The Caleb Barney Collection

You are only as “fit” as your weakest physical component. Look at CrossFit’s 10 components of fitness. Unless you are a professional athlete and need to be elite in one or two categories, your goal should be to have no weaknesses in any of these physical components. Be a generalist, not a specialist. 

1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance
2. Stamina
3. Strength
4. Flexibility 
5. Power
6. Speed 
7. Coordination 
8. Agility
9. Balance
10. Accuracy

Take time to practice skills. Practice is different than training. Practice involves working slow, focusing specifically on form, and breaking down movements. Training involves pushing your limits (usually during competition).

“The Stoic tells himself that although the situation may appear frightening, the truly important thing in life is how he chooses to respond.” – Donald Robertson

Are you going to run away? Or are you going to make a stand. Would you rather be fearful and full of regret or courageous?

It doesn’t matter how you feel. Everyone feels fear, pain, and suffering at some point. It’s how you react to it that defines you. 

Do you want to be known as someone who challenges his/her fears, who steps up when things get tough? Or would you rather others view you as mentally or physically weak?

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me?” – Ayn Rand

Most people are not giving much thought about you or your actions. They aren’t trying to hold you back from your dreams, but they won’t actively help you try to achieve them either. Only you can do that. You have the power to make something happen, but you also happen to be your biggest hurdle. More often than not, you will be the one to stop yourself from becoming great. Decide today. What is your goal and what are you willing to sacrifice to achieve that goal. Everything in life has a trade off. You can’t have everything, but you can have the right things, if only you focus on it and take actionable steps towards those things. 

Remember: Nobody cares about the quality of your life as much as you do. You need to work on improving your situation, because nobody else will do it for you.

Consistency is the key to building momentum. Everyone is different, but for me, I work better when I do something day in and day out. I don’t take days off, but rather have planned “rest days” where I intentionally lighten the work load. 

Examples for exercise:

Sometimes I don’t feel like working out, but I do it everyday anyways. Even on my planned rest days, I may bike, go for a hike, or stretch. There is no day where I am just sitting on the couch doing nothing. 

I believe that it’s too easy to fall into traps by taking days off. This includes working out (or not), eating well (or not), being financially responsible (or not), and reading to improve your knowledge (or not). The easier thing to do is to put off the “hard” action to better yourself and, instead, just relax. I know so many people that say, “I’ve been pretty good this week. I’m going to treat myself. I deserve it.” Only do this within reason, and do it with intention! Don’t eat an entire pizza while binge watching a show, only to realize that you’ve been mindlessly eating and didn’t even get to enjoy your cheat meal.

Remember, you build momentum by being consistent. You don’t have to make huge strides to see improvement. Even if you’re getting 1% better everyday, at the end of the year you will be 365% better than you were at the beginning of the year. Keep adding to your progress and your results by being consistent.

One final note…I live a rather Spartan lifestyle, but that is because that’s what I enjoy. You don’t have to do this. But just make sure that whatever you do, you’re doing it for a reason and thinking of the long-term consequences of your actions. Are you getting 1% better today?

“It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” – Neil Young

How will I know my limits if I don’t push to them? I won’t know how far I go until I keep going and there is no more.