Sunday Story…35,000

 That is how many decisions each of us makes in a day. Think about that…35,000 decisions. Most of those decisions are of little long-term import.

 

Everything from hitting the snooze button in the early morning to getting in bed at a certain time. From what you will eat to what you will say to what you will wear. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

 

Some of those decisions have much more importance. The trick is to recognize which ones are which. Some of them are obvious…quit your job? Leave your lover? Move to a new city. Big and obviously important decisions.

 

But some small decisions have an enormous impact. You took a different route to work this morning and avoided being involved in a life-threatening accident. You went to a different coffee shop this morning and met the love of your life. Small decisions with big impacts.

 

Now let us extrapolate all those decisions over your whole life and all your ancestors’ lives. It is mind-boggling when we realize how many decisions got made over how many lifetimes for you and me to be sitting here at this very moment.

 

Let’s decide, right now, to spend a moment in gratitude for all those decisions that have come before this. Gratitude for those daily 35,000 decisions that have created the world we live in right now.

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Story…Actions

Have Consequences. This is one of those immutable laws, like gravity. What goes up must come down. Action creates consequences. There is no getting around this fact.

Often the correlation between the two is obvious and swift. Put your hand on the stove burner and the consequences will be quick and painful. Fail to meet the deadline for paying your taxes and incur a penalty. These are simple and unavoidable examples.

Sometimes, though consequences don’t show up until after the fact. You don’t get diabetes from one cookie. Clogged arteries don’t happen overnight. Lung cancer doesn’t occur in smokers for years. Yet those are the consequences of actions.

Just imagine if one out of ten people died within 1 year of trying their first cigarette. How many people would be willing to take that risk? I imagine there would not be very many. Yet every day there are still people smoking and risking their health.

I have seen little comedic pieces where someone laments the fact that one healthy meal didn’t change their life. How unfair is that? Do you mean I must eat healthy every day? For how long?

Sometimes we have to generate our own consequences from positive actions. I feel better when I sleep well, eat healthy, and exercise. I should acknowledge and appreciate that fact. Will it help me 10 or 20 years down the road prevent some consequences I will not enjoy? Probably but why not enjoy the fruits of my labor now?

Celebrate your wins! Give yourself a pat on the back and an ‘atta boy!” Then keep up the good habits and enjoy the consequences.

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Coming Soon

Children, at this moment, cannot imagine a world without cell phones. It is such a foreign concept, such a leap of understanding as to be unimaginable. How would get find out anything if you could not ask Siri or google the answer?

 

Immediate gratification has a cost, though. We end up trapped and owned by the incessant pull of the urgent. The constant barrage of notifications, dings, rings, and waves pulls our attention out of the present and into a world optimized for urgency.

 

But important things get neglected. The things that, if not done early, become large or expensive problems later. Things that may not be done when they become urgent. Or if they are doable become tasks of monumental difficulty. If you had managed them when they were small but important issues, they would never have a chance to become monumental.

 

There was a time when the turn of the century was far off as is the turn of the next one. There will be another time when it is not. It is going to happen, no matter what we do. Won’t it be better to prepare now rather than later?

 

Soon is relative…soon is a fantasy time that only exists in the land of the urgent. All the dings, rings, and waves do not get to decide when soon is.

 

You do.

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Making Space

The New Year has arrived. You’ve made some resolutions, some re-commitments, some new goals. That’s great but what happened to last year’s? 2 weeks from now where are all those things going to be? Will they be active and vital, or will they be consigned to the rubbish bin like so many years before?

 

Here’s an idea for you. You aren’t making space for the new and improved you. You have an idea of who and what you want for this new year. Maybe you have a list of things to accomplish. Maybe this is the year you will finish to oh so many things you started in the past. But how can you? Your life is full. You have things on your plate and there is really no room for anything new.

 

How about you spend the next two weeks clearing your plate? How about you look hard and deeply at the way things are right now and dispose of those things that no longer serve you? If the closet is full go through it and get rid of the clothes, shoes, and whatnot that you haven’t touched in months or maybe even years.

 

The same goes for your routines. Want to make room for working out? How can you when every moment is already tasked?  Look at that schedule and jettison some of the things that aren’t moving towards your goals. If you don’t you won’t have any room to put an hour working on your fitness in.

 

Making space is a strategy for success. Try it, you might like it!

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412