Sunday Story…Right or Connected?

All in or all out. Take it or leave it. If you aren’t with us you’re against us. The cancel culture.

I get it. There are times that call for action, not talk. There are things that are so egregious that they cry out for taking a stand, putting your foot down and crying, “No More, Never again.”

Here’s a bit of a sticky wicket, if you will…if I get mad and cut all ties with the offending organization, turn my back on the offender, or refuse any and all attempts at reconciliation there is no way I am going to have a say in the necessary reforms or rehabilitations. If I walk away I can’t participate in making things better and seeing a real and meaningful change take place.

Leaving in disgust, throwing my hands in the air and walking righteously out of the room is certainly one strategy. I will be right. I will be on the correct side. But I won’t be connected to any strategy to fix the problem or make it better.

I could just grin and bear it, live with it or hope and pray it magically gets better. Unfortunately doing that rarely results in anything happening other than the status quo remaining the status quo.

I am part of the problem if I just grin and bear it. If I want things to change I am going to have to dig in, stay connected in the face being unhappy and do what it takes to find and implement solutions.

I can always walk away if I need to. I can always put my head back in the sand and hope it goes away if I just ignore it.

Complaining about a problem doesn’t really move anything forward. Find a solution; try to get a coalition of like minded people together to work on it, spend your time implementing some strategy to make things better. You will find it way more satisfying to solve the problem then you will bitching about it.

“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

Sunday Story…What now?

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Sunday Story…What now?

Is there another shoe to drop? What else could possibly go wrong? We’ve had a pandemic, a shelter in place order, people have been quarantined, now we have a curfew, rioting and looting, and what appears to be a country under siege.

Is there another shoe left? I sure hope not. I feel tired, exhausted with all the upheaval and change going on. I like routine. I like it when things move along in a planned and orderly fashion.

We seem to have made it out of the pandemic. We took 6 or 8 weeks off and continue to have a consciousness about wiping things down, avoiding close contact, and wearing a mask upon request. But it isn’t over, not really. People are still getting sick.

The other problem, though? Not quite as easy to solve. I can’t shelter in place and expect the problems of race, implicit bias, and systemic oppression to go away if I hide in my bunker for a few months. In essence that’s what we have been doing for a long, long time. It hasn’t worked.

We are going to have to show up and do something. We are going to need to call out these problems when we see them. We need to stop “othering” our fellow humans. That person is a human…a human who wants to raise their children in a world that is fair and just…a human who wants a measure of respect and dignity…a human who shares many of the same goals and aspirations with you and I. They aren’t the “Other.” I shouldn’t hate people just because they are different than you or I. It really doesn’t matter what the difference is…sex, race, sexual orientation, religion, homeless, or pick something else to hate about a group.

They are all human just like you and I. And that humanity is what binds us together. Whether we like “those people” or not is irrelevant. What is relevant is their human-ness. What is relevant is seeing in each and every person the light behind their eyes, the hopes, dreams, and aspirations they carry for themselves and their children. No one should feel the need to teach their children how they are different and what to do when faced with being “othered”.

The question What now? Isn’t one of irritation or annoyance, rather it is a question that asks, “What are you going to do now?”

“Be the Change”

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-3382-412

Sunday Story…The Odyssey

In 2013 Ellie and I started CrossFit Odyssey. Our mission was clear…to make the world a better place by helping people find their unconquerable spirit. You make the world a better place by being a better you…a healthier, stronger, fitter person. We wanted all of the people we touch to create an abundant and prosperous life. People come here not to just get fit but to embark on their own personal journey to extraordinary. We use CrossFit as our “base of operations.” Strong and fit people are more resilient, more motivated, and better able to endure the slings and arrows of modern life.

Well we have been laid siege to, haven’t we. Quarantined, sheltered in place homeschooling, working from home, and generally forced into new/no routines, the last 2 plus months have been a serious upheaval on our journey to extraordinary. We are finding out how important community is to us. We are discovering ways of being that we had forgotten or never knew. We are appreciating some of the simpler pleasures of life…family, evening walks, conversations with family.

Ellie and I have not changed our mission. If anything, the last few weeks have shown us the importance of being on this journey. As a strong and fit person I can approach the challenges we have faced with confidence and the knowledge that I have the mental, physical and spiritual fortitude to weather any storm.

This opportunity we have right now is rare. This is a moment in time when we can reflect on where we want to be 5 or 10 years from now. What’s really important and what is fluff. How do you want to spend your time and money moving forward?

Here is our offer…let’s spend 15 minutes in June, you and I talking about your goals going forward. Let’s make sure we are moving you forward on your Journey to Extraordinary. Call Ellie or I and we can book a review, online, or in person, your choice.

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

Sunday Story…Eating Away

I’m home all day and I can’t resist the siren call emanating from the cookie jar or refrigerator or the pantry. Help!

It is really easy to succumb to that call. We all get it. For me it’s freshly made granola. I can devour that stuff by the handful. I mean if I have 1 handful I can easily go for 3 or 6. And there isn’t any amount of exercise that is going to work 1500 calories of granola off.

Worse yet, after I eat about 6 handfuls of that deliciousness my belly hurts, and then I start hating on myself for a) having no self-discipline and b) being a pig. There just isn’t any win there except for the few moments of the first handful. That first handful is where all the pleasure is both in my mouth and my belly. After that I am like a junkie looking for my next fix.

What to do? Here are some ideas:
First stop beating yourself up about it. You’re human. You love food. It’s OK. So take that first spoonful and savor it. Enjoy that first one like it is the last and only one. Revel in it the taste, the feel in your mouth, and the glorious joy of feeling it nourish your body (and your soul).

Second, put the temptation out of sight. Hide the cookie jar in the cupboard. Hide the ice cream in the back of the freezer. This won’t stop you but at least the cries from the cookie jar will be harder to hear!

Third, before you start going down the path of no return, do a quick self-assessment and determine if this is what you really want, or are you just filling time, or being bored, or substituting this for something you are avoiding. Is there something else you could do? On the other hand if you are a solid YES then see #1 above.

Look, none of us want to be some undisciplined slob stuffing our faces indiscriminately, on the other hand, we also don’t want to live some colorless joy-less existence, either. So decide when you are going to indulge that you are HUGE YES and then dig in and enjoy!

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

Sunday Story…Cost vs. Benefit

The price of something is largely irrelevant to me. What is relevant to me is what that item is going to do for me. In other words, it isn’t what it cost to produce or to get it to me; it is the benefit I will derive from the item.

Most of us can’t tell the difference between a $200 bottle of wine and a $50 bottle. And for most producers, the cost of production is the same. It is the pleasure I get from enjoying the wine that determines what I think it is worth.

For the last 2 months, you have been forced into a re-evaluation process of cost vs. benefit for pretty much everything in life. You may have found that the things you really value had a very little cost attached to them but the value you reap is critical to your life. Spending more money on something doesn’t imbue it with value…you imbue it with value. What you get, what benefits you reap, what joy you get are all about you, not the thing itself.

And to get all Zen on you…we desire the clay pot but it is the emptiness inside that we value.

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

Sunday Story…Stress Kills

In this particular time, you are under more and more insidious stress than ever before. It may not feel like the kind of stress you have had in the past…the stress of a deadline or the stress of performance. This stress is the stress of uncertainty.
We don’t know what things are going to look like.
We don’t know what is expected of us moving forward.
We don’t know what the new normal is.

In many ways, we are like Rip Van Winkle except instead of going to sleep and waking years later we are living through our sleep. At some point, we are going to “wake up” and look around and the world won’t be like the way it was. In this twilight time of not knowing our bodies are receiving internalized stress. We all need to combat that stress.

Be kind to yourself…you don’t have to do all those projects that are waiting for you.
Relax some of your strictest regimens…keep working out but take it down a notch or two.
Eat healthy flavorful food prepared with love.
And most importantly…Express Gratitude in your words, actions, and thoughts. When you are grateful stress falls away. Gratitude is the great stress reducer!

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

Sunday Story…The Apostrophe

We all know or should know that when an apostrophe is used before the letter “s” it indicates the word is a contraction for “is.” For instance, it’s for it is. But sometimes the apostrophe indicates possession even when it is in the same place.

And when that happens the meaning shifts exponentially. Here is an example of what I mean:
A sign in a restaurant that we have all seen is: Today’s Special
And usually, when we see it we take it to mean that the dish listed is special today. It is possessive. The dish belongs to today. Meatloaf or blueberry pie might be only available today. They are today’s special.

But what if we looked at today’s special and made it the contraction? So Today’s special becomes Today is Special.

HMMMM.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
With Thanks to Seth Godin!