Keep Reaching for Your Goals

If you have been following along with my blog you should know that I finally found the exercise that I love the most (CrossFit) about 5-1/2 years ago. I call myself a CrossFit anomaly because quite a few of the exercises that people have a hard time with I can do - sometimes I master them on the first try. Things that others learn relatively quickly when compared to me take me years. This is why I go easy on myself and others who are having trouble with a skill. We all move at a different pace. I admit I am slower than most. I am okay with that.

Like many CrossFitters I have been struggling to master my double-unders. (If you click play on the image above you will see me doing dubs. Use full screen mode.) I have made a lot of progress in the past year especially but I still remember the Open workout that called for 50 double unders, and I could do 1. That is what I did - my strategy was to do one at a time then I would step over my rope and setup for the next one. It was very discouraging but I chose to look at it as a chipper-type workout and just kept chipping away at them until I did all 50 reps. When I got to 50 I was very surprised to see that people who could do 6 or 7 in a row were still working at their 50 reps. They were able to bust out a nice set of 6 or 7 and then their mind would trip them up and they had several missed attempts while I moved on to my next rep and my next. We all learn in different ways and what works for me won't necessarily work for you but the point I am trying to make is not to give up and to go at your own pace. You will get there!

Some days it feels like I am not making any progress at all or even moving backwards. This can get frustrating. When I feel myself getting frustrated I remind myself of the bigger picture and reconnect with why I am doing it. I now know even on the days that I am going backwards that I am still making progress and that one day it will click. Sometimes you have to take a step or two backwards to move forwards. 

I still have a lot of work to do on my double unders but they are light years ahead of what they were a year and a half ago. That leads me to another point I want to make. Once I have accomplished a skill I have made the mistake of not practicing or working on it any more. I wrongly thought that my work was complete. I now know how wrong this is. This is when to buckle down and work on getting even better. The old saying, "If you don't use it, you lose it," is very true. Learn from my mistakes. Continue to work towards your goals and don't give up. Whether it is in the gym, at work, in your personal life doesn't matter. Celebrate the small accomplishments along the way and when you get there be humble, grateful and know that there is still work to do. Keep reaching for your goals! I know you can do it.