Sunday Story…Don’t bite off

More than you can chew. This aphorism is especially apt when it comes to making changes in your personal life. I know there is a school of thought out there that says you should make all the changes all at once. Clean out the pantry, chuck all the bad out and buy new, make a 180 degree turn and do it all at once.

Often this is a recipe for disaster. You get overwhelmed. The task is monumental. And you start to back slide and miss your targets. Then you feel bad, like a failure (again). And getting back on the horse is just too daunting. So you quit. Does this sound familiar?

Here’s the answer to this dilemma. Do one thing. One small thing. An easy thing. Do it for 21 days. Then pick another thing. Do that thing for 21 days. Replace habits with different, healthier habits. It takes 21 days to create a new habit (so say the experts!).

So if you are still drinking soda…rather than quitting cold turkey…replace 1 soda with a bottle of water for 21 days. Then repeat another 21 days replacing the soda until you are no longer drinking soda. Voila! No more soda.

Rather than cutting all flour out of your diet try cutting just bread for 21 days. Don’t stop drinking alcohol forever just do it for 21 days. Or replace an everyday habit with an every other day habit. And then make it a once a week habit. Small changes create big results over time.

You can do this with almost anything. Learn a new language by spending just 5 minutes a day and increasing that time every 21 days. Write that novel that has been brewing your whole life the same way. Just 5 minutes a day until that becomes a habit. If you think about moving the steering wheel on your car just 1 degree, it won’t be long before you are traveling in a whole new direction!
This plan is exactly the same way. Make a small subtle shift. One that you can stick with and feel successful with. You have to crawl before you can walk, walk before you run, and run before you are ready to really soar.
You can do this. You eat an elephant one bite at a time. The task is too daunting otherwise. Grab your fork and dig in!

Bon Appétit!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…There is

No magic pill. I have said this time and time again. But I was lying. There is a magic pill.

We all want a magic pill. We want that one thing that will make our life look the way we want it to look. A pill to lose weight, to get fit, to subdue our demons. And our modern life is rife with things designed to do just that. We have seen pills to lose weight, curb appetite, or make it so eating fat passes through your system. We have steroids to get bigger muscles, hormone therapies to help your fitness and plastic surgery to get the appearance we want. They invented Prozac and Xanax and others so we can feel better or feel less or feel more of something. There are lots of magic pills out there. They all work to some degree. They all get some result that may or may not be the one you are looking for.

I will be honest with you…if there was a pill that would have me lay down 100 double unders, run a 1:00 400, and get a bodyweight snatch I would be all over it. That pill doesn’t exist in the form we all think of when we think of a magic pill. We want that thing we can take without effort or real motivation and get the results we want. We want simple and easy.

Here is your magic pill: Consistency.

Want to lose weight? You must consistently feed your body good healthy natural food in quantities that will provide fuel for activity but not store fat EVERY DAY. Want to be more fit? Don’t miss any workouts. Want to get stronger, faster, and more flexible? Select a program designed to do that and then don’t miss any workouts. Want to get another college degree? Go to class. Want to earn a black belt? Go to class. A lot.

Daily application of focused consistent effort is the magic pill. It isn’t a once in a while thing, or a when you get around to it thing it is THE THING. THE THING you do every day, rain or shine, sick or well, whether you want to or not. Consistency coupled with hard work, focused effort, and a goal oriented plan will get you where you want to go.

So, the magic pill is now yours to take. So get consistent. Bring a friend and help them with a magic pill as well. You will be glad you did.

And by the way…if you haven’t read this blog by my partner, Ellie McKenzie:
https://thejourneytoextraordinary.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/kindness/

I strongly suggest you do. You have someone in your life that needs you to be a stand for them. Be a stand, be the person that won’t say no and insists on your friend getting up and out.

Be the change!

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Game Day

Today is game day. Well it is watch the game day. We get together socialize, eat, and drink. It’s an excuse we give ourselves to let our hair down and relax the rules we live by.

That is all well and good. We need days like this to let our hair down and blow some steam off. But we can’t let ourselves get sidetracked from the long term picture.

Our modern lives have too many “treats”, too many excuses, too many places to lose focus and get off the path. We see this with diet issues in general. It used to be that we had sweets once in a while and then only a little bit. It wasn’t at every meal and it wasn’t in copious amounts.

The same thing applies here. Take a day, a few hours and relax the rules. Enjoy and indulge in a few things that are worth the extra whatever for you. Make it worthwhile though…Fritos? I think not. Frozen chicken wings? Really? A great gorgonzola on a rosemary crostini? Maybe but just 1 or 2. You don’t need to go crazy but you can treat yourself to enough to satisfy that little itch.

Willpower is a muscle. It needs a little rest and recovery too. It is hard to be 100% on track 100% of the time. Give yourself permission to let go a bit. Tomorrow you can get up and get back on the horse.

Enjoy the game. See you in the box tomorrow!

Go ___________ (fill in the blank)!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday–stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Give Back

Friday night I had the great pleasure of spending time with Brian Williams of Think Kindness.Org. Brian and I go way back and it was great to catch up with all the good work he has been doing. On Saturday he was out at cowboy stadium talking to 4000 young cheerleaders after spending all week at 8 elementary schools in the Dallas area.

Brian started out years ago on a mission to document 1 million acts of kindness. That mission has resulted in adopting 2 orphanages in Kenya, tens of thousands of pairs of shoes donated most of them went to Africa, where children with no shoes aren’t allowed to attend school. He has several more projects in the works that will be even more exciting.

Needless to say I am re-inspired. My martial arts schools have had acts of kindness requirements for years. The reason I do what I do is to inspire each and every one of you, my readers. Inspire you to be better, to be more than you are now…to be better physically, mentally, spiritually. And in being better we change the world. The world doesn’t change on one huge act the shifts the axis. The world changes by small acts done incrementally, daily things we do that create a ripple effect of across broad domains.

We are about to embark on a new journey. A new challenge is coming up and we are going to add some kindness components. As you know we are already partnered with Sweat Angels…every time you check in on Facebook we make a donation that goes for charitable works…this month it is winter coats for kids who can’t afford them. We are going to partner with Think Kindness.org in collecting shoes for the next 2 weeks and the elementary schools Brian has already started.

We change the world when we change ourselves. Think about the change we want to see in the world. Be that change.

Namaste
John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday–stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Choose

Stuff happens. It is the way of our people. Stuff is going to happen. A lot of it will be good stuff. Some of it will be bad stuff. Most of the stuff, good or bad, you won’t be expecting. The real challenge is how you deal with the stuff that happens. This is where we see your character reveal itself.

The good stuff is pretty easy to deal with. You are happy. You feel fulfilled and satisfied. Good stuff is, well, good. No worries.

The bad stuff, on the other hand, is a different story. The bad stuff can go from ruining your day to ruining your life.
The question is what are you going to do with the bad stuff happening to you? How will you react? What kind of attitude are you going to adopt?
Will you be defeated? Will you give up? Will you try to ignore it and hope it goes away?
Will you look at it as a blessing in disguise? Will you search for the lesson in it? Will you dig down inside and dig in? Will you be indomitable? Will you be courageous? Will you be unbroken, indefatigable, and undefeatable?

The choice is yours. It has always been your choice. Whatever happens to you, you get to choose how you will react, who you will be in the battle. Noble or ignoble? Friend or foe? Happy or mad? Filled with hope and love or bitterness and despair? You decide which is best.

You never know how strong you are until strong is the only choice you have.

Stay in the fight!


John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Back to the Box

The Holidays are over. The relatives are gone. The tree is out of the house, the lights are down, and things are almost back to normal. Except for one thing…you haven’t made it back to the box. Remember the box…the CrossFit Box. Let’s be honest…you are a little scared. You remember how hard it was when you first started, how sore you were, that over all malaise that overtook you for the first couple of weeks and you aren’t sure you really want to go through all that again. It isn’t like hitting the local globo-gym for a 20 minute snooze fest on the tread mill or dancing through a fluffy salsa-like aerobic thing. No, this is real work, barbells, weights, volume and intensity that is going to create a level of fitness you say you want.

Here’s why you need to get back:
You miss it…well that isn’t exactly true…you miss that feeling you get after you are done. Those endorphins pumping, the blood roaring, breath catching feelings that you can only get from a solid strength and conditioning workout of the day. You miss knowing your fitness is growing every day. You miss getting out of bed and looking forward to seeing how much stronger you are than yesterday. You miss the people. Be honest you miss it all.

We (the community) miss you. That’s right we all miss you. We need your energy, your enthusiasm, your voice to add to our cheering section. We miss watching you get better. We miss the look on your face when you finally get that thing you have been working so hard to get. We miss you blood sweat and tears. You are family.

I miss you. That’s right your coach misses you. I miss seeing you progress. I miss the struggle, the thrill of victory and even the agony of defeat. I miss picking you up, I miss the determined look in your eyes as you face down the demons of steel, gravity, and indecision. I miss your desire and determination.

Remember this isn’t the old way of working out. This is training…training for life, training for what and who you want to be 20 years from now. The body you build today is the one you will be living in 20 years from now. The mental toughness, the can’t fail attitude, the steel spine of strength and fitness are all cornerstones of a future you are going to love living in.

You need this. You need us. We need you.

Face your fear and go ahead anyway. Be indomitable

See you in the box! Tomorrow!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Results and Excuses

Pick one. Pick the one you want. You can’t have both. You can’t have results today and excuses tomorrow. You have to decide which one you will accept.

Let me help you out…excuses are easy…I don’t have time…I want to get in shape first…That doesn’t work for me…I’m not athletic enough…It’s too hard…I’ll get hurt…I don’t have the money…I’m too old…I’m too fat…None of my clothes are right…People will make fun of me. Those are some that come to the front of my brain quickly. They are all true by the way. Every last one of them. Here is a news flash for you…whether you think you can or you think you can’t; you are right. If you think you don’t have time you don’t have time. If you think it is too hard, it is. If you think you are too old, you are.

For every one of these excuses I can find someone, somewhere who could have used the same excuse but they went out and did it anyway. Someone busier, more out of shape, fatter, more impoverished, older managed to figure out how to get the RESULTS they wanted.

Excuses are not reasons. The reason I can’t workout is because I don’t have time. Nope…the reason you can’t workout out is because you CHOOSE to not make the time to work out. Working out is not more important than whatever else you are spending your 168 hours a week doing. I could go on and on but I won’t.

Fact: Results and the resultant feelings of success and pleasure need to outweigh the pain of continuing doing what you are doing now. You are human…you are conditioned to move away from pain and toward pleasure. When the pleasure of living in a well conditioned, fit, active body is greater than the pain of engulfing a piece of pizza and drowning in beer then you will change.

Accept excuses and continue doing what you are doing now.

Accept results and change what you are doing.

It isn’t rocket science or brain surgery. It is a very simple human equation…more pleasure, less pain. Change is hard…it is going to hurt and you are going to think more pain isn’t worth the pleasure down the road. You are wrong. Put down that beer and back away from the pizza it isn’t worth it in the long run. You don’t have to believe me; look around at your friends and neighbors and parents who have made those choices before you. Then take a look around and find some people who are making the choices you are thinking about making. Who is healthier, happier, fitter and stronger? I rest my case.

Results not excuses.

Be Well

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