Self – Awareness

“The relationship between your body and mind relies on trust.”
As an athlete, are you setting yourself up for failure by setting a standard outside of what you can achieve? Let’s say, for example, that you estimate you can finish the CrossFit benchmark workout Karen (150 walls for time) in five minutes. Instead, you complete the workout in ten minutes, twice as long as your estimated time. Constantly setting workout goals you fail to deliver on results in several negative consequences. For starters, it creates an environment where you no longer believe what your mind is telling you. Like almost all relationships, the relationship between your body and mind relies on trust. Being able to trust your mind so you believe it when it tells you that you can do something is vital to your success. Second, not being self-aware and setting unachievable standards creates a habit of accepting failure and making excuses. When you genuinely believe that you’re an athlete that can finish Karen in five minutes, but you complete it in ten instead, you will undeniably come up with a slew of excuses as to why it didn’t happen.
You can’t motivate yourself to do something you haven’t trained to do. You can’t will your way to a five-minute Karen or a 400-pound back squat. As an athlete, being self-aware and setting attainable goals nurtures your mind-body relationship. This isn’t to say that your goals should be easy; Goals that are too easy carry just as many negative consequences. The key is to understand your capabilities and set your goals at their upper limits.