Perspective is everything. – By Stephanie Vincent

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One set of circumstances illicit completely different responses in different persons.  In fact the same set of circumstances, at different times in our lives can create exact opposite feelings.  The perfect example is finding out you are going to have a baby….this can be devastating news or a joyous miracle- depending on who you are and where you are in your life.  Our perspective is what causes us to experience joy or experience suffering.  Our perspective is what allows us to achieve our goals and what allows us to give up on them.

Perspective is everything…

…in our life and in our CrossFit workouts.

If our perspective is, “this is going to be too heavy” it will be.

If our perspective is, “I never will get a muscle up” we won’t.

If our perspective is, “I am awful at pull ups” we will be.

Chances are you get the idea that how we think about our world- effects how we experience it.  You know if you attempt a lift feeling like you are going to fail it- you always do.   However what most of us forget about perspective is that we ALWAYS have a choice.  It is a simple fact that is incredibly empowering once we realize it.  WE HAVE A CHOICE…in every moment, as to what perspective we choose to hold.

However in order to make a choice we must know what our choices are.  The first step to knowing those choices is to identify what the current perspective is that we are assuming.  For example, if each time running shows up in the CrossFit programming we say, “I hate running, I suck at it” That there, is our current perspective.

Naming the current perspective we are in, is paramount.  We become entrenched in our beliefs about something- believing them to be fact, when this is not the case.  Calling out our perspective for what it is- subjective not objective- immediately takes away some of its hold over us.  Bringing that to light is the first step.  The next one is to look at what the alternate choices might be.

Once we have identified a perspective that limits us, its time to brainstorm different perspective we could try. There are about a million different alternative perspectives a person could hold about running other then they hate it and suck at it.  They could accept it because they know it’s important for them to be able to do it, if it life demanded it.  They could be happy that it showed up because it is a chance to improve. They could decide that they don’t suck, that instead they are getting better at it everyday.

Now the fun part- we acknowledged we have a choice, we have identified our options and now we get to decide.  We could even decide to keep the old perspective- the beauty is in the choice not in what we actually choose.  We get to choose what perspective resonates with our highest self? What  perspective serves our greatest good?   What perspective would help us perform better, improve our form, become a better athlete?

We can either be victims of our perspective or exersize our free will by making a conscious choice in all areas of our lives but the gym is a perfect place to start.  In the box a perspective shift provides immediate results.  A movement starts to suck a little less, we easily do the tasks that will make us better and maybe we even start to look forward to what we used to avoid.   The immediate results turn in to long term results- our time gets faster, our lifts get bigger or our form gets better.  Choosing our perspective works- the physical realm provides documentable evidence of that.  That proof becomes the ultimate fodder for us to carry over the practice into the rest of our life.

When we start to consciously choose our perspectives in our lives outside the gym, the results are the similar. Things become easier, less stressful, and more joyful.  We become more successful, more satisfied, more at peace, more content with our lives- and that’s what it’s really all about…isn’t it?

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Special thanks to Stephanie Vincent for this great contribution to the Goal Setting Website. If you’d like to contribute a written piece or photograph, e-mail it to: info@crossfitgoalsetting.com

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