Goals

This is a picture of our flagpole back at our Farm in Michigan, not sure why I posted it but as soon as I saw it, it brought back a ton of memories and made me think about how we prioritize some things in our lives. Sometimes it is easy to get too consumed with the little things in our everyday life. Whether it be work stress, stress from situations with our family or friends, financial stress, or one of the many other things that can keep you up at night, it is important to try and prioritize what is important to you. The goal of what we do here at CrossFit is making us as Fit and healthy as we can so we can improve our quality of life, period.

There are many times when I find myself prioritizing my training over things that I probably shouldn't be but it is easy to get caught up in the mindset that the “CrossFit Games” are right around the corner, meanwhille, I find myself neglecting other areas of my life that should be a higher priority than my training. It is easy for us all to get caught up in things like this and its important to sometimes take a step back and re-focus on what really matters. With that said, I think there is a huge benefit to having goals and being able to work to follow thru with those. The important piece to this puzzle will need to be an exit strategy. If my goal is to make it to the CrossFit Games, I need to be realistic with my expectations. I think I have just as much of a chance as anyone in the Mid-Atlantic but at the end of the day, if I don't make it, I can't get sucked into the vicious cycle of another 10 months of training where I continue to neglect the same parts of my life. As good as it is to have a set goal, it can quickly turn negative if you don't put a timeframe associated with it. For example, if your goal is to run a Marathon, attack it with as much intensity as possible and give yourself the best shot to acheive your goal, when the raceday comes, you need to be able to say that you have done everything you can to prepare and have no regrets. Once the race is over, that's it, it's done. No second guessing, no being negative, be proud of your accomplishment and then relax and focus on the things that you neglected during your training. It is impossible not to neglect other pieces of your life when you are training for a specific event.  I am by no means discouraging you from setting lofty goals for yourself, but it is important to keep everything in perspective and don't let these goals negatively affect your lives. If you find yourself dreading your preparation for your goal, it is safe to assume it isn't healthy and you need to move on with something else. You need to be motivated to work towards your goal everyday you wake up in the morning and an important piece of the puzzle is surrounding yourself with other people that are positive and can help keep you stay motivated through your training. I am lucky enough to have great training partners who help me stay focused and push me during my training to make me better. This will be a key to my success as it will be with yours as you strive towards your goal. That is the beauty of CrossFit Vitality, the support system is in place and will help you achieve your goals, whatever those may be. Take advantage of the amazing people we have at Vitality and push each other to a level of health and fitness that will help improve their quality of life as they continue to get older. Remember, age is just a number. Everybody has the ability to have goals and don't let anyone tell you that because of your age, your not able to do something. That is my dad in the picture and he started CrossFitting about a year ago and I truly believe that he is in the best shape he has been in within the last 3 decades. It's never too late to put your fitness and health as a priority.