Operation. Always Watching.
Operation
“EHHH!” Most of us have heard that sound at least. It is the sound of hitting one of the contact points with your “surgical” tweezers in the game Operation. I only played it once. The stress of holding a man’s, albeit fake man’s, life in my tiny 7 year old hands was just too much to bear. Honestly I just went outside and built ramps to jump.
Operation gives us an example of how seriously we should take someone's life. Whether it is our own life or someone else's. What occurs after hearing the buzzer “EHHHH!” makes us react the way we should, with a startle. That startle response illustrated by the jump out of our seat is actually great for us. It shows we care.
In the game, the objects were just big enough that we had to move methodically and with a sure, steady hand. The thin walls and those metal tweezers in this game of Operation are similar in a lot of ways to the things we run into in our day to day. When we forget to send that birthday card in time to our mom. “EHHH!” Or not giving yourself enough sleep so we can recover before tomorrow's horrible workout (I love you). “EHHH!” Or forgetting to pack food to bring to work so we eat whatever comes our way. “EHHH!”
No matter what stage in life you are, I know you can relate. We need to continue striving to be on the path that best sets us up for success. I think it is clear in quite a few of us that we are doing the things necessary to care for our fitness. Massively proud of you for that.
The key is to not be like 7 year old James and build ramps. Instead, develop that steady hand and learn the things we do that prevent us from getting to where we want to get.
How can you avoid bumping into those metal walls? What parameters have you put around your fitness? Why do you care about your fitness and why are you a CrossFiter? Ask yourself these questions. Write the answers down somewhere and keep them in mind. Looking at those answers when the times are tough are the buzzers that keep us in the game. Let your fellow athletes and coaches know what we can do to be there for you in the support of pulling that butterfly out of your fitness/life stomach.
Always watching
My kids are always looking at what I do. Even when I don't want them to. They are always making decisions that effect their futures based on what I say AND what I do. We have had such a privilege of doing CrossFit for over a decade now so it is all that they know. They have never seen us go more than a week without working out. Through every pregnancy Bre has shown the importance of high intensity movement by working out until full term.
It is so motivating to have a set of eyes on us seeing to it that our actions match up with our words. You know how it feels to have someone in your life that you admire but often we don’t realize the impact we are having on someone else's life.
I think the story on Tyson Bagent from CrossFit is a pretty cool example of this. Tysons dad, Travis, was an announcer at the games especially when they were in Carson, CA. We used to love listening to his style of announcing because he had a flair that was less polished but hungry for the world of CrossFit. Tyson plays for the Bears and got his first start of his NFL career and won. This is a kid that started CrossFit with his dad at their affiliate when he was in elementary school. Always watching.
One of the moms of one of the teens in our CrossFit Teens class told me that one of her kids has a confidence boost that she is proud of. Who is this young person going to influence? I love that.
As a gym we get to be inspired and influenced by one another. I have been influenced by many of you? And hopefully it is reciprocal. As we see each other our words start to match up with our actions and that is where something special can occur.
Who is watching you right now? Who are you watching?
Keep building,
James and Bre Cooper
