I was listening to the Brute Strength Podcast recently and the host, Michael Cazayoux, was talking about the concept of how you do anything is how you do everything. He talks about this a lot and it is something that I have heard from many different places but for some reason this time it really hit home for me. I really started to think about how this applies to all facets of life and specifically in the gym. I believe that if you can implement this mindset into your daily life then you can start to be more successful in all areas of life and start achieving the things you want to achieve.
I have been a firm believer for a long time that you can learn everything that you need to learn about someone by watching them in a CrossFit gym. How they approach a workout every day, how consistent they come in, what they do when the workout gets hard, how they treat their fellow classmates, what kind of self talk they have, etc. all carries over into every other aspect of life. How you do anything is how you do everything, whether you realize it or not. If you are mentally tough in the gym then you will be mentally tough in life. If you cut corners in the gym then you will cut corners in life. If you give 100% effort every day in the gym then you will give 100% effort every day outside the gym. There is not a switch that you can turn on when you come in the gym and then turn off when you leave. Your true character will be revealed at some point. You may be able to fake it for a little while but over time it will be revealed. This is both a terrifying and exciting feeling.
I know what you are thinking. Come on man it’s just a workout. It doesn’t matter at all. But this is exactly my point. The truth is it does matter. If you are going to act a certain way in something that matters as little as a workout then when the stakes are amplified in life you will act the same way. You are training yourself how you respond to adversity each and every day. How you act and react inside the gym is the exact same way you will act and react outside the gym. I can watch someone train for a few months and know exactly how they will react to any situation in life. If you cut reps, cut corners, skip hard workouts, show up inconsistently, fail to give your best effort every day, have a bad attitude, complain, or quit when it gets hard, then you will also do this in other areas of your life. Whatever bad habits you have inside the gym you will also have outside the gym.
We have discussed some bad habits that you can have in the gym that spill over to outside the gym. Now lets talk about some good habits that you can have. You show up every day, no matter what the workout is. You have a good attitude every day. You aren’t worried about what others are doing and are only worried about improving yourself. You give 100% effort every day. You genuinely cheer other people on and want them to succeed. You have a growth mindset and not a fixed mindset. You do all of the reps. You don’t quit when the workout gets hard. You clean up after yourself. All of these characteristics will spill over into outside of the gym. Whatever good habits that you develop in the gym will help you in all other aspects of life. This is why CrossFit is such a great tool to make people better in all areas of life and not just in health and fitness. The workouts are hard and can bring the worst out in people. You see the true character of people in the gym and every day is training. You either get a little better or a little worse. You either reinforce a good habit or reinforce a bad habit.
Now that we have talked about how you act in the gym affecting how you act outside of the gym lets talk about some action steps. If you are like me and most people you probably have some things you need to work on. If you have a bad habit or characteristic that shows itself inside the gym then it is probably showing itself outside of the gym too. Be introspective. Spend some time evaluating every aspect of your life and finding out where you fall short. Be vulnerable. Ask some fellow gym members who see you every day what your strengths and weaknesses are. I guarantee you that where you are falling short in the gym you are also falling short in the same area outside of the gym. Once you have figured out what problem areas you have start working on them. Ask your buddies to hold you accountable. Tell them what you are working on and ask for feedback on your progress. Remember that every day you are either reinforcing good habits or reinforcing bad habits. If you need to change focus on it every single day. I promise that you will start to see carryover into every aspect of your life. Improving your inside the gym self will improve your outside the gym self.
Let me leave you with a challenge. I challenge you to start paying attention to what you do in the gym and how it affects you outside of the gym, and I challenge you to improve, because how you do anything is how you do everything.
