An Excellent Wknd [25.10]
Some thoughts on
Hi, hello, 👋
Welcome to the 27 new folks who joined this week!
Let's get into it.
🗓️ THIS WEEK
Be a Thermostat, Not a Thermometer
Talking about managing challenging relationships, strength vs. endurance, professional growth with gratitude, & training for Murph.
10 Daily Practices for Moving, Thinking, & Kicking Ass into Your 90s
Exploring essential daily habits across movement, thinking, eating, recovery, & connection for lifelong vitality.
21-Day Story Shift Challenge: From Awareness to Action
A transformative challenge to help you move from a victim mindset to a warrior mindset through daily practice.
World Class Health in 100 Words
A concise guide to creating an environment that fosters genuine health & well-being.
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🤔 SOME THOUGHTS
"I have to scale, which I hate," he stated. The way he said hate told me he meant it.
We were at our gym's Friday Night Lights event & he was lining up to tackle CrossFit Open 25.1. I was his judge. At his feet was a 20-pound dumbbell.
I had made no note of the weight. Hadn't suggested he go heavier. Didn't question his manhood for it. So, I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking to me when he told me he was scaling. I'm pretty sure he was talking to himself.
It's a story I've heard from hundreds of athletes across a dozen gyms over nearly 20 years. A story that always boils down to: "I suck at this, & I suck for it."
Sometimes it's said in jest. Sometimes it's said with tears. Usually, it's somewhere in the middle - just another boring statement of fact.
But it always means the same thing, no matter how it's said: I don't deserve to celebrate this.
If my new friend hadn't been so focused on the dumbbell at his feet, he might have realized he had a lot to celebrate. He was surrounded by good people and good music. He was out on a Friday night when most adults were home, yelling at the news.
But instead, he was judging himself for using a 20# dumbbell.
The weight didn't matter, but what he thought it represented was stealing his focus from what should have been the real victory of the night: the pride of effort that comes when we don't back down from a worthy challenge.
He earned that feeling; I'm just not sure he actually felt that feeling.
🙋🏽♀️ QUESTIONS
Do you have a question you'd like us to address in a future episode? We'd love to hear it!
Next week, Ben & I are discussing a very old (& very short) book called As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. You can get the full text here to have a little added context as you listen.
Until then, keep chasing.
🤙🏼 Patrick
That relationship to the 20 pound dumbbell shows scarcity mindset hard at work. Congrats to that athlete for pushing his limits and getting it done!