Knowing your "why" is a hot topic these days and is something that I have talked about in a previous post. I believe that it is extremely important to know your "why" and I encourage everyone to explore that in themselves. In this article I want to talk about another question that is very important-"Why Not?" Instead of just coming up this blanket statement to an idea in your life I challenge you to ask yourself "Why Not" before you make a decision. Let's take a look at how this question applies in different aspects of fitness.
One of the biggest reasons we typically get from people who don't want to do CrossFit is the price. They are not willing to pay that much for our On Ramp or for a membership. If this is you, I would encourage you to ask yourself Why Not? What would you be giving up in order to pay for CrossFit? No matter what your financial situation is I know that most people can afford it fairly easily with maybe just a few adjustments. What are you not willing to give up in order to make your health and fitness a priority? Cutting out a few nights out to eat a month, skipping the bar a few times, canceling your cable subscription that you watch once a week, or picking up a few extra hours at work a week are all easy ways to come up with the money. I know that if it is really a priority to you then you will find a way to make it work. If you ask yourself these questions and still aren't able to make the adjustments then that is fine. Just know that you are sacrificing your current and future health and fitness for present comfort or short term entertainment. Every person has the right to make their own decisions, but I think that digging deep into yourself and asking yourself this hard question and really coming up with and answer will help you determine if money is REALLY the issue.
Another reason people give for not being able to do CrossFit is it's too hard or that they can't do it. If this is you then I would challenge you to ask yourself Why Not? Why can't you do it? There are hundreds of thousands (if not more) of people around the world from all walks of life, ages, races, abilities, experience levels, injury histories, etc. who make their health and fitness a priority through CrossFit. Why can't you? There are people with no arms, no legs, no hands, no feet, and countless other physical limitations who do it. There are kids doing it who are barely old enough to walk and people who are old enough to be great-great-grandparents who do it. Why can't you? The only difference between you and them is between your ears. If you say that you can't do it then ask yourself Why Not. I promise you that if you dig into this question then you might be surprised with what you find.
So far we have been talking about people who say they can't do CrossFit. Well now let's change gears and talk about people who are already doing it. They might be coming in regularly but telling themselves that they could never look like so and so. Or they could never do what so and so can do. Or they can never compete. Or so many other self imposed limitations. Well-why not? What are they doing every day that you are not? What sacrifices are they making that you are not? What are they telling themselves that you are not? I am a firm believer that you can achieve just about anything you want with the right amount of dedication, persistence, and mindset. Before you dismiss achieving something then ask yourself why not? Why not you? Dig into what it really takes to achieve your ideal and then ask yourself if you are willing to do it. Are you willing to give up the social life, the cheat meals, the alcohol, etc. to be able to compete at the highest level? If you aren't then why not? If you are willing to make these sacrifices then what else is holding you back? If you haven't made the body composition goals that you want to do then look inwardly and see why not. What is holding you back? Have you really been as strict on your diet as you tell yourself you are? For any goal that you have then I encourage you to ask yourself Why Not. Not only use it as motivation but use it as an honest self assessment.
As I hope that you now see "Why Not?" is a very powerful question. It can show you what is holding you back as well as show you what you need to do. It can also give you a great window into your own self and show you what limiting beliefs might be holding you back. I encourage you to ask yourself this question in all aspects of life and see where it takes you. You might end up somewhere you never thought possible.