Fitness is a Journey
Fitness is a Journey
I know, I know. But it’s true—fitness is a journey and ultimately the end destination is the least important part of that journey.
Say What?!
The end destination or goal is the whole reason for even starting the journey, right? While this is true, and setting goals for yourself is extremely valuable and important, what ends up being more important is the actual process of completing that journey. Ben Bergeron preaches about focusing on the process and the necessity of this in order to reach big goals and Carol Dweck has put out tons of information about having growth mindset versus a fixed mindset and the importance of this in fostering success. Lets start with focusing on the process.
So what is the “Process”
“The process is about focusing on the steps to success rather than worrying about the result.”~Ben Bergeron
You must understand that the process is a major component of your journey. It is what you use to achieve your goals. Without a focus on the day to day activities you will never reach your end goals. It can be tedious at times and will require a lot of work, but it is extremely rewarding. The process is where you learn your craft. Giving time and energy to the actions that lead to your goal is the most important factor to success. This seems obvious yet this is where most people fail.
Everyone can come up with a grand goal to achieve, and most can come up with a decent plan to get there, but few make it past that step. This is where focusing on the process is key. Instead of congratulating yourself on getting this far and being comfortable knowing that you have officially started your journey, you need to take action. You need to take action everyday. Pay attention to the small things; give your plan time and energy. That is when the magic happens; not overnight, but through consistent and dedicated effort. This is what focusing on the process is all about, and it is a crucial part in your journey. But this is not the only important part.
If your goal is to have a six-pack, and you reach it, that’s great! But what did you learn along the way? How can you apply what you learned to help others? What happens if, during the journey to washboard abs, you realize you aren’t truly interested in doing what it takes to get them? Do you just give up on health and fitness all together? This is where the importance of having a growth mindset comes to play.
Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset
"The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives." ~Carol S. Dweck
Simply put, a fixed mindset is one in which you believe that your traits, such as intelligence, artistic ability, endurance (see fitness qualities) are set in stone. This is where you hear language such as “I can’t” or “I’ll never be good at…” or “My body just isn’t built for that.” These are not truths, these are limiting beliefs. What you are actually saying is —“I can’t because I don’t want to; “I’ll never be good at ________ because I don’t want to work hard enough to be good at it”; “My body just isn’t built for that because the work it takes to get there is more than I want to do.” Not being born with the perfect set of traits to accomplish a specific goal does not mean that you don’t have the ability to achieve that goal. Someone with a growth mindset recognizes that most basic traits can be developed as long as you put in the effort. “I’m bad at math” turns into “I’m bad at math for now, but I will study and learn and grow, and then I will be good at math.” Even if you never achieve your original goal, having a growth mindset shows you the value of undergoing the process to reach it in spite of those obstacles.
Once upon a time, I was but a young lad watching my very first CrossFit Games and saw Rich Froning win. Immediately, I made winning the CrossFit Games my goal, and thus my journey began. Fast forward 8 years later and I am nowhere near winning the Games. I haven’t even qualified for Regionals. Winning the Games as a goal is not even on my radar anymore. As I was going through the process, I realized that I truly didn’t care about winning the CrossFit Games. But because of the journey I have pursued as much knowledge about human performance as I could, I have learned so many things that I never would have had I not decided to pursue that goal, and I now have a very fun and fulfilling career because of it. Going through the process was not a waste but an invaluable part of my fitness journey.
The most important part of any goal is the journey that you must take to reach it, and the most important part of any journey or process is effort and learning. You need to be willing to invest time and energy, read, make mistakes, and ask questions. In my mind the fitness journey is a never-ending one; there will always be more to learn, more to experiment with, more to do, more ways to make people better. With a growth mindset this becomes a really exciting adventure. Boredom will never set in and you can always be better, as long as learning is at the forefront of the process. On your fitness journey, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Reach out and email me. Let’s chat. I’d love to help you learn and grow as a person in any way that I can, and through the process you will help me to do the same. We can all be better together. Lastly, and most importantly, the mind is primary. Let’s make sure we take care of it.
—Coach Jonathan
By Jonathan Poole at Unstoppable Athletes
https://www.unstoppableathletes.com