Sunday Story…What? Me Worry?

The Dalai Lama is often quoted as saying: “If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.”

If there is no solution to the problem there is no problem. You can’t fix it; all you can do is live with it. There is no sense in spending time or money trying to solve the unsolvable. It is unfortunate, it may be difficult, it is certainly regrettable but it really isn’t a problem if it isn’t solvable.

If there is a solution, there is no problem. The solution might be difficult, expensive, or require more of you than you are willing or able to spend (time or money or both). But if it is solvable it is no longer a problem.

Problems exist in your belief system. Reframe your belief. If it’s a challenge, apply the solution. If no solution exists let it go.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon…wwwjohnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…With or Without me

Southwest Air and I have an agreement. The plane is going to leave at a specified time whether I am on it or not. Today they are flying all over the world and I am not on any of them. They left without me. They left without any consideration of my wanting to go or not. They left because the agreement is simple. When I want to go I show up and we go.

Your life is the same. It is going to go on whether you choose to participate fully or not. Next year will be 2020 and after that 2012. Nothing you can do about it, it’s going to happen whether you want it to or not, whether you are ready or not, whether you like it or not.

The only question is this: have you decided to be on the plane or not? Because it is going to leave with or without you. Your birthday is coming, we both know this. You will be older. The question is the same: have you decided to live, really live or are you just going to watch the plane take off without you?

Your choice. Your decision. Your life. What say you?

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

Sunday Story…You Can’t Out Exercise a Bad Diet

You have heard me say this dozens of times. It is the old saying…Garbage in, Garbage out. If you fuel your body with calorie rich and pathetic food your performance will suffer, your results will be stymied, and your waistline won’t be shrinking.

Eating unhealthy food is easy. It’s readily available and relatively cheap. Making healthy healthful choices requires more thought and more effort and more consistency but it is worth it to see the results you love.

The same principle holds true in other places of your life as well.

You can’t expect to have a positive outlook on life if you barrage your mind with negative stories.
You can’t have great relationships if you treat people with criticism, condemnation, and complaints.
You can’t have a successful organization founded on lying, cheating, and stealing.

Doing the things required to have healthy relationships, successful businesses, great mindsets, or amazing fitness is work. They require consistent attention to detail. You can’t just put a plant in the ground and expect it to flourish without some attention. Your life is like that…treat it like it’s in a drought, ravaged by fire, or neglected and it will be a struggle.
Feed your mind positivity, feed your body with healthy food and exercise, nurture your relationships with commitment, communication, and care, support organizations that light up the world and do it consistently. Daily practice will result in amazing results.

You know all of this, there is no magic pill…just sustained, careful, well planned and positive efforts. Overnight success only exists in mythology…real-world results take time and effort.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…The Whole Enchilada

I love to cook. I hate to do dishes. But I can’t have one without the other.

If you are going to cook you need to be ready to clean up. If you are going to write you need to be ready to edit. If you are going to start a new workout regimen you need to take care of your nutrition as well.

You can’t just do the “fun” stuff or the stuff you like. You have to do the hard stuff, the stuff that isn’t fun, the stuff that forces you to really dig deep. You need to warm up before you work. You need to cool down when you’re done. If you only do half the work you only get half the results. This is true throughout your life.

Your relationship isn’t a honeymoon week for 50 years.
Your workout/diet regimen requires discipline as well as fun.
Your career is going to have set backs as you move forward.

It is in the grind, the tedium, the day to day that real change happens. It may be imperceptible to you on a day to day basis but after 100 days? Shift will happen.

Do it all. Especially the things you don’t want to do. You’ll be glad you did.

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

Sunday Story…Merry Ho Ho

It’s that time of year again. We get all caught up in the gift giving and the going hither and yon, the party circuit, and all the rest of the year-end things. And that’s all well and good…necessary even. We need a respite from the day to day grind we all do. We need a chance to slow down and re-connect with our loved ones and the people around us who make our loves richer and more fulfilling.



In this time of reflection don’t forget the most important person…You. Without you, all of us would be poorer and less fulfilled. You are the glue that holds so many things together. You are the one needed to lead. You are the one.



When each New Year starts we all begin with a sense of refreshment and rejuvenation. Dreams are re-visited. Goals are re-stated. Progress is reviewed and reset. 2019 is upon us and this is Your year. Unfortunately so was last year and the one before that. Maybe it’s time to really do something truly amazing. Maybe this is the year your star will really shine.



Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is one definition of insanity. Let’s do something different. Write 3 goals down. Make a map of how to get those things done. Get an accountability coach…someone who will check in and talk about your progress and keep you accountable for reaching your goals. Hire one if necessary. Make this year Your year.



Happy Holidays! Thanks for being you and for being here on the journey to extraordinary with me!



John Mariotti

www.crossfitodayssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Tribes

We are all born into a certain tribe. It wasn’t a choice, it just happened that way. Then we are forced by circumstance to be in other tribes…school, work, church. At some point we may realize that those tribes are not really the ones we want to belong to.

As you grow up you get to make some choices about the tribes you belong to. You can change your church affiliation if you decide the one you were defaulted into doesn’t serve your purpose. You can switch jobs or schools. You probably can’t get a different family but you can distance yourself from the one you were born into in order to create some distance.

More importantly you get to decide which tribes and what level of engagement you are going to have with your new tribes. You also get to create a new tribe if you can’t find one that works for you. That’s right, you are authorized to create a new tribe and invite the folks you want to join you. Invite the people who “get” you and who you “get”. Grab the ones that have been through things with you. Find the people who truly “see” you.

Your life has been a series of tribes. The best ones are the ones you connect with deeply and truly. These tribes demand the best of you, they raise the expectations you have of yourself and provide a base for what comes next.

If you are reading this, Thanks for being part of this tribe. I appreciate your presence and input. Let’s do more better.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com

Sunday Story…Outside the Box

We all have limits. Some of them are real and inviolable, others are made up. You can’t deadlift 3000 pounds. You can’t breathe underwater without assistance. These things are real. You can’t change them no matter how hard you try. Most of them are pretty obvious and easy to find.

False limits, however, are a bit more complicated. Those limits are often habitual puts upon us by well-meaning people. They are just trying to save us from experiencing some sort of pain. Pain is part of the price we pay for wisdom. If I don’t get out of my box and expand my horizons I won’t be able to experience anything new.

Will you fall? Will you fail? Will it hurt? Will you quit? Yes, yes, yes, and I hope not. These limits don’t define you unless you let them. All they are is a story about what some thought was possible. They aren’t real unless you let them become real.

It won’t always work but it’s possible. You are capable of bringing your best self to the issue…not a self-defined by other people’s limitations. Make your own limits then surpass them.

Color outside the lines or make new lines…do not accept someone else’s limitations as your own.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
Coming soon: www.johnmariotti.com