Sunday Story…Your Best

We all have situations that bring out the best in us. And then there are the others. You know, the ones that bring out your worst. You should know which is which.

So how do I put myself in places where my best is brought up and not my worst? How do I plan, scheme, or create situations where my best is front and center? This would be ideal…planning for success in every situation.

There may be another way, however. Can you change your posture so it is easier for your best to come forward in the situations you often find yourself in?

Ideal is getting harder and harder to find. So maybe you should redefine what ideal looks like.

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

Sunday Story…Feeding

The Wolf.

We are all itching to get back to whatever our new normal is going to be. And as much as we would all like to see everything revert back to the way they were I don’t think that will be the case.

On one hand I am grateful this thing wasn’t worse. That it didn’t last for the better part of a year, that the death toll wasn’t greater, and that the disruption to our way of life wasn’t worse.

And on the other hand, I am pissed off that it was, in fact, and continues to be bad. People are losing their lives, their livelihoods, the months that it is taking to get back to life.

I am reminded of the Native American story about the 2 wolves…
Grandfather tells his grandson…”a fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil, angry, resentful, arrogant, and more negativity. The other is good, joyful, peaceful and full of gratitude and more positivity. This same fight is going on inside all of us.”
His grandson considered this for a moment and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
Grandfather replied, “The one you feed.”

Feed your gratitude wolf.

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

Sunday Story…Food

Is medicine. The food you eat can help heal you or it can make you sick.

At this uncertain time your nutrition is even more important than ever. Nutrition fuels your immune system. Nutrition can fuel your mental state. Eating ice cream and cake may feel good in the moment but a few minutes later you will be depressed and angry…partly from the sugar crash and partly from your own mental state.

Resist. Or at least don’t beat yourself up with it afterward. You will recover. You can reset. But only if you give yourself permission to slip. Now that it’s over it’s over. Move on and get back on track.

I have a weakness for granola. I love that stuff. It’s sweet and crunchy and has lots of different textures. I can eat it by the handful. As a matter of fact I think I ate most of a bag the other day. So what to do? Because the rest of my household likes to eat it for breakfast and I keep eating it all! Simple…I made some homemade granola with a little less sugar and then I put it in a jar that I can stick my hand in but I can’t get it out with any granola in it. Problem solved! Now I have to be intentional about pouring into a bowl and eating it mindfully.

Whatever your food “thing” is you can solve it using intentionality and mindfulness. Just like so many other things!!!

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

Sunday Story…The New Normal

In the years and centuries that came before this time, there were many tectonic shifts. Everyone wanted things to go back the “the way they were.” The new paradigm was too much, too hard, too different.

We are living during one of those shifts. Will things return to the way they were? Do you really want them to? If we don’t make changes we will be doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over and over again. This is true in so many places in my life (and probably yours.) The Universe wants you to figure some things out, to find your purpose, to live your life in a way that is harmonious with the who and what you and the world is.

What do you need to do to make the shift? What needs to change? How will you effect that change? What will happen if you don’t? Do you want to be stuck in this endless loop forever?

I know I don’t. I know I am seeking out the answers to those questions. I haven’t quite got it figured out yet but it isn’t from lack of thinking and pondering. I am not worried about the why. I am not worried about the how. I am worried about getting the message right and acting upon it.

Oh, and I am really glad I am not a dinosaur whose whole world changed in an instant. At least I’ve got the agency to participate in the shift!

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

Sunday Story…Fitness in the Time of CoVid 19

Here we are. Sitting at home, all alone, trying to figure out what to do, what’s next, whose fault is it, who to blame, when will things go back to the way they were…blah, blah, blah. We are living in interesting times.

How many pandemics have you lived through? Do you know? What exactly is a pandemic anyway?
A pandemic is simply an epidemic that got a passport and an around the world plane ticket. Ebola is not a pandemic because it remains relatively localized. The current CoVid 19 is a pandemic because it has moved persistently around the world.
There have been several pandemics in my lifetime…at least 4 since 1956. Most of them I had no idea about. Scratch that, in the last 60 years this is the only pandemic I can remember.

Why is that? How is it that this one is so paramount to all of us? Simply put, it is the information process. We all read the news. Whether it is Twitter, Facebook, Fox, or MSNBC we are inundated by information. And some of that information is wrong and some of it is actually misinformation. Too often when we read the news we are not becoming well-informed we are being emotionally exploited.

Because of that, the problem is not misinformation, the problem is fear. Fear makes people pay attention. Then they can be exploited. There is never a good decision made out of fear.

Look, Coronavirus is serious but panic is optional. Disconnect yourself from the culture of outrage, panic, and fear. Fear is what drives us to be mean to each other. It divides us and fuels all the negative thought processes...like racism, misogyny, homophobia and all the rest. When we are fearful we are much more susceptible to fallacious arguments and biases.

Here are some concrete things to do to manage or eliminate your fear:
Curate your information downloads. By that I mean you need to only spend a limited amount of time reading or listening to information about the crisis. Call it 15-30 minutes a day.
Next, make sure you are getting unbiased information as much as possible. In other words information free of opinions and bias. Just the facts, ma’am.

Fear does not get to hijack my brain. Perhaps the media has failed in its responsibility to provide honest, factual, and timely information. But it is my job not to fail in my responsibility to be an informed citizen.

Again, coronavirus is serious but panic, fear, terror, and worry are all optional. Choose a better option.

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

Sunday Story…You, Me and Corona make Three

Crisis often masquerades as an opportunity. A crisis requires us to re-think and re-assess how and why we do things and in that examination lays the seeds for new ways of doing things, for different ways of looking at problems.

A crisis is uncomfortable. A crisis isn’t fun. A crisis is stressful. A crisis is out of our control. Yet, a crisis forces us into change. A crisis forces us to think outside our normal pathways. A crisis requires a new way of thinking about a problem that wasn’t a problem before.

I can look at this crisis as a problem to be dealt with, defeated. Or I can look at it as an opportunity to find a new way, to discover something else about myself and the world around me. It is rare to be able to solve a problem with the same level of thinking that created it or that existed before the problem occurred. I need to think differently, newly, with beginners eyes and a beginner's mind.

So what are you going to do? Wallow around, worrying about things you can’t change or are you going to do something about the things you can change? Are you going to get stuck, stay stuck in your current mindset or will you allow yourself the liberty to fly further and farther on the wings of these new and greater ideas?

It isn’t what happens…it is what you do with what happens.

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

Sunday Story…Not so action figures

When I was growing up I had a whole army of little green army guys…standing, kneeling, prone…with lots of different implements in their hands. Naturally, my brothers and I fought imaginary battle after battle. But those little figures were just representations of people doing actions. They really didn’t “do” anything. We did all the doing for them.

Those army men reminded us kids of the actions people could take. Like tin soldiers, pretend nutcrackers, or Barbie dolls the figurine didn’t actually do anything. They were just there to remind us of what could be done.

The world is full of stuff like that…I have shelves of books that remind me of the ideas they contain. The books don’t do anything in and of themselves, but seeing them sitting there represents to me the ideas, the “what’s possible” they contain within them. They help remind me to do or think or be a certain way. Flowers don’t love you; they just remind you that someone was thinking of you.

Surround yourself and your world with representations that invite your highest and best self. These are the totems of your aspirations…the things that will call you to the most beneficial actions. They will serve as an impetus to move you ever forward.

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