I always wonder why people half ass things?

Why not totally commit to something you believe in and are passionate about allowing you to reach success instead of pretending to try by not giving your full attention, commitment or energy and then failing?

If you commit, you will succeed, if you hold back your total being, you will lose. All in or nothing. Nothing left on the table, no Plan B, no bailout plan and no backup. You are in and win or you dabble and die.

This includes everything, from being in a relationship to being the best coach in the world. Never get into anything without committing to being the best there ever was. Even if you stumble and falter at first, you are trying at a higher level than most will ever even dream about in their own lives.
​
When we fail to commit, we set up failure in advance as a built in excuse to avoid success. Failure to commit your soul to anything guarantees you will fail, but then you can tell everyone you tried and it wasn't you fault that it didn't work. Lack of commitment is a pass that covers your ass when you fail: you looked good trying, but it really didn't work so no big deal.

This is why so many people try, yet so few succeed in anything. Failure to commit and failing is so much easier than going all in with every single ounce of your talent and being, and that is just too much for too many people. All in or out? The only way to live.

“The act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.”
 
I intend to eat clean today. 
I intend to practice random kindness to people I don’t know well. 
I intend to slap a smile on my face and grin and bear it today regardless of what happens. 
I intend to compete again, even if I know I won’t be number one.
I intend to focus on what’s going right instead of the things that may be falling apart.
I intend to improve my deadlift.
I intend to feel awesome about completing the workout no matter how many ways I may modify.
I intend to focus on improving the list of skills that bring me to my knees.
 
Do I follow through with every intention, every day? No. I’m not perfect. Besides, the list changes from day to day. However, I believe having intentions is better than not having any. It means you are aware of things you want to change or improve and it keeps them in the forefront of your mind. What are your intentions?

Some day, when you sit quietly and alone thinking about life, what will your answer be to the question: What did it mean to be you? 

Resolutions this time of year often fail because they represent nothing more than a shallow attempt to patch a deficiency in your life. We set a goal to lose weight and then weeks later nothing changes because secretly deep down we are happy being fat. Change only happens when your soul changes, meaning you want something so badly you are willing to change how you think and live to achieve that dream. And that change won't happen unless there is a trigger; something so emotionally strong it forces you out of your comfort zone onto a new path where anything is possible. 
​
Triggers are usually derived from an emotional ass kicking. We work in a bad job, get married, have kids and now money is important so we are forced to change and grow. But triggers also come from the ability to look into your future and try to project who you want to be when we grow up.

Ten years from now, looking back, what did it mean to be you? Did you achieve what you wanted or simply passed the time? Did you change lives or if you died no one would even notice? Did you make enough money to take care of your family and plan a future? Spend little time on resolutions this year and a lot more time on who you want to be in the future, how you want to live and at the end of your days, what it meant to be you.

As we move into 2016, it’s time to start thinking about what we want to accomplish in the next year. Everyone in the gym should take the time to sit down and think of at least one short term 3-6 months and 1 long term year-end Flow/Fitness related goal that they want to accomplish during the course of the next year. Goals give us purpose and something to strive for. Without them, you lose purpose, and soon you will be languishing in a suspended state of inactivity and wonder what went wrong while everyone else is making progress.

“But I want to squat double BW or 5 strict pull-ups ..." – Yeah, yeah, I heard you tell me. Maybe we should write them down and make a goals board. Some I have heard are great...others need to follow the SMARTER goal setting template.

When constructing our goals for the new year it would behoove you to think about utilizing the following SMARTER template
S -
You’re goals should be extremely Specific. Let’s say your goal is to get muscle-ups. On the surface this might seem like a specific goal, but when you delve more deeply into it you will realize that it is inherently vague. What kind of muscle-ups are we talking about here? Are we looking to get 1 strict, false grip muscle up or a bar muscle up?  If you create ambiguous goals, like “I want to lose weight” or “I want to get back in to shape” or “I want to be good at Crossfit”, you will quickly realize that it is impossible to judge whether or not you achieved that goal. Specific goals help you to create specific, realistic actions plans to progress towards that goal.
M –
Your goals need to be Measurable. Saying, “My goal is to get stronger”, is not a measurable goal. Goals must be stated in quantifiable terms, or otherwise they’re only good intentions. A goal that is measurable allows us to chart our progress toward that goal, as well as know definitively that we have reached that goal. “My goal is to deadlift 300 pounds” is a measurable goals because it is quantifiable. If you only pull 290, you know that still have some work to do to reach your goal.
A –
Your goals need to be Attainable. When getting goals, they need to be within the realm of possibility of completion given the available resources. If I set a goal of deadlifting 600 lbs @ 170 lbs bodyweight, You are probably going to set yourself up for failure.  Note:  ATTAINABLE DOES NOT MEAN EASY.  You need to push yourself when establishing goals, but you don’t want to fall outside the scope of realistic and achievable. Your goals should be neither out of reach nor below standard performance, because this will render them meaningless or trivial. If my current Back Squat max is 300, and my goal is 302.5, the goal is certainly attainable, but probably too easy. On the flip side, if goals are set too high you may lose motivation during your pursuit of said goal because it is outside of the realm of that which is achievable. Reevaluating your goals can be discouraging, but will increase the likelihood that you achieve them.
R –
I’ve actually seen a couple of words used for the R in this Acronym. The first is Realistic, but to me that is very similar to attainable. The one I prefer is Relevant. Set goals that are meaningful to you. If you have no interest in getting better at Double Unders, don’t set a goal of completing 100 consecutive double unders because it will never happen. You are going to be the primary motivator in the achievement of your goals, and if they don’t mean anything to you, then your motivation will diminish rapidly, and you won’t achieve them.
T –
Time-Bound – This one is critical. You need to put a time-frame on your goals. Saying something like “I want to perform 20 consecutive kipping pull-ups someday” is still not a solid goal. While it fits some of the criteria of effective goal setting, it is palpably devoid of any kind of time-frame. Someday…Like in 10 years??? A time-bound goal is intended to establish a sense of urgency, and help you maintain focus on the task at hand. If you have an exact date to work toward, you will develop an action plan within the confines of that date that will enable you to achieve your goal.
E –
Execution – It is one thing to develop a goal that has all of the elements of a SMART goal. It is another thing entirely to execute and achieve it. Once you have established a goal, you need to develop a concrete action plan that will enable you to achieve it. How many of you will write it down? I think very few. If your goal is 20 kipping pullups by March 15, talk to a coach about progressions to develop a kipping pull-up. A goal without an action plan is just a dream.
“Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” 
R –
Reevaluate – Sometimes we will establish a goal and realize quickly that it is outside the realm of realistic and attainable. This is fine, and you should reevaluate and refine accordingly. It’s ok to refine a goal such that you can continue in its pursuit. Remember as you refine your goals to ensure that they are still challenging, or you will render them meaningless.
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” 

It is time to write it down and have a coach evaluate it. Your coach will then help you to put together a specific plan for achieving that goal. “To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.”