This morning I ran the Canadian Forces test and did well enough on it to be exempt for two years. I’ll come right out and say it, little things like that tickle my fancy. So, this afternoon when I returned home from work, I was undressing and putting my uniform away and I thought to myself “maybe I will just sit on the couch and watch Mad Men all night, I’ve already done a workout today, I earned it.”
Admittedly I live in my head too much. I wander in my thoughts too often and this is a habit I have been trying to break. In an attempt to focus my attention on things that truly matter, I have assembled in my apartment what could best be described as a “check point for my focus”. It consists of a few pictures and quotes pasted to the closet door where I store all my uniforms. I can neither get dressed nor undressed nor go into the bathroom without having to pass by the check point and I often make a point to stop, stare and consciously process the information up there. One of the quotes posted on this door reads “Become aware of your imminent death… One day you are going to die”. Now bear with me.
I have seen this concept often. I heard Steve Jobs talk about it during his inspirational Stanford commencement speech, I read about it in The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida, and I watched Tyler Durden preach its importance in Fight Club – my favourite movie. Knowing that you will one day be dead is one of the best ways to insure you value the time that you are alive. Although I feel that I understand this concept, I don’t think I have yet fully processed it, but I’m working on it… and that’s why it’s on the door.
As I was putting my uniform away I stopped in front of the door and asked myself a question that has been running through my head more and more lately; “If I were to die tomorrow is this what I’d do today?” Now, being honest, if I were to die tomorrow I’d probably be doing something other than Crossfit today, but when comparing that to sitting on the couch and watching television, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. So I put on my gym clothes and I headed downtown.
By doing the WOD that night, something that was once intimidating to me, now no longer was. The WOD hadn’t changed but my perception of it had. I had. This victory over the workout, albeit small in the grand scheme of things, was a victory none the less and by achieving it, I had grown a bit as a man and a as person. There are very few victories to be had at home on the couch (unless you count kicking ass at Call of Duty a victory).
More important than that, tonight was the night that Rob and Donald gave their presentation on motivation and walked us through some of the ultra marathon races they had ran across the world. This presentation was hugely inspirational and even awe inspiring. It is a talk that I will remember for a very long time. Had I not stopped in front of my closet door and asked myself that question, I would not have been there to see it. I am very grateful that I was able to experience this and it was the act of considering my imminent death that put me in a position to do so.
When I studied psychology at the University of Ottawa I learnt that the best way to illicit a behaviour is through the use of positive reinforcement. I can truly say that the consequences of living like this are rewarding to me and the more I live like this the more I want to continue living like this. It is also an example of what I would consider a mature decision making process as I am choosing long term gratification (achievement as a result of physical work and motivation through the sharing of others’ experiences) versus immediate gratification (the satisfaction associated with vegging out in my living room). This type of decision making helps cultivate within oneself what psychoanalysts call “high character”. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs self-actualization rests at the top. It is what every living person should strive to achieve. Maslow defined self actualization as “the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency for him [the individual] to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.” By becoming aware of my imminent death I take actions that move me towards self-actualization. One of those actions is going to Crossfit and pushing my physical capabilities to new limits. This type of thinking benefits my physical, emotional and psychological health and forces me at every opportunity to grow as an individual.
I guess what I am trying to say here, stated simply, is that there is more to life than the couch.
– Dan
Today’s Workout:
Buy In – Deadlift Tech for newbies, progressive deadlift warmup for others
WOD – “Dia – bolical”
Elite: 5 rounds for time of:
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10 deadlifts (185/225)
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10 handstand pushups (to 2 abmats for girls)
Zone 5: scale hspu to 5 each round
Zone 4: scale DL (155/205), hspu to 2 abmats for guys, 3 10lb rubber plates girls
Zone 3: scale DL (115/165), box hspu
Zone 2: scale DL (75/115), hspu scaled to ability
Zone 1: scale DL and hspu as needed
Cash Out – 40 toes to bar, knees to elbows, or double crunch for time
Rest or very easy recovery run (5K to 8K)
Please post in the comments when and where you are doing your run if you would like people to join you!
