By: Coach/Box Owner Maranatha Chapman
These days you hear phrases like: live in the moment, just be yourself, and give yourself completely to where you’re at right now. Seems simple enough, right? But truth be told, I don’t really think many of us like being “here”. Think about it.
We want more money. We want a new position that promises to make us happier. We wish we had his career or her abs. We always want to be in the next season of life. The place we are in “right now” is usually not where we want to be. But living like this constantly leaves us feeling like our current accomplishments aren’t enough. Living someone else’s dreams, comparing ourselves against others, constantly living past where we are just defeats us. And it also keep us in a false sense of reality.
And that’s when it gets dangerous.
We see how this truth plays out in our finances. If we live outside our means or don’t live in the reality of what we actually have and don’t have or what we owe, we simply make stupid choices and drown in debt.
So let’s move onto the implications this has in fitness, our health, our abilities, our strength, our workouts. Let’s say your squat isn’t one of the heaviest at your box and when it’s squat day and you’re supposed to be lifting your 75% but you don’t want to lift 20 lbs less that the guys on the other side of you. You can push it and put the extra weight on and bluff your way through it and grind it out. You may even get some cheers and slaps on the back. But in the end you screw up something greater than just messing up your percentages. You miss the lesson of “embracing where you’re at” and the working to grow and mature in time.
Skipping or trying to shortcut the process is never the answer. Reality is ALWAYS best. It’s always safer. And when we let ourselves be where we are, we become more settled and content.
Let’s say your muscle ups aren’t quite there but you keep attempting them over and over and let’s say what you’re lacking could be gained by simply spending more time on your ring dips. If you can’t consistently do ring dips, you aren’t about to get muscle ups and attempting only keeps you in la la land… imagining that your muscle-up is just around the corner. Give yourself to doing ring dips. And master them. It’s not an exciting, fun, or sexy movement. People won’t gather around you and cheer while you do a set of ring dips to get stronger. But if you give yourself to where you’re at and be the best you can be at this stage, you will advance and see the progress you hope for.
Maybe you are doing great in your workouts but your diet is terrible or you binge on the weekends, or drink too much too often. Face it! Share it with someone you trust and who can help you stay accountable so you can move forward. Not dealing with it or pretending will only hold you back and ultimately sabotage you.
Or maybe you are training as if you are a Games athlete. Most CrossFitters are not in that tiny percentage and it’s not healthy for your body or mind to train like you are. Be where you’re at. Overtraining is more and more of a problem and it will ultimately sabotage your growth. I always love when The CrossFit Open comes around and there are the athletes who talk like they are going to Regionals all year long but then they see they are 9,000th in the region. After the five weeks, they either pout, quit, blame, or become a more settled and matured individual. Be where you’re at. Know your strengths and know your weaknesses in your fitness, what you lift, where your health is really at – with your personality, your mindset and with every aspect of your life.
We don’t have to fear where we’re really at. In fact it takes bravery, maturity, and integrity to know and embrace the reality of your strengths and weaknesses.
Finally, be where you’re at and from there you will make wiser steps. You will be on the right path, because it’s your path, not someone else’s, or a false one, made up of where you wish you were.