We spend a lot of time around here talking about the importance of taking action, of not delaying, of putting in the work to get the desired results.

While I am a big believer in the power of forward progress, I think there is another piece of the puzzle that needs to be considered. Action is not inherently positive or negative. It is simply momentum in a certain direction. And how much attention are you paying to that direction?

When you start out, when your journey is tremendously long, it makes sense to aim yourself in the general direction of your goals and start moving. But as you draw nearer your destination, do you pause to course correct? Do you look around and ask if this is the best path, if there might be another one that will more effectively take you where you want to go? And, have you considered that perhaps your destination changed somewhere along the way? Do you want to just keep blindly pushing forward?

Sometimes I think our focus on the active process of moving forward distracts us from the equally important, if more passive, process of paying attention. We fixate on our goals, where we wish we were, and forget to notice where we are now.

We do so at our our own cost. Focus on a specific training goal to the exclusion of all else can be a recipe for injury or overtraining. Fixation on a desired body image without an understanding of your body’s unique composition and needs might bring you closer to your goal, but at the cost of your health and training.

Don’t get me wrong. Goals are essential. We need something to get us moving. But don’t forget that the process is often more important than the product, and that paying attention gets you where you really wanted to go all along.

- Joy Sprimont

5/14/18

• “Angie”

• For time:

• 100 pull-ups

• 100 push-ups

• 100 sit-ups

• 100 squats