As CrossFitters, many of us believe in a more simplistic diet: eat things without an Ingredients List. Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. Eat meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds....
Our nutritional plans are the envy of every other sport. Why not expand that forethought and care into the rest of our lives? Some simple suggestions, from someone who's been observing the CrossFit community for a long time, and interacting with multiple Affiliate owners every day:
1. Get up early. Do the stuff you love first thing in the morning. Do something creative to prime your brain.
2. Don't defecate where you eat. Stay upriver from garbage. Don't poison your own food supply.
3. Marry outside the tribe to increase diversity. Learn things that don't come from CrossFit HQ. Read other sources of information, take what you can, and implement them in your CrossFit practice. Tell others. Don't ignore information like periodization just because 'no one else does it....'
4. Find a state of 'flow.' Our brain is primarily wired to be in a state of semi-alertness; we run on autopilot a lot of the time, always ready to react. We're not built to process every bit of information as if it's the first time we've encountered it. Do something that occupies your body, and your brain will catch up.
5. Be an example of empathy and good manners.
6.Constantly till the soil. Reevaluate your programming. Test people. Don't make excuses; make things grow.
7. Move around every few minutes. Don't just wait for one all-out burst at lunchtime or after dinner.
8. Find joy in doing things, not having things.
9. Lead or follow in an obvious way. If you're the Coach, demonstrate suffering (tell them YOUR Fran time.) If you're not the Coach, be the best student in the class.
10. Spend more time in the dark. Screens off, lights out.
Remember, the winner is the one who survives longest, NOT the one who eats the most.
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