6.11.2009

Something inspirational from Matt Furey-

Whenever you see someone who is NOT moving forward in life, someone who is not trying to improve his circumstances - it is almost always fear that is holding him back.

Fear of what?
Fear of failure - yes.
Fear of success - sure.
Fear of injury - uh huh. Yes, these fears are common to many.

But fear of criticism is one of the biggest - yet it is also the least acknowledged.
Many people fear the looks and reactions they will receive from others when they begin to make changes in how they do things. It's far easier to sit on the couch or before a computer getting fatter and fatter than it is to go for a walk or begin doing pushups and squats.
People generally don't make fun of how fat you are when you're plopped on a sofa or before a monitor. They might laugh behind your back, but rarely to your face. But once you walk outdoors with sweats on, you THINK everyone is looking at you - and you're afraid they're going to laugh out loud.

But the truth is this: Most people are so busy doing what they're doing that they don't even see you. And the others, if they're laughing, they're doing so silently.

Regardless of how others react to YOU - here's the most important concept you must understand: What other people think about you is NONE of your business. If someone thinks you're fat, it's not your business. If someone thinks the way you're training is strange -none of your business.

If you don't care what others think - what the others think is of no concern to you. So it won't matter whether you have fear of criticism or not. You simply acknowledge when you catch yourself being concerned about someone else's opinion of you. And when you note how you're breathing shallow and adding stress to your upper neck and shoulders with the thought of pleasing others - you drop the notion andsay to yourself, 'To hell with them. This is MY life. I'm going to get fit. I'm going to get healthy - and if someone else has a problem with that, THEY have the problem, not ME.'

What I have just covered isn't some lofty platitude I am proposing but don't use myself. Each and every day I receive criticism from someone. Some don't like the fact that I advocate eating healthy meat. Some don'tlike the way I look. Others don't like the way I write. Others don't want meto write about anything other than health and fitness - and so on.
'Good idea - for someone else,' I think. 'But not for me.'

I don't limit myself because of someone else's opinion. Neither should YOU.
If you want to attain better health, if you want an improved physique or figure, if you want to go for a walk, start running hills or doing the Royal Court - this is YOUR goal.

Don't ever let anyone distract you from your vision.
You are the one who decides. No one else.
Remain strong.
Stay the course.
Stay determined.
Make your burning desire for self-improvement stronger than the fault-finding of others.
When your desire burns brighter than the sting of criticism, nothing can or will stop you.

7 comments:

  1. Awesome post. Keep pushing yourselves and each other.

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  2. Kit! You do Crossfit?? Awesome.

    Yeah, amazing post. Thanks Aimee.

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  3. matt is an animal. jeff should bring in those books for people to look at.

    this dude lays his head on one kitchen chair and his heals on another and holds his body stiff between them. that is INSANE.

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  4. JILL said...
    You all need to read this bullshit article that the NY Times wrote about Crossfit...it's ridiculous.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/magazine/23wwln-medium-t.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

    Here's an excerpt "The CrossFitters are not always so admirable. If you hang out long enough on the site, you’ll stumble on a garish cartoon clown called Uncle Rhabdo. This is one of the network’s mascots — a hideous figure, often shown vomiting — who suffers from rhabdomyolysis, a dangerous condition in which damaged muscle tissue enters the bloodstream. He’s disgusting. The clown is worshiped only half in jest by the CrossFit crowd, which can see exercise-induced injury as martyrdom to the cause."

    June 11, 2009 2:17 PM

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  5. Jill- Thanks for posting this. I read that article and many, many similar when it came out back in March or April, it's gonna stir a lot of conversation of course. I think it's truly what you make of it; I don't chiefly do XFit every day and balls to the wall every single workout. I do CrossFit to supplement my running and triathlon races during the course of the year, and to get stronger for the things I love to do like MtBiking, Skiing, and wakeboarding. I’m not interesting in pushing huge weights to jack up my biceps, but to attain a more functional and overall level of fitness. Each person does fitness at their own levels and programs so really one should take a training bashing article like this with a grain of salt. Just like the above article Aimee’s just posted, it's none of their business what or how we train.

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  6. Great post, Aimee
    I think I need to print that out and keep it at the box

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  7. It should come as no surprise that the NY Times does not get the CrossFit culture. However, rest assured that the folks at the Times will be the first ones hiding behind us and our armed forces in the event of a real crisis. They are weak and pasty.

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