Resilience

Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Texas has finally thawed from what will be remembered as the worst winter storm of our lives – I hope! Multiple waves of both ice and snow decimated our power grid, leaving almost all of Texas without power at some point. Suffice it to say, our infrastructure isn’t built with this type of weather in mind. Power outages left houses vulnerable to subzero temperatures resulting in frozen pipes and plenty of social media pictures of people flushing toilets with melted snow from their yards. One contractor I spoke with said the insurance claims from this storm are expected to be greater than all those submitted from Hurricane Sandy. All in all, I think it would be fair to describe the event as catastrophic. Yet in the midst of all the tragedy, stories of triumph began to emerge. All built around one common theme – people helping other people. I’m reminded of the words of James, the brother of Jesus, when he wrote, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” What James calls perseverance, I call resilience.

Webster defines resilience in two ways: (1) the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; (2) the ability to spring back into shape. Resilience is synonymous with another term both researchers and the military have been studying for years – hardiness. Psychological hardiness became a popular topic in the early 1960’s. Researchers discovered certain people possessed the ability to handle difficulty easier, and they embarked on a quest to discover why. As a result of their research, they determined hardiness, or resiliency, is associated with three factors – commitment, control, and challenge.

Commitment is simply presence. It’s the ability to stay engaged in the task or situation in front of you. Control is how people respond to difficulty. In other words, resilient people recognize they can’t control external factors in their lives, but they can control their internal response to those factors. Challenge is living life believing you can learn from any situation, good or bad. Funny it took a couple thousand years for science to confirm what James wrote in the Bible. People who face their trials head on, who internally decide to control their response, and who see difficulty as an opportunity to learn something do better in life.

The military has data to back this up. In two separate studies, one in special forces candidates, the other in West Point cadets, they determined resiliency was the number one attribute associated with greater graduation rates in special forces training as well as greater leadership capacity in West Point graduates. Resiliency matters to the military because they put their people in harm’s way, which increases stress. Here’s what the military considers the top primary stress factors on soldiers in deployment. See if you can relate to any of these.

Isolation / Ambiguity / Powerlessness / Boredom / Danger / Workload

It’s quite normal for one of these to trigger stress in our lives. But rarely do humans experience all of them at the same time. This is why major catastrophic life events are so difficult. They force you to experience four, five, or even all six simultaneously. James is right, trials do produce perseverance. But the good news is resiliency can be trained. Here are two ways you can become more resilient.

The first is get connected. You need to be connected to a community of people. The formation of community as a result of tragedy is how people resolve to get through hard events in their lives. Remember 9/11? But for all the stories we heard of strangers helping strangers during this winter storm, what you didn’t hear were all the connected communities of people who were supporting each other as well. CrossFit is unique in the fitness space because of its communal focus. If you only workout with a class but never get to know the people, you’re really missing out. Community is essential to overall health because it is a critical component of our spiritual nature. Better resilience will come from getting connected. It will also come from staying hopeful.

Hope is more than an optimistic view of life. I know plenty of glass half full people who don’t respond well when the stress is on. Hope is a gut level belief that everything will work out as it should. Here’s the problem – you can put your hope in almost anything. Another way to think of hope is trust. What would you trust that everything will work out as it should? Because that’s some pretty big trust right there. I spent 39 years trusting everything from people to careers to 401k’s to my own talents. Let me save you some agony and let you know without hope in God, you’ll never be as resilient as you could. Believe me you’ll weather some storms. But sooner or later the 2021 Texas winter storm is going to blow into your life. And when that happens, without faith in God, it will be more difficult. Hope in God builds resiliency.

Find a community of people dedicated to something bigger than themselves. Find hope in the one true God who loves you and is for you. Find difficult situations and embrace them. There you will discover more than just purpose in life. You will find resilience.

Questions for Reflection:

Which stressor do you best respond to? Which triggers you the most and why?

Isolation / Ambiguity / Powerlessness / Boredom / Danger / Workload

What training methods do you use for resiliency? What have you found to be most effective?

Vantage Point (Part Two)

Last week, I introduced you to four fitness personalities. If you need a refresher, here’s a link to the post. I made the claim that if we change certain habits reflective of our gym personalities, we can sort of reverse engineer how we show up in life. In other words, these habits, though only in the gym, can produce life transformation. It all starts with knowing who you are, and that’s what we took to task last week. You will never realize true transformation without truly understanding who you are. As a Spiritual Fitness Coach, this is where I begin with every athlete.

Personality tests, psychology assessments, even a deep dive into your family of origin, all of this information sharpens your self-awareness. But by itself, it’s insufficient for transformation. Because it only tells one part of the story. You must combine it with God’s story, which is what I’ve done below. Each fitness personality has a Bible verse associated with it. Don’t just skip right to the habits and start trying to apply them. Rather, read the Bible verse first. Then, close your eyes and visualize the verse. What word or theme stood out to you? Then, read it again, but slowly. Like a great meal, take your time to digest each word. Finally, pray that God would help you apply His truth to your life as you develop new habits in the gym. Let’s dive in…

Fitness Personality: Microwave

Old Mindset: Outcomes

New Mindset: Generosity

Scripture: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

New Habit: Be generous in the gym.

Microwaves need new perspective when it comes to fitness, and what better way than to turn the whole gym experience into a quest to be generous. God so loved the world that He gave. It is this spirit of generosity Microwaves need to begin living into. And what greater way to be generous than to give? Start by giving away your space on the mat. Give away compliments and encouragement to your fellow athletes. Give away your timetable for results. Generosity is not an outcome, it’s a way of life. Make every effort in the gym to be generous and watch God open your heart to new things.

Fitness Personality: Darwin

Old Mindset: Winning

New Mindset: Teaching

Scripture: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

New Habit: Don’t just train your weaknesses, teach others about them.

It may come as a shock to Darwin’s, but they’ve got so much to share with the world. Darwin’s accumulate experience in their quest for greatness. And all those experiences are even more valuable if Darwin’s will share them with others. This means talking about your weaknesses. Weakness isn’t something to be hidden in a closet, it’s not a character flaw, it’s simply part of your story. But I know vulnerability is probably not high on a Darwin’s list of things to do, which is why I want you to teach others your weakness. Teach them about your fear of failure. Teach them that trying to be the best helps you hide your inadequacies. Teach them that you didn’t always have double-under’s or ring muscle ups. Make every trip to the gym a teachable moment. Your weaknesses give God room to demonstrate just how powerful He really is.

Fitness Personality: Nomad

Old Mindset: Belonging

New Mindset: Believing

Scripture: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

New Habit: Build community

The greatest sense of belonging for a Nomad is when they operate from the belief that they belong to God. This is the starting point Nomad’s need as they carry out their new habit of building community. Who better to build community in the gym than a Nomad? And there’s no better example of a Nomadic community builder than Jesus Himself. Jesus knew He was the Son of God. He felt that deep intimacy and connectedness with the Father. Which gave Him something all Nomad’s need – confidence. Fear and anxiety are the enemies Nomad’s fight in their battle to build confidence. Even with the confidence Jesus had knowing He belonged to God, He still built His community one at a time. He started with one, Andrew. And then Andrew went and got his brother Simon Peter and then John and James came and then the others. Before there was a movement, there was a simple mission. Nomads need the same mission in the gym, confidently connect with others and build your own community.

Fitness Personality: Farmer

Old Mindset: Growth

New Mindset: Grace

Scripture: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. Philippians 2:3

New Habit: Human interest

In a letter to the Roman church, Paul is trying to explain the significance of Christ’s death. He makes the argument that people rarely give up their lives for those who are righteous, so who would want to die for the unrighteous. Paul explains that’s precisely what Jesus did. And Paul uses this word to describe what compels God to show humanity such great love. He uses the word “grace.” Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God. It’s what covers our sin, restores our righteousness, and unites all believers in Christ. Grace is what Farmers need most. Certainly, Farmers need God’s grace, but they also need to give grace. Grace is the new mindset for Farmers. So how does a person focused on process develop a focus on people? Simple, take an interest in them. Farmers must be cultivators of human interest. They must appreciate people for who they are, not where they are in the process. Great Farmers will build the habit of getting to know people. This means a dedication to listening, a capacity to retain what you hear, and a heart of compassion for those who will tell you their stories. Humility is the base of operation for a Farmer truly devoted to the nurturing of humanity.

Questions for Reflection:

Have you ever tried to change a habit in the gym to see if it would change how you showed up in life? If so, what were the results?

Talk about the importance of spiritual integration for life transformation. How would you explain this to someone not of faith?

Vantage Point (Part One)

Reading: Matthew 13:1-23

Tracing its origin back to the mid 1800’s, the phrase “vantage point” is a derivative of the word “advantage,” and was defined as “a favorable position.” In our culture today, vantage point has less to do with favorability and more to do with a uniqueness of standpoint or position. Your vantage point of life is a result of the experiences and environments leading up to this moment in time. And it undergirds the way you show up in almost every aspect of your life, including the gym.

Believe it or not, you have a fitness personality. You do! And your fitness personality is shaped by your vantage point of life, specifically how you view yourself in relation to other people. Here’s the cool thing. If you understand why you show up the way you do in the gym, it has the capacity to rewire how you show up in life. To help you get started, I’ve developed four fitness personalities. Now, don’t take these the wrong way. I’m not trying to put Baby in a corner. Instead, I want to have a little fun as we all self-reflect. In Part One, read through each of the personalities. Really pay attention to the vantage point driving each of them. Then choose the one most reflective of you. It’s ok not to agree with everything I wrote about the personality you chose. Remember, I’m building these off general characteristics. Next week in Part Two, I’ll introduce practical tips on how to change your fitness personality, and we’ll look at the impact those changes can have on your life.

Fitness Personality: Microwave

Vantage Point: “I am more significant than other people.”

Mindset: Outcomes

Microwaves are easy to spot in the gym. They have all their equipment already in their spot before coach even says to. And notice I said their spot? That’s right, microwaves have their very own personal parking spot on the gym floor. And you better not step into their space, or they will be quick to let you know. There are many things in the gym belonging to microwaves. They have their own space on the rig, their own lifting station, and maybe even their own favorite ab mat. When they walk in the gym, their focus is more on themselves than others. And when you talk to a Microwave, everything is about outcomes. They need to dial in their macros because they must lose ten pounds. They need to already be squatting two times their body weight, even though their first class was only last week. I call them microwaves because they want their outcomes now and don’t want to wait.

Fitness Personality: Darwin

Vantage Point: “People who are better than me are significant to me.”

Mindset: Winning

Darwin’s are all about survival of the fittest. They believe in order to be the fittest, they must constantly surround themselves with people fitter than they are, and then try to beat them at all costs. You’ll find a Darwin trolling the digital whiteboard of their gym looking to see who had a better WOD time. Don’t be surprised when they suddenly befriend their next opponent, with the goal of gaining knowledge, supplements, or whatever that person is doing that a Darwin is not. Because they want to win. To them, everything in fitness is either win or lose. And once a Darwin has beaten an opponent, they are cast to the side in pursuit of the next victory. Darwin’s are the kind of athletes who wish every workout was an open workout, so they would know everyone was held to the same standard. Shaving reps and shortening the range of motion is like gun powder for a Darwin. Driven by an intense desire for integrity, Darwin’s simply won’t accept anyone in their world who in their eyes would cheat to win. In the evolutionary world of fitness, Darwin’s believe they are the superior species.

Fitness Personality: Nomad

Vantage Point: “Am I significant to other people?”

Mindset: Belonging

Nomads are all over the place. Somedays, they are front and center for the WOD, other days you’ll find them in the back corner. Nomads have the smallest amount of personal gym equipment, perhaps not even owning a jump rope. Even though their faces may not communicate it, Nomads are in the gym seeking something more than fitness – to feel like they belong. A sense of belonging is difficult for Nomads, because they are unsure of how significant they really are, especially to other people. Nomads may bounce from one workout group to another. They may scale if everyone else is scaling, or RX for the same reason. But try as they might, Nomads still feel like every time they walk in the gym, it’s like they’re the new kid in school all over again. Even after all the reps, all the rounds, and all the drops of sweat, Nomads cannot quench their thirst for identity. Because their identity is based on feeling significant to those around them.

Fitness Personality: Farmer

Vantage Point: “All people are significant, including me.”

Mindset: Growth

Farmers are all about the process. They’ve been through more training cycles than most people in the gym. They’ve been through the seasons of PR’s and great success as well as weathered the storms of injuries and life changes. Yet with wisdom comes the risk of sounding like they know it all. Or worse, giving you that look like, “You obviously just got here yesterday.” Despite how they sometimes come off, Farmers have as much interest in the success of other athletes as they do in their own. You’ll know farmers by the way they move in the gym. They have a rhythm reflective of their view of the big picture. Farmers are not in a hurry. They possess an intrinsic belief that the work they’re doing will produce results. Farmers have hope. And they know that individual success is nothing without the growth of everyone in the gym. Farmers believe in the value of community. Farmers occasionally need to be reminded the goal of the gym is not to make farmers, it’s to build fitness.

Next week in Part Two – How does changing your fitness personality rewire how you show up in life?

Questions for Reflection:

Which fitness personality do you most relate to? Why?

Which fitness personality frustrates you the most? Why?