enough? Could I leave a full effort on the field of play?
This time…this time is a mental battle. Can I will it? Can I be smart enough to finish? Can my mental fortitude and perseverance win out over the weakness of the flesh?

Ask me on Sunday…and watch starting Wednesday 08/01 at games.crossfit.com

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The Wild Ride

So you’ve picked the low hanging fruit…you did a couple simple little things, it wasn’t too hard to do and you got really good results. Now what?

We need to move a little further up the tree. We need to look at where we want to go and make a plan. This isn’t going to be as easy, maybe not as hard getting the really tough fruit from the top of the tree but still hard.

I may need some specialized equipment as just standing around isn’t going to get this job done. I am definitely going to need a plan of attack. This job isn’t going to happen with a willy-nilly, mud on the wall approach. The plan needs to be solid in both planning and execution. I may need to get some expert help. I will need to attack the goal in a two or three-pronged approach. We want to be both efficient and effective. You will need to change some of the ways you have approached the job up to now. That’s why you need expert help…someone or a team of someone’s who has been there and done that.

Are you ready? Are you mentally ready to attack this new task? Get your ducks in a row and hang on for the ride. It’s going to be wild, fun but wild!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Picking the

Low hanging fruit.

This principle is probably the easiest to implement and yields the quickest results. Way back when I was a teen I made money every summer picking fruit. The easiest and best money (we got paid by the pound) to be made was standing on the ground and picking all the fruit you could easily reach. This only makes sense right?

The same principle applies in the world of nutrition or exercise…find the one or two things you can do easily that will give you the fastest and most noticeable results. Here’s a couple of examples:
If you drink alcohol every night, try going to every other night. The extra calories will be saved and your body will begin to alleviate some of the toxic overloads.
In the gym, if you show up twice a week make it 3 times a week. If you do that you will be increasing your results exponentially. Neither of those things is particularly hard nor are do they require any special training or tools.

Once you pick the low hanging fruit you can start moving up the ladder to the parts of the tree that are more difficult or require special tools to accomplish.

Low hanging fruit…easy and simple.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Doing it Wisely

I have been telling you to Eat Real Food for years. Most of you eat pretty well. Most of you understand the basic principles of nutrition and eating.

And most of us are still not happy with the results our eating plans give us. We might find a temporary “magic pill” but when the temporary goes and the pill wears off things go back to where they were before we started. This is not what we want.

We want a plan that is sustainable, easy to implement, life-enhancing and works. Wiser is what we want. We get wiser when we use all the tools and data available to us. Any other method is just trial and error…and isn’t that what you have been doing all this time up to now?

Wiser isn’t necessarily easier in the beginning but it is smarter. Wiser may take a little longer in the beginning. Wiser may look like a bigger mountain to start with but when you reach the top the ride down is so much better. Or you can keep climbing the same hill over and over again.

Start collecting data. Get an expert on your side. Make a wiser plan. Follow that plan. Pat yourself on the back for doing it wisely…finally.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…When I need

Something done right I hire an expert.
Many years ago I owned an old pickup truck. You know the kind…an oil change took about 10 minutes, you could change out the alternator or starter in nothing flat with a couple tools and about $50.00. I decided I wanted to rebuild the carburetor so I went to the store, bought a kit and took it home. I opened the box, took one look at the blow up diagram and put it all back in the box. There was no way I was going to even attempt that project. These days I don’t attempt anything on my car. It goes to an expert.

When something breaks on my body, I don’t go to the internet or WebMD or try to guess the problem, I go to an expert…a doctor. Some who has expertise in fixing or diagnosing my issue. It only makes sense. Their knowledge base is way past anything I will ever have.

Yet after all these years of trying and failing to get your diet and nutrition right, you still haven’t hired an expert. Or maybe after trying to get in shape reading magazines, taking this piece or that piece of advice from some “guru” you find yourself in pretty much the same place as when you started.

Of course, it does no good to take your car to the shop and not let the expert fix it. The same holds true of your body. You should hire the people you know and trust who are already enrolled in your success.

I wonder where I might find them?

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Behold the Turtle

Sunday Story…Behold the Turtle

He only gets ahead when he sticks his neck out!

This is a simple idea. If I don’t get my head out of my shell, I can’t move at all. We can try to ignore the world around us by ducking down and covering up but that doesn’t change what is happening in the world. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. Wishing something doesn’t make it so.

You need to look around, assess the issue and do something…sometimes doing anything. Doing nothing gets you exactly that…nothing. At least when you try, you learn something. Keeping your head tucked in only allows you the illusion that nothing is happening. Things are happening all the time. Time is passing, things are growing and dying, ideas are being promulgated, new stuff arises and old stuff falls by the wayside. In the meantime you are stuck in your shell.

Get out! Stick your neck out! Do something. Stand for something. Be a part of the greater community and be the change you want to see in the world. The world will turn one way or the other; you may as well be part of the process of creating the world you are living in!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blgspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Serving

Your highest self. What does it look like when you are serving your highest self? For me it is simple…I am fulfilling my purpose here on earth.

Each of us is here for a purpose. Your purpose is yours. Mine is mine, his is his, and hers is hers. Your first job is to discover your purpose. Everything else follows after that and falls in line.

Your purpose should light you up. When you get out of bed in the morning you are excited about living into your purpose. When you hit the door you know you are on the right path. Your heart is full, your spirit is afire, and your being is vibrating as you get out in the world to do the work you were designed to do.

Your job may or may not be your purpose. Your job may be the means to the end…the end being a purpose filled, a purpose driven life.

What lights you up? What keeps you up at night excited and alert? What gets you springing out of bed in the morning before the alarm clock can go off? What make your heart smile and you spirit soar? This is your purpose.

Go find it. Then go do it. Lather rinse and repeat.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Tough times

These last few weeks we’ve been exploring mental toughness, mainly how to be more mentally tough. What we haven’t touched on is the why. Why is mental toughness important? Why is it even a thing? Why not just go about your business any way you can?

The answer is simple. Life is going to throw some stuff at you. Some of that stuff is going to suck. Some of it is going to really suck and some of it is going to be truly awful. If your habit is to fold up your tent, quit and go home then when that awful stuff life throws your way guess what you’re going to do? Yep, you are going to do what is habitual and easy.

Understanding what it takes to be mentally tough isn’t enough. It isn’t an intellectual exercise. It is an exercise based in real life. I want to be ready for the next curve ball life throws at me because it’s coming. As sure as I am writing this today, it is coming. Will I fold, wilt like a delicate flower, melt like a snowflake? Will you?

Mentally tough people don’t fold, wilt, melt or quit. They look at the challenge, talk the tough talk to themselves, make a plan, change the plan and met the unknown and unknowable head on. Because they have practiced and tried and failed at smaller less important things (honestly, your “Fran” time is pretty inconsequential on the big picture) they are ready to face the fan when the proverbial stuff hits it.

Tough times don’t last. Tough people do…Robert H. Schuller

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Practice

Toughness.

Being mentally tough is a habit. It just doesn’t happen by chance. You must practice every chance you get. Sometimes just a few minutes, sometimes for 20 or 40 minutes but you practice. Make a plan, have a backup, stay in the present moment, and put your head down until it’s over no matter what your mind tells you.

You can always do more than you think you can. Your mind will want to quit long before your body will fail. Fall down, get up. Breathe and go. Whatever your mantra is, say it over and over. Look for the finish line and get over it.

Don’t wait to practice until the game is on the line. Practice every day. Play a game in your mind…like you did when you were a kid…OK, this is for the world championship, the final game, the score is tied, it’s all up to you. There it is…dig down and find another gear, negotiate for more strength and get after it!

Mental toughness is a skill and a habit. It doesn’t just happen. It happens because you make it happen. Because you decide today is the day you are tougher than you think you are.

Make today the day.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…It isn’t over

Until it’s over. This one is simple. Whatever the task is in front of you; you will not stop until it is finished. If we are working for 20 minutes we work for 20 minutes, not 19:50 or even 19:59. If we are doing 100 of something we don’t stop at 80 or 90 or 99. We stop when we are done…we stop when the task is complete or the bell rings and not 1 second before.

This is a commitment to yourself. I will stop when I am finished, not when I’m tired, not when it gets hard, not when I feel like I should. I stop only when I am done.

We shut everything out (present moment focus), we only work on getting one more whatever, we stick to the plan that’s working and we work until it’s done. Our mental game is strong. I am committed to finishing. If we both get on the treadmill either you are getting off first or I am going to die. That is the strength of my resolve.

Pain is temporary. When it passes something else will take its place. Will it be regret? The regret of stopping, of giving up on yourself, of not being who you wanted to be that day? Or will it be the pride of finishing, of stepping into the power and strength that lies beneath your veneer, of squeezing every drop of effort from your body?

It isn’t over until I say it’s over.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Everyone has a plan…

Until they get hit in the face. On our road to mental toughness there will be setbacks, obstacles, things won’t go according to plan…you WILL get hit in the face.

We have present moment focus (#1) and (#2) the right self talk. Both of those things are going to get tested right now. What do you do when your plan isn’t working? What do you do when you get hit on the face?

This is when you need to keep #1 and #2 in the forefront. But you also need to be able to shift on the fly. What’s your plan “b”? Do you even have one? What happens when you get no-repped? What happens when your rope breaks?

#3 is best called, simply, Breathe. The plan has gone down the tube. You can keep hammering and hope it turns out OK. You can just slow down and let it go (violates #2 by the way). Or you can stop. Take a breath. Take another. Find your present moment focus on your new plan. Slow down here, go faster there. 3,2,1 go. The 2-5 seconds you just took will prevent the “wheels from falling off the bus”! The last thing you want is to try to stay with your plan as you get pummeled about the head and shoulders.

Present moment focus, self-talk, and breathe all work together to keep you on task and in the game. Next week…it ain’t over.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Nattering Nabobs

Of negativity. On our quest to mental toughness, one of the biggest things to control is your self-talk. What you say to yourself is of critical importance.

If you say you are tired, you will be tired.
If you say you are thirsty you will stop for a drink.
You don’t need chalk, you just want to rest…whether you admit it or not.
If you say you’re going to die, you are lying to yourself. You won’t die, your body will quit long before that.
If you say you can’t you probably can’t.

Remember step 1 is your present moment focus. Step 2 is controlling your interior dialogue. Move with purpose using the plan you set before starting. If there’s a change to be made, make it based on reality, not the story you are telling yourself. Just change the plan as a matter of fact, not emotion.

It is too easy to beat yourself up, to be negative about your performance, to allow negativity to creep into your performance. Just like we can’t re-organize a squat under load, it is almost impossible to regain positive attitude under a barrage of negative self-commentary. Train yourself every day to have positive self-talk…about everything. How am I today? Super good and getting better! How’s that work out? I love thrusters and burpees! It’s my wheelhouse! Say it enough and maybe someday it will be!

Step 3 next week.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Mental Toughness

The other day someone asked me how do I keep going in a workout when the lungs are on fire, the heart is hammering, the muscles are screaming, and your brain is telling you to stop? What’s the process to keep going? What’s the process to dig down and go faster, find another gear, negotiate for more strength? What do you do that makes this possible?

It turns out, for me, that there are several steps. It isn’t just one thing (is it ever?) First and foremost, it is present moment/task oriented. In other words, all I am concentrating on is what I am doing at that very moment. I am not thinking about the next task or the one after that. If I am rowing I worry about the row…stroke rate, pacing, form, and technique. That is all there is; me, the machine, the monitor, the noise of the fan, the click of the chain.

The next task does not exist. Yet. My focus is singular and laser focused. I have this task and just this task. When I finish this task I will move to the next task. The moment I move to the next task, I am done with the one finished. I don’t replay it in my mind, rehash the strategy, nothing. It is over and done. I am focused on the job at hand.

The time for judgment and replays and all of that is when you finish everything. Until you are done, though, there is only that thing.

Next week…nattering nabobs!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Right

Not fast.

The other day I was talking to someone about pushups. How to do them correctly, why to do them correctly, what the full range of motion looks like, and how to scale them when fatigue sets in. We want to do them right not fast. That being said, we also want to do them right fast. Once we understand what “right” looks like we can concentrate on fast.

This is a microcosm for the rest of your life. Take your nutrition…are you opting for fast instead of right? Are you eating “good enough” or enough good? It takes too much time to measure the food? Are you guessing your portion sizes? Fast food is rarely right food.

What about your relationships? Are you doing “drive-by” check-ins? Are you allowing your loved ones to be superficial? Are you listening deeply and carefully? You can’t love fast, you need to love right.

John Wooden once said, “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” You don’t become the best you can become fast. You become the best you can become by doing things right.

Do it right not fast.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Nutritionally speaking

We often use a pyramid to illustrate your progression to better fitness. At the bottom of that pyramid is nutrition. Nutrition, AKA the food you eat, lies at the base of your health and fitness. It is that simple. You cannot out exercise a bad diet. There is no number of burpees that will compensate for eating crap (Calorie-Rich-And-Pathetic).

If you want to look better, feel better, and be healthier then you must eat better. It starts with a commitment to eat real food, prepared well, in a healthy environment. Then you must eat the right things. Then you must eat the right things in the correct amounts. None of this is terribly complex; it is, as I often say, simple but not easy.

We start with food quality and move to the correct macronutrient and calorie levels. Food timing and supplements are last on the list. The food we start with is lean meats and fish, next vegetables, followed by fruits and a limited amount of nuts and healthy fats and oils. At the top of the list are the grains and complex foods like bread and pasta. Those foods are calorically dense and, often, nutritionally weak so we really need to watch our intake on those.

We are about to launch a new nutritional support program. It will have several levels of support to help guide you to success. It will also include a measuring system called an In-Body that will give us a way to track your progress. Stay tuned for more details very soon.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey@gmail.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…More pie

Some of us live in a finite world, a zero sum game. If I win, you lose. If you get more, I get less. There are only so many pieces of the pie and the winner is the one who has the most pieces at the end. This is a great model for determining who wins the championship. There’s only 1 trophy, 1 title and whoever wins it, wins it. 1 winner and everyone else isn’t the winner.

This mindset doesn’t necessarily work in the rest of the world. It’s fine for an athletic competition but, really, to get truly big things done I need cooperation. I need people who can build a bigger pie or make more pies. If the pie is bigger we can all get more pie. This is a simple concept…a bigger pie equals more for everyone.

What if I concentrated on making a bigger pie instead of trying to make sure I got the piece I thought I deserved? What if I gave up on getting what’s mine and made sure everyone got theirs? How much bigger could I make things? How much more abundant would my life appear if I took the view that there was always going to be enough?

Some things are finite. There will only be one Super Bowl winner this year. Ideas are infinite. Hoarding them won’t create more but giving them away might make room for more.

A candle is not diminished when it lights another candle. Abundance is a mindset as much as it is a reality. Make a bigger pie, get more pieces.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The Clock

Never stops. It is relentless. It is going to continue no matter what you do. You can’t make it stop. You can’t slow it down or speed it up. You can’t hit the pause button. It is going to continue to count.

You can’t change this. So don’t worry about it. The time is the time. Whether it is the length of your life or a 7 minute workout it is going to keep on counting until it doesn’t anymore.

If you watch it it’s a distraction. It isn’t going to shift or change so watching it is futile. You can stress about it. Or you can choose to keep moving forward. It is entirely up to you. It is a choice you get to make.

What you choose says a lot about your happiness. I change the things I can change and I stop worrying about the things I can’t. Time is going to pass. I need to do the things I can do in the time I have.

Simple. Not easy.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The Golden Moment

In self defense there is a principle we like to call “the golden moment.” This is the moment, when if you just don’t screw up, everything will be OK. Most of the time there are several “golden moments” that could shift any outcome more favorable before you get to the bad one.

This principle also operates in other areas of your life. That witty repartee, the smart aleck comment, and the one you think of 10 minutes after the conversation ended? Those are best left unsaid. It would have ruined your “golden moment” and sent things careening down the path uncontrolled. You didn’t say it and no one got their feelings hurt, no one got fired, and no one got punched in the face.

Unfortunately we miss those golden moments when we are online. Our fingers hit the send button before our brains have a chance to over ride them. What you need is a flashing neon sign telling you to wait…count to 100…walk around the block…hit the delete key before you send.

Your brain needs to filter your fingers. We all have those cutting perfect comebacks once we get a chance to think of them. Your initial comment is probably not coming from your highest and best. Put on the brakes and don’t send…your “golden moment” will allow things to turn out OK.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The Shortcut

Rarely is. You have to jump through a few hoops, cut a few corners, hop a line and maybe you save a few minutes, or get a semi-passable result.

Not. Worth. It.

If I do the work as prescribed, follow the plan, be intentional about the results I am seeking I will get the results I want. I will arrive in plenty of time and I will have all my marbles intact.

Shortcuts not only short circuit the results, they also create stress and upheaval as you cut through the neighbor’s yard, avoiding (you hope) his dog. It gets you there but at what price? Doing the work leads to greater satisfaction. Doing the work is priceless.

Do all the work. Don’t skip the hard parts, especially the hard parts.


John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…A Love Letter

I love you. I probably haven’t told you but I do. And I ‘m sorry.

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I loved you. I’m sorry I didn’t make it clear how important you and your goals are to me. I’m sorry that somehow we lost our way.

I’m sorry I let you down, that I didn’t follow up, that I didn’t inspire you enough to keep driving toward your goals. I’m sorry I let you down. I didn’t know what needed to be said or done to really keep your fire lit.

Your goals are attainable. They are in sight if you look up, clear the fog of uncertainty and doubt away…they are right there for you to reach out and grab. I want you to be successful, to feel the pride and satisfaction of the attainment of full effort and full victory.

We started with enthusiasm and verve. And along the way we got complacent and, yes, a little lazy. Maybe we took our eyes off the “prize”? Maybe I should have forced you to reassess, to re-focus, and to get back in the saddle. I’m sorry. And I love you for sticking with me, for having faith in the process, for trusting me.

Let’s get back to work on your goals. Reassess, refocus, reset and get our eyes back on the prize. You can do it, I know you can. I want to support you in whatever way you need support. Just let me know.

I love you.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…How can I miss you

If you won’t go away?

Will you notice when I go? Or will you miss me? Am I all bluster and blow? Or, like jasmine carried on a warm breeze, will I be missed?

I notice when the loud, the obnoxious, the bully, the strident, the irritating go away. I notice the lack of stress when they disappear. I notice the calm, the peace that settles when those prickly personas go. I don’t miss them when they go away.

I miss when the empathetic, the kind, the compassionate, the thoughtful, the inspiring, the refreshingly real go away. When they go I look for them to reappear. I bask in the serenity they bring, the quiet confidence that exists with them. I miss them when they aren’t there.

Do you want to be noticed or missed when you leave? The choice is yours.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Fitter

Than yesterday, last week, last year. Way back when we were young most of our peers were relatively fit. Granted some of them were much fitter but fit was more the norm than not. We could run and jump and play games and do what we wanted to do with our bodies.

The maxim “use it or lose it” was in operation though and over the years everyone’s fitness changed and, generally, not for the better. Now when I look around at my peers it is painfully obvious who has been using it and who hasn’t.

Fitness is simple…move a load a distance. More fit equals moving larger loads further distances. Getting off the floor is moving a load a certain distance. Picking a box off the floor and putting it on a shelf is the same thing. How do you get more fit? Practice moving things faster and further. It really is that simple.

Your health is closely tied to your fitness. We all marvel at the octogenarian who still moves and operates like she is fifty. And we all mourn when we see a fifty-year-old moving like he’s eighty. The longer we live the bigger the gap we find between fit and unfit, between healthy and unhealthy.

Being fit takes commitment, work, and tenacity. You have to show up, grind out your work with intention and intensity, and realize that maintenance over the years is actually progress.

Be fit. It beats the pants off of anything else.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey@gmail.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The Journey

Starts with a single step. And it does. Yet there isn’t just that, is there?

I have taken first year Spanish about 5 times. I still can’t speak Spanish. I can sort of understand it…At least I can nod and smile at the appropriate times, I think. Starting that journey over and over has not gotten me any closer to the destination.

It isn’t just the starting, just the first step that matters. It’s the follow through. The 2nd, the tenth, the 100th steps that matter as well. If I want to be a Spanish speaker I will need to do more than the first year.

The first step is important, without it nothing else is possible. But it isn’t the only one that matters.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Now

Or later.
I want it now. I want it all and I want it now. This is the toddler’s way! I did it once; I shouldn’t have to do it again and again to get whatever it is.

You and I know this is not true. I have to eat healthy nourishing food over and over to get results. Once won’t do it. If I want better fitness I have to show up and work hard at the gym more than just the first 20 days of January. I know we don’t like these facts but they are immutable.

If I want a custom made anything I am going to need to wait for it. I am going to have to get fitted, learn how it works, get better at it, do some trial and error and maybe even tweak it a little before it is truly made for me.

You choose: Are your results are created by a toddler, skipping from thing to thing, going for the “cheap and easy” things, never staying long enough to see what works or doesn’t. Or are your results are created by a grown-up; who made a plan, stuck to it, changed it a bit when necessary but kept the goal in sight and stayed on task over a long period of time.

Toddler or Adult?

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Why don’t I

Do what I know is going to be good for me?

You know you will feel better after you work out but…
You’re tired
It’s cold
You have SO much to do
You aren’t feeling well
You just aren’t in the mood.

So you don’t go. And you end up feeling worse partly because you didn’t work out and partly because you know it’s good for you and you denied yourself that feeling.

What is up with this? Why do we do this to ourselves? It isn’t just working out. It’s eating right. It’s drinking less. It’s reading more. It’s spending more and better time with our families.

You know what to do and you know you will feel better, and you know it’s good for you and yet you don’t do it. What happens in that brain of yours that this goes on? And on and on. Because it didn’t happen just once and you learned from it. Nope, it’s happening over and over again.

What will it take to fix this? It’s simple, really. Not easy but simple. First, make a commitment to yourself to keep your commitments. Second, make a commitment to do the thing you know will be good for but you are having a hard time doing. Third, install into your memory how you feel when you have done the thing you know will be good for you. Lastly, go do it. You’ll be glad you did.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The space

between

Where you are and where you want to be can be vast. It could be a chasm and look completely impassable. It could be a challenge and look like something that may inspire you to do more, be better.

You get to decide what that space becomes. Will you use it to pull you forward? Can it be a launching pad to do greater things? Will you dance with the fear of falling in the gap?

Or will you look over the edge into the abyss and walk away…over matched and under-inspired.

The choice is yours. This space isn’t just one thing or in one place. It keeps showing up to challenge your resolve. It keeps appearing to test your will.

How you look at that space is everything. Victory or defeat isn’t in what happens in that space, it is your attitude when you survey the landscape. Will you be defeated before you begin? Will you win before you finish?

The key is to determine how you will deal with the space before you know it is even there. Attitude is everything.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412