It was really funny in my eyes. I have a twin brother (seriously) who is about 4-5 inches shorter than me (seriously) and about 60-70 lbs lighter than me (seriously). We're sitting at a restaurant tonight when we got on this conversation regarding lifestyle choices, diet, and exercise. Now he's not a Crossfitter, he could truly care less if he worked out, but he does his morning routine, and is not completely sedentary in life. He is very careful about what he consumes and, in my eyes more importantly, how much he consumes. He eats relatively clean, but has weighed the same for so many years, somwhere during the midst of this conversation we started talking about dedication. . .
Dedicate - To commit (oneself) to a particular course of thought or action
Interestingly enough, we pretty much all have set goals in life, regardless of whether or not we have achieved them. Sometimes we forget, fail, or stop trying to achieve our goals. It is the act of dedication that will get someone where they want to go.
Most people want the easy way to get there, let's look at this and see if we are guilty:
1.) The checklist - well since I have done A, B, and C - I should get D right? Wrong!
2.) The video or book to success - Really?
I want to talk about #2, I won't even keep going. Have you ever seen the commercial for one of those Green Tea Diets? If not, what about the commercial for the Shake-Weight (seriously - and they have it for men too - and it's on sale for the holidays at Bed, Bath & Beyond), etc? You ever read the little disclaimer at the bottom - "Individual results may vary." Notice that I haven't mentioned the book, not yet.
All the books on the keys to success; seven steps to managing yourself, be the boss, how to lead, be the performer who outperforms. . . this list can go on and on. But it stops, right here. These are just tools, a tool in and out of itself does not perform the act. Only the user can, if a nail sits next to a piece of wood, only the user can perform the action to drive the nail into the wood. The user reads the instructions. Hold nail, drive head of hammer into nail. If the user is clumsy, they miss the nail and the blood underneath their fingernail is a tell-tale sign that they missed, so the user decides to watch a video. That person holds the nail, slams the nail into the wood in three solid strokes. Well, our user isn't going to be clumsy, they hold the nail with one hand and slowly start tapping it in, they drawback, release to the nail, and the head glances off, bending the nail and changing the initial direction that the nail was intended.
By now you are on the edge of your seat, frustrated that you can't get this nail into the wood. Fine, relax, take a deep breath, call up a friend. Have him show you, tell him to give you cues, you watch him, then you try it out, 3, 2, 1 and with three easy strokes, the nail goes into the wood.
What the heck are you talking about Coach? What do nails and wood have to do with me?
Well, the nail driving into the wood is your goal. The hammer is your tool. You read how to do it, you watched how to do it, to no avail. But when shown, when instructed, when guided - you got there. There was your dedication - now that is the key. Dedication, along with a set of tools, will allow you to get to your goals.
I brought up books and here is why: just because we can read about the success of businessmen and women, say Steve Jobs. We can watch the success of a someone, say Oprah. They can write loads of stories about how they were successful, but inside each of us is something different. Call it a flavor, but in the end what may have worked for Jobs and Oprah as far as tools won't work for you, but the one thing you will have in common is dedication. Dedication denotes commitment.
This morning I received an email from one of our athlete's - she got her first muscle-up. I have also gotten several emails in the past when someone got their PR on a clean & jerk (100 lbs), first handstand push-up, first kipping pull-up, etc, I missed it, but they were so proud that they let me know they did it. I have witnessed a whole multitude of different accomplishments. The one thing that has been pervasive throughtout - commitment and dedication. Practicing, even when the WOD was over, so exhausted they couldn't try a pull-up without the band, but they still practiced the movement with the band. Going over the progressions they learned, just because they recognize that technique is so crucial.
Movie Time is back!
Remember Rudy (1993) Sean Astin plays Rudy. This movie actually speaks for itself. He was the little guy who got picked on. The guy who couldn't and wouldn't make much out of his life. But he stuck with everything, his first goal = to go to Notre Dame, and he studied day and night. He tried for so long, and got in. He wanted to play in one game on the football team, not just any team, The Fighting Irish. A team so entrenched in history, a Division I College Program that had football players who had a femur bone that weighed as much as he did. He practiced, day in and day out, dedication pouring out in sweat, blood, and tears. **Spoiler Alert** He played in the last game of the year, and broke free of players as if he was unbeknownst to them and sacked the quarterback.
A lot of little lessons in this blog, but so important, so tried and true.
"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”
- Jesse Owens
- Coach Tony
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