Mirrors

Reading: Hebrews 10:1-25

I’m just going to come right out and say this, I have a problem with mirrors. By no means am I about to try and convince you to cover all the mirrors in your house, but here’s my dilemma. Mirrors have the ability to crush our self-esteem. Certainly, there are times when the opposite is true. Who among us hasn’t lingered a little longer in the mirror admiring the results of a good eating program or a block of hard training in the gym? But nine times out of ten, and it may just be me here, I find myself studying everything about my body I don’t like. Like a CSI examining a crime scene, I’ll go inch by inch up and down my body trying to figure out how this all happened. When did my gut get so big? Are my shoulders ever going to come in? Do I really have triceps because mine looks more like a unicep! As I’ve matured in life, it’s brought me to the realization that the mirror doesn’t tell the whole story. Try as they might, the truth is mirrors don’t accurately reflect who we really are.

This is one of the reasons you don’t see mirrors in CrossFit gyms. You may be surprised to know that CrossFit HQ has no policy requirements regarding mirrors. As an affiliate, you have the right to operate your gym in any manner you see fit. Yet every CrossFit gym I’ve ever walked into has no mirrors, bathrooms not included. Let me tell you why I think that is. Mirrors don’t fit with CrossFit’s training methodology. Never mind that we’re picking heavy objects up and occasionally throwing things against the wall. You have to understand the general physical skills CrossFit focuses on, which include balance, coordination, and agility. You don’t develop coordination by looking at yourself in a mirror. Instead, you must learn to become aware of your body as it moves through space. Exercise physiologists have a fancy term for this, they call it proprioception. Air squatting on a wobble board is not enhanced by watching yourself do it. Skills must be developed through repetition and body awareness. In the gym, we call this “practice.”

Athletes who join CrossFit gyms get access to feedback tools which in my opinion are far more valuable than self-assessment. The first is your coaches. If you want to know how you’re really doing, ask your coach. The knowledge and wisdom of a professionally trained coach combined with years of experience working with athletes is invaluable. While you’re doing your best to move large loads long distances, your coaches are studying how you move that load. Your structural alignment, your motor-skill pattern, even your demeanor in class, all are being evaluated by someone whose job it is to make you better. Coaches provide an accurate reflection of who you are athletically.

But they are not your only feedback tool. You also have the support and encouragement of the community of athletes in your gym. It’s one thing to work out with a personal trainer. It’s quite another to be in a room full of athletes all getting ready to do the same WOD. The community pushes you to go harder, they console you when it just wasn’t your day, and they care about who you are as a human being. No mirror is ever going to tell you it will be ok. No mirror is going to pick you up off the floor. And no mirror is ever going to love you. If you really want to live a healthy lifestyle, surround yourself with a community of like-minded people and watch what happens.

Coaches and community are not just tools for physical fitness, you also need them for Spiritual Fitness. I remember when I lost my mom to cancer while I was in college. It was the first time in my life I ever experienced depression. There were days when I didn’t even want to get out of bed. I can still see myself standing in my bathroom looking in the mirror wondering what was wrong. Despite my best efforts, there was no way I could do it on my own. And you can’t either. Your sadness, your anxiety, your anger, your insatiable appetite to be needed by others, you don’t solve these yourself. You need a coach. In Spiritual Fitness, our coach is God’s Spirit. Until you become a follower of Jesus, this part won’t make sense to you. But once you do, whether you realize it or not, God’s Spirit becomes your Spiritual Fitness coach. While you’re just trying to keep all the plates in the air, the Holy Spirit is causing you to think differently. One day you realize you don’t need so many plates. One day you realize being right isn’t worth it. One day you stop texting your boss after work because it’s getting in the way of your family time. The Holy Spirit will show you a whole new movement pattern for your life. Instead of balance, coordination, and agility, you’ll develop patience, gratitude, and forgiveness. If you really want to know how you’re doing in life, ask Jesus to show you.

You also need community, because self-examination is a community project. When you open yourself up to a small group of trusted friends, be prepared to see who you really are. It’s your community who recognizes your blind spots. It’s your community who shows you other people have the same struggles as you. It’s your community who helps you stay on track spiritually. If you want to live with true fulfillment and purpose, you must abandon the Lone Ranger mentality. Fitness, both physical and spiritual, is most rewarding when trained in community.

I know so many of you reading this have committed to making 2021 your best year ever. It’s time to take a hard look at the tools you’re using to grow. Mirrors may have brought you this far, but coaches and community will take you places you never even knew existed.

Questions for Reflection:

If you’re a follower of Christ, describe what it’s like to be coached by the Holy Spirit.

If you had to explain to someone the spiritual benefits of physically working out with other athletes, what would you tell them?

Let the Work Work

Reading: Romans 12:1-21

“Hard work never goes on sale.”

There are many things unique to CrossFit I love. When I say unique, I’m not suggesting that nowhere else in the world does anyone do these things. No need to do a google search to prove me wrong. I mean they are part of the CrossFit culture. In other words, no matter which CrossFit gym you belong to, you’ll identify and connect with them. I love our language - Mechanics, consistency, intensity; WOD (Workout of the Day); AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible). I love the definition of CrossFit – constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement. I love the components of CrossFit – Monostructural (Cardio), Weightlifting, and Gymnastics. But what I think I love most is the countdown clock. There is something about looking up at the clock and hearing the coach say, “ten seconds.” I get this little rush of adrenaline every time. And as I hear the final beep on the clock and the coach shouts, “go,” I know it’s time to go to work.

As a coach, one of the ways I can tell how new athletes are going to progress is by their desire to work. It’s ok to be afraid of the unknown. It’s ok to fear work. But that’s why we train together. We see others embrace the very things we fear, and it gives us confidence we can attempt them as well. However, if an athlete’s attitude toward work is one of disdain or contempt, they’re in trouble. Because here’s the secret to fitness, you ready? Hard work. Consistent hard work. If you don’t like work, stop looking for fitness, because you’re not going to find it. I would much rather coach an athlete who’s hungry to work versus one who “knows what they need.” Honestly, if you knew what you needed, you wouldn’t walk in the door. When you join a high-quality CrossFit gym, you’re joining a community of people, coaches included, who love to work. The reason – because work is what gets it done. If you let the work work.

Ok, so what does that really mean, to let the work work. Work is simply a stimulus. When you perform any kind of physical activity, you stimulate your muscles and engage your aerobic system. This is baseline work. To let the work really work, you must recognize there’s a war going on inside your brain as well. Sometimes the war starts just by looking at tomorrow’s workout on your phone. “Overhead squats? Maybe I need a recovery day.” When you allow the work to work, you engage both your brain and your brawn. You recognize the value work plays in transforming your life. You stay present in your workouts and interact with them. You draw inspiration from athletes around you and look for ways to be encouraging. This is the communal effect of a great CrossFit gym. And fitness is not the only outcome. So are durability and resiliency. One day, you realize you don’t care so much about what the workout is as you do about finding ways to get better from the work you’re about to do.

Spiritual Fitness is the same way. When I teach athletes spiritual exercises such as prayer, meditation, or fasting, I’m introducing them to the work. These exercises are the stimulus for engaging the soul and ultimately transforming your spiritual life. But I’ve known plenty of people who meditate or pray or even fast yet see no real changes in their spiritual lives. They still have anxiety, they still worry about the future, they still think their career defines them, or worst of all, they think this is as good as it’s ever going to get. Has this ever been you? To be spiritually fit, you have to let the work work. And that starts with God. If God isn’t the focal point for your spiritual exercises, you’ll always come up short. You’ve got to make daily Bible reading a way of life. How else are you to know the Creator of the universe and how in love He is with you? And you must do a good portion of your spiritual training with others. People who tell me they prefer to do their spiritual work alone are like those who buy some fitness equipment for their garage. You may see some results, but you’ll never truly discover fulfillment in life. It’s a community thing. You need to be challenged and pushed by others. You need to speak your fears and insecurities out loud. This is how you let spiritual work really work.

Let me cast some vision for your life. Imagine one day lying in bed on a Monday morning. Your alarm has just gone off and you’re taking a few moments to collect your thoughts before your feet hit the ground. As you do, the anticipation and excitement for the day begins to build. The countdown clock starts. While most people are lamenting the fact the weekend is over, you realize this is the start of another great day. God has something incredible planned for your life. Your spiritual workout of the day is As Many Blessings As Possible. While you may not know what the day holds, you know this is your opportunity to let the work work.

Questions for Reflection:

What does it mean to you to spiritually train with others? What’s been your experience?

How does an understanding of the bigger picture change the value of work? What are the biggest barriers to realizing the value of work, both physical and spiritual?

Moments

Reading: Acts 16:16-34

Have you ever had a moment? Has life ever been so difficult you needed a moment? Moments are snapshots in time. They are unique from the rest of our life in how we remember them. Think back on some of your greatest moments in life. Maybe that was the birth of a child or the day you became debt free. Maybe you had a really big achievement at work, or maybe you got your best Fran time ever. Which is why you don’t do Fran anymore, cause like who needs the pressure? Life is really a collection of moments. Over time, who we are unfolds from the moments we live out. Here’s the challenge – are you present enough in your own life to really experience it? Instead of focusing on moments, too many people in this world are going through the motions. It’s easy to recognize the difference. At the end of the day, write down three things you’re grateful for. If you don’t have three new things every day, you’re going through the motions. And more than likely, you are missing the moment.

I can admit this. I’ve driven home from the gym before and realized while I was in the gym, I really wasn’t “in the gym.” I was doing the work, but not experiencing the workout. I was missing the moment. Here’s why this is so critical in our lives – moments create momentum. Those little snapshots of seemingly insignificant decisions can create a snowball effect. Going through the motions will never generate momentum. And momentum is a powerful ally in the transformation game. This is why great coaches celebrate little wins. We know those small victories can become catalysts for massive life change. We point them out to athletes so they will “tag” those moments in their own minds. When they hustled back to their barbell to get one more rep before time expired, that moment generated some positive momentum. What moments are generating momentum in your life right now? Are you present enough to also see them in the lives of your friends and family?

We’ve all got room to grow in this area, including me. We can always be more mindful and present in our day. But to do that, we’ve got to fight the distractions pulling us away. For some of you, that may be your phone. One of the things that breaks my heart is seeing a parent pushing a kid on the swing while looking at their phone. They don’t realize one day those moments will be gone. The days of reading bedtime stories or tuck ins or late-night ice cream runs will come to an end. While I love technology, it becomes a distraction when it gets the wrong priority in our life. Instead of living into our own moments, we get sucked into scrolling through everyone else’s. If you want to see how big a role technology plays in your life, unplug from it for 24 hours. What distractions keep you from living in the moment? Are you able to see them coming?

2021 can absolutely be your best year ever. I believe in living a life where every year you can pursue more purpose and greater fulfillment. I believe there is a God who loves us all so dearly, and every year you can experience more of His grace and goodness. Remove the distractions, resist going through the motions, and commit to being present in every moment of your life. You’ll never regret it.

Questions for reflection:

What moments are generating momentum in your life right now? Are you present enough to also see them in the lives of your friends and family?

What distractions keep you from living in the moment? Are you able to see them coming?