Resolving to Succeed

by Jen

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.” Abraham Lincoln

My 5k time last weekend was my worst in years. Why am I surprised? I walked into the race feeling under the weather and worried about my knees and hip. My goal was to finish without hurting myself. So why was I disappointed? I did exactly what I set out to do.

Through reading and personal experience I have found that these steps to success are pretty accurate:
* Set the goal,
* resolve to succeed,
* work hard,
* embrace and learn from failures,
* try and try again and
* celebrate the success!

In my opinion, resolving to succeed is most important. That commitment will keep you going through the more difficult times.

Such an awesome example of a strong resolve is Lauren, the winner of the Nutrition Challenge that our Crossfit Box hosted a few months back. Lauren is amazing. She kept a daily blog of her food and exercise for the entire period. Here's an excerpt from Day 1 –

Six Weeks to Wonderful

"Every journey begins with a single step. I just took mine. I recently lost 13 1/2 lbs by going sugar-free and now I am going to win my gym's 6-week Fitness Challenge and a FREE year membership... I am going to win this contest because I KNOW I CAN. I am capable! I weighed myself, took the pics, and now...I WORK. I will be posting DAILY food and workout pics. This is how I will be documenting my progress over the next 6 weeks. .."

In the end, she is down in weight, her BMY and Body fat both dropped by 2% and she bettered her mile run time by 1 minute and 9 seconds!

Now that is someone who has set herself up to succeed!

Lauren further documents a longer journey towards weight loss through a post in another blog called Guaranteed Flakiness. Great read – check it out for some inspiration. I don’t recognize the girl she describes herself as back in 2008. She is funny, confident, outgoing and personable and promotes positivity everywhere she goes. Her determination and encouraging words inspire all of the CrossFitters at ATP.

Along with my resolve, I sometimes stumble in setting the bar. That 5K I mentioned earlier – if I set my goal a little higher would I have come in faster? Or when the Crossfit WOD asks for 10 split jerks, I may think "This is too hard so I'll do 5, rest, and then take on the other 5." If I say that, I do that. But sometimes that results in my putting the bar down too soon. What I need to say is “Do until I can't possibly do any more!”

It also rings true on the mat. When I am going for the sweep and just don't think I can push any more, I should try once more. Sometimes that little extra push is just enough to make it happen.

Or in a tournament, when my opponent just killed it in her last match, I often cannot resist the urge to say, “There is no way I’m going to win this one.” I never win when I say that.

The smell of success....mm mm good! There is nothing like the sweet victory of finally pulling off that sweep or submission, winning a match or finishing a WOD in record time. But it all begins with the resolve, the desire. That’s what keeps me going through the ups and downs of my journeys.