So I have been horrible at keeping up my blog lately. This is my vain attempt to get back into the swing of things now that my life is getting close to a new normal. I moved back to Waterloo 2 months ago to help achieve some work/life/health balance. My workout life has been a roller coaster, one minute I can run 41k another seemingly I am wheezing to run 5k. I wanted to take things back under control, so I joined Crossfit. For those that are not familiar it is a pretty intense series of workouts designed to push you and essentially make you Stronger, Fitter and Faster. So after tonight of completing an epic workout and can’t sleep because my muscles ache I was reflecting on what Printchomp and Crossfit have in common.
1. Push your limits – Whether it is building a new business or getting in shape it is all about pushing your limits. Seeing how far you can push yourself. You don’t know how far you can go or achieve if you don’t push yourself hard. Whenever you stop pushing yourself, you deprive yourself from getting to a goal faster or sooner. So don’t take your foot off the gas pedal, you only have limited time on this earth so make the most of it.
2. Surround yourself with people that push you – You are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. If you only hang out with uninspired, lazy individuals soon you will become one. Both in Printchomp or Crossfit both are highly motivated to achieve their goals. At a critical point of my workout I was behind (it was a timed workout). I might not have completed it in the allotted time if a colleague hadn’t pushed me to work harder to complete the workout. You also need good people to help you constantly raise your game and constantly improve.
3. It is ok to be uncomfortable – The old adage of getting out of your comfort zone. It has become so clichéd. Pushing yourself to do new and tough things is the only way you improve. If you don’t fail or had a chance of failing you have no way to get better. When I first ventured out to create my own business, it was a scary experience. However if I didn’t take that first step to start something, I would have never went beyond what I knew. For me never trying is far scarier than trying something with a chance of failure.
4. Form is everything – Form is everything when working out, so to does it matter how you work when you create a business. When working out form is critical to make sure you don’t get injured. Form is crucial when dealing with customers, partners and others. If your form is bad, you will likely get hurt. One miss-step can cost you badly, whether it be an injury or your reputation.
5. You can achieve all of your goals in one workout – If you go in to creating a business or a workout and think you will get to your goal in one day or even one week you are being foolish. Both are about setting measured and regular goals so you can consistently improve to hit your goals. The plain reality is that it takes a lot of hard work and perspiration to achieve your goals. You don’t win a baseball game with homeruns you usually win it with a lot of singles and doubles (Whoa I know, one more sports analogy and I am going to lose it on me here).
So yes kinda cheesy, I mind as well have thrown on a sports montage. That said there are a lot of parallels in what ever you choose to pursue and the hard work and sacrifice you need to put in to get there.