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