"I can't do that."
"That's impossible."
"I'm not strong enough to do that."
I've heard these statements more than a thousand times...each. I've made these statements before. I'll put my last dollar on the fact that each one of you has heard them, said them, or done both, as well. It's a bunch of soft talk, a bunch of malarkey. It's what you allow your mind to make it, actually.
Perspective is a beautiful thing.
Mindset is an intriguing thing. Know what it is? Mark England taught us this one -- it's the story you tell yourself. More uniquely - the one you tell yourself about yourself.
"I can't do that."
I heard this very rad woman say this when I told her to jump on a stack of plates. She said she wanted to work on her box jumps, and I happened to be in Open Gym one day. She jumped on one plate, then two, then three, over and over and over again. In 15 minutes, her mind was changed. FIFTEEN MINUTES. Because she told herself a different story. She changed the can't to can. Now, not only is she jumping on boxes, she's training for a half marathon and schooled the whole gym in collecting miles for our May Miles running challenge this past month.
Absolutely crushing the game, because she changed her mindset. In the moment where she couldn't jump on that stack of plates, she took off the apostrophe t. If you're like Anna, you don't have to completely remove can't from your language. But if you say it about something you BELIEVE you can't do, change your mind - and add the word "yet" to that statement.
I can't do a pull-up YET sounds really different than I can't do a pull-up.
I can't prioritize going to bed on time sounds really different than I'm working to get better at going to bed on time because being at my best each day is really important to me.
Change your words. Change your mind.
"That's impossible."
I have this mom, you might know her as Jonnalen. I bet she told herself once or twice that she couldn't do the thing. But funny enough, more than ten years ago, she showed up on our opening day at CrossFit Virilis to support her kid. Then, a couple months later, she got her beloved, you might know him as Glenn, to show up, too. Ten years ago, they were 66 and 67. Today, they're 76 and 77. They come to the gym three times a week (just upped the game from their normal two times a week). I've heard EVERY FLIPPING EXCUSE IN THE BOOK why humans think they can't work out or exercise. My parents have defied every single one of those excuses. I always use them as my examples when anyone tries to serve up as an excuse. My mom has both shoulders, both knees, and both hips replaced. She has severe arthritis (I rarely to ever hear her complain about it). My dad has had major back surgery, has discs pushing against one another, and is basically blind in one eye. But they're both badasses. They show up, they grow up, they get stronger every day. They can both deadlift their bodyweight. They can deadlift each other's bodyweight. And they can do burpees. That's what I care about most - they can pick themselves up.
When humans hit the age of 40, they're "over the hill"..."It's all downhill from here." Life's over at that point, right? Things will become impossible to do. That's the story we're told. It's not impossible. It's possible. You don't stop playing because you get old, you get old, because you stop playing. My mom and dad are proof. It. Is. Possible. You just have to tell your mind that it is.
"I'm not strong enough to do that."
The gal in this story - she is one of the strongest humans I have EVER met - mentally, spiritually, physically. The strongest. I still remember the day Shannon walked through our doors at CFV. She didn't want to start doing CrossFit, had to be pretty strongly convinced. Didn't think she'd ever be able to complete a workout as it was programmed. Did not understand how to fuel her body. She vocally told me this - on day one, on day 91, and on other days after that. Shannon leaned into what she did not believe she was strong enough to do. We kept telling her she was, helped her to learn along the way. But here's the thing - she was strong enough to do it the day she walked in. She's a mom of six, a wife, a Marine, has overcome hardship after hardship. She's strong enough. She was then and she is now.
She has proven it to herself over and over again, as she has climbed the leadership ladder (and continues to), moved around the nation to impact so many lives, earned her L1, trained many people in their fitness and professional lives, and grown her family to be the next generation of strong.
She has to tell herself every day. I know this, because I know her. She has to remind herself.
It's all about mindset. To take away the "not" and stand firmly in the fact that, "I am strong enough to do that." Because I'm willing to show up for myself and the humans I care about over and over again.
For the love of everything good in the world, and because you deserve to -- Watch Your Language. Change your can'ts to can. Change them to can't yet. Just change them. You're worth it. Your health is worth it. Today's version of you is worth it, and so is every other version to come. The story you tell yourself about yourself is the one that matters most.
