CrossFit Athletic Group

Harry Potter

Lord Voldemort

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Quiddich...

... okay, that should take care of Mr. Van; he'd use this post against me for sure.

And here's the I Don't Like Remix. A real head banger and full of lots of bad words...

... that should take care of Mrs. Carey; she'd use this against me too.

...........

Okay, so one of the things I've been paying attention to lately - especially with the Double-A kids, but now with different audiences - is the difference in outputs when someone wants to do something vs. when they don't.

With the Double-A kids, the idea was simple: above all else, make sure they actually want to come into the gym first, then make sure they actually want to work out, then worry about consistency. But then I realized I allowed myself to grow out of that, so to speak, when coaching older kids and parents.

• I want Jaiden to talk more on defense.
• I want Mr. Carey to get his nutrition right.
• I want my grandma to walk more often.
• I want the Monkeys to get their attendance up.

All of those things have gone through my head at various times, but they don't get met with the same understanding on my part compared to when Natalie or JB want to play instead of work out.

In reality, it's important to understand that "I don't like" is just as valid of a reason as "I like."

Take a minute to recall a time when you didn't like doing the thing you were doing. Think about your attitude doing it, your effort, the way you interacted with the the people around you. Cutting the grass has been well-documented to be at the top of my list; it's the only difference between the blades of grass on my square and the ones on Mr. Bob my neighbor. School was another thing; do I really want the Monkeys to show up at the Champions Club with the same attitude I showed up to my math classes with? Or would I rather wait until the time is right?

Everyone has "that shit they don't like," and it's not like school and cutting the grass a and country music are okay to not like but working out and nutrition and teamwork aren't. Jaiden has his reasons for not wanting to talk on defense just like I have reasons for not wanting to talk in public situations.

Now, that doesn't mean that I would give up on Jaiden talking on defense, it means my efforts need to go away from just making Jaiden talk because I'm the coach, but rather see if I can help him want to talk on defense, and enjoy doing it. That probably involves empathizing with him, seeing his perspective, looking for a similarity in my own life, supporting him in his growth, however long it takes, and being creative in ways to accelerate that process.

Going at it from the angle of like/want is the difference between a temporary change for the wrong reasons and a permanent change for the right ones.