Sunday Story...More Monks! Last week I went to walk with the monks, as I mentioned in last week's story. Unfortunately, we didn't get a 6-mile walk. We only had a 1-mile walk due to the weather, which was actually very nice except for the end, when it started raining cats and dogs. The other thing was that there were a whole lot more people there than I think anybody expected. There must have been at least a couple of thousand people, and it was a crowd of calm, peaceful, happy, harmonious people who were there to celebrate a truly amazing accomplishment. Those monks walked 2,300 miles from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C. Some of them did it barefoot. They did it in the rain, in the cold, in the heat. It didn't matter; they were just walking for peace. In these trying times, and there's a lot going on in the world these days, I'm pretty sure that most of us can get behind peace. Pretty sure there are some universal truths that we can all get behind. We'd all be happier if things happened in a more peaceful manner, in a more harmonious manner, in a way that honored every human's purpose on earth, every human's ability, every human's voice. Everyone deserves to be heard, everyone deserves to be respected and honored, everyone. I hope each of you can walk through your day with peace in your heart, assured of the dignity and respect you deserve as a member of this human race. If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results. John Mariotti www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com www.crossfitodyssey.com 775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Walk for Peace It's Sunday morning, and yesterday I walked with the Buddhist monks from Fort Worth back to their monastery. These monks walked from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., starting in October and finishing on February 12th. That's how long it took to walk 2,300 miles. Think about that. A 2,300-mile walk. One step at a time. They were walking for peace. They weren't walking to get fitter; they weren't walking for exercise; they were walking for peace. Another Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, wrote a book many years ago titled "Peace in Every Step," and part of that message is that every step we take in the world should be taken with peace in our hearts. Peace in our hearts means that every step that I take, every word that comes out of my mouth, every action that I do is done with kindness and with the idea of generating more peace in the world. That's what it means to me to walk for peace. It's not a protest. It's not a religious ceremony. It's not sanctified; it's not sacred; it's just a walk for peace, and that is something each one of us should do with each and every step. If you were there and you joined me, I hope you felt peace. If you didn't get there, if it wasn't in your ability or on your schedule, I highly suggest taking a little walk today, whether it's one step or a thousand, and do it for peace. If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results. John Mariotti www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com www.crossfitodyssey.com 775-338-2412

Sunday Story...100 Words When I started CrossFit many years ago, we read "Fitness in 100 Words" by Greg Glassman. The first sentence is, "Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat." When we look at that prescription, it's a very healthy way of eating. It starts with meat and vegetables. We eat protein first; that's the meat part. We eat vegetables, which provide some carbs, a healthy dose of fiber, and micronutrients that support our health. When it says, "eat a little sugar" or "eat a little starch," that means a little. We're not eating two cups of rice in a sitting, or even one cup. We're eating a little starch, like squash and sweet potatoes. The other part is "no sugar." And this is the big one for all of us. If you're like me, you love sugar. As humans, we were programmed to eat sugar. The difference between the way we were 10,000 years ago and the way we are now is how we get our sugar and how often. It used to be that sugar was hard to come by. If you wanted sugar from bees, you had to knock the hive out of the tree and risk the stings to get the honey. As a matter of fact, naturally occurring sugars like berries and fruits only occur in season. So, we couldn't get strawberries in December or apples in March. Sugar was hard to come by. And that's why it says, "no sugar." Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. It's that simple. If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results. John Mariotti www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com www.crossfitodyssey.com 775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Kindness I suspect most of my conservative friends think I’m liberal, and most of my liberal friends think I’m conservative. The fact is simple…I am neither…and I am both. Let me tell you where I stand, because it's really simple. I will paraphrase a quote from the Dalai Lama: "My religion is simple, it is kindness." This is where I stand: On Kindness. Here’s a quick test: if you must ask yourself whether what you are doing is kind, or whether what someone else is doing is kind, 9 out of 10 times (and probably 10 out of 10), it is not kind. Just the fact that you need to ask belies the fact. I remember sitting in a room with Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, the founder of Non-Violent Communication, as he told the story of a session with a twice-convicted pedophile. Now, for most of us (me included), we would have a hard time finding compassion or empathy for someone who committed such heinous acts against any human, let alone a child. And Dr. Rosenberg admitted he had a really hard time finding any empathy for that individual. He forced himself to sit and listen to the man's story without judgment. And he managed to discover empathy for what the man had gone through and the pain he subsequently forced on his victims. This didn’t excuse his actions, it didn’t exonerate him of his crimes, or even mitigate his actions. But by simply listening and showing empathy and kindness, he managed to shift his own judgment and treat another human with some measure of dignity. Now, Dr. Rosenberg practiced nonjudgment and kindness for decades before he could dig so deeply into his own prejudices and judgments. I am not sure I am big enough to do that. But what I do know is that kindness will lead me to finding equanimity and harmony in my own life. Every human, even the worst of us, deserves kindness. Every human, even the saintliest, deserves kindness. Every human, every time…Kindness. If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results. John Mariotti www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com www.crossfitodyssey.com 775-338-2412

Sunday Story…GPP When we are faced with an impending disaster or catastrophe, and look around, we may realize we are not as prepared as we should be. Then we go to the store, and all our neighbors and friends have realized they're not as prepared as they should be, and the shelves are empty. At that moment in time, you might kick yourself a little bit, wondering why you didn't stockpile a little bit further in advance when the shelves were full. In CrossFit, we talk a lot about general physical preparedness. What if I had to walk 10 miles and be fresh and ready to go at the end? Could you do that? Are you physically prepared to achieve that task? That's the sort of thing we're talking about when we talk about general physical preparedness. It's not, "Can I do ten push-ups? Can I do fifteen pull-ups?" It's, "Can I pick up an injured person and carry them to safety? Can I sprint down the street if that was necessary to save my or somebody else's life?” This is general physical preparedness, and when it is necessary, and you don't have it, it is too late. Just like the old Chinese proverb, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is right now." Same thing for your fitness. Best time to start might have been twenty years ago, but the second-best time is right now. If you're already here and you're already reading this, you're already well on the way. If you're not, this is your wake-up call. Let's get prepared together. If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results. John Mariotti www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com www.crossfitodyssey.com 775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Change Your Story Over the last couple of weeks, we've talked about making small changes to get big results. We've talked about changing our direction one or two degrees and finding an entirely new destination at the end of our journey. But often, we find ourselves stymied by the stories that we are telling ourselves about our history, about what's happened in the past, the things you could do, things you couldn't do, why you couldn't do it, whose fault it was, and all of those stories that we tell ourselves around what has happened to us. If we want to change our history, we must change the stories we tell about it. So, if you tell yourself, "I have never been athletic," "I have never been able to get in shape," and then you tell yourself, "I'll never be athletic," "I will never be able to get in shape." Failure isn't fatal, and success isn't permanent. All those things - failures, successes - are all part of the learning process. We want to shift the stories we tell ourselves: "I’ve never been athletic YET," "I haven't found what works for me in the fitness area." You're going to keep trying until you find something that does work for you, for your life, for your fitness. That's your journey to extraordinary; it's not some destination; it's the learning process; it's the story you tell yourself. So, let's keep learning and keep journeying toward the extraordinary. If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results. John Mariotti www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com www.crossfitodyssey.com 775-338-2412

Sunday Story…One Degree Last week, I wrote about how a small daily action can lead to big accomplishments over time. Here’s another idea. If you shift your focus, change your steering wheel, or increase your intensity just 1 degree, or 1 adjustment in any direction, your destination will change over time. Think about it. What would Columbus have discovered if he had shifted his course of direction just 1 degree over? Maybe he would have landed in Florida or Venezuela. At 211 degrees, water is hot; at 212, it boils, and when it does, it produces steam, which produces energy (think steam locomotives). Here is a little movie that shows you how small changes make big differences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7XqZxsIyks Where in your life can you make a small change and reap different rewards? Maybe it’s as simple as saying something kind to someone. You thought the words but didn’t verbalize them. Nothing shifts; nothing changes. But what if those words landed and changed someone’s life? Maybe that person really needed to hear that today, and your words will change the trajectory of their life We don’t always know when our actions will have an effect far beyond what we planned for or expected. Making a one-degree shift in your outlook could change the world, or at least how you see the world. If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results. John Mariotti www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com www.crossfitodyssey.com 775-338-2412

We couldn’t think of a better person to celebrate as we begin a New Year, than the woman who has the highest overall attendance at the gym at almost 1700 visits. It’s hard to put everything we love about Mandy in one blog because there is just so much. Mandy has been with CrossFit Odyssey just over six and a half years, although she has been doing CrossFit for about 10 years.