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