… & the Winner is … ICARE to rise

‘winner’ - person or thing that wins something. In my context and narratives, I had labeled myself, time and again, NOT a competitive winner. But that narrative changed when I was awarded 1st?place for @F45challenge - https://f45challenge.com, among 40+ participants (April 2022, 45 days of intense Functional HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) backed with proper nutrition, a balanced lifestyle.

Looking back, I realized there have been in my life journey, worthy wins and awards; ‘Outstanding Mentor’, ‘Team Leader’, a myriad of lucky draws to name a few, but this was another beast. Yes, a sense of definite astonishment, as I’ve never considered myself highly in the realms of the workout sphere. Yes, I do a lot of endurance runs, but a CrossFit was ‘maybe’ as a stop-gap when I got too lazy to run (it happens!).

Parallel to this challenge, I was also in the process of doing an amazing 6-month Leadership Coaching Program (https://www.bemoreu.life). The course explored coaching, valuable tools, processes, and importantly digging deep within to understand the world around. One of the key modules required, to work towards a BIG WANT/s, and one of my wants apart from scaling life coaching skills, was working towards challenging my two-plus decade of the visceral fat issue (termed as my ‘thorn in the flesh').

I had already joined F45 training, (?https://f45training.ca/vancouverchinatown/home?lang=en-ca) to increase my cardio to complement running (another excuse being, I had fallen off the running bandwagon & needed to jump-start back pounding the pavements & trails.) So, using the power of Big Want, I jumped onto #F45Challenge. I needed to be accountable for what I would do and being the winner was NOT the goal.

What were the values or the secret ingredients over a period of time that allowed a two-pack a day smoker with unhealthy?diet options, non-runner (a little more than a decade back) to a runner in recent past doing @30+ long distances ranging from 42.2K to 100K + in a year (20/21), and now a winner of #F45Challenge. As GB Shaw said “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

I have a belief that happiness is that state of consciousness that proceeds from the achievement of one's values. Whatever action or plans we work towards, need to be consistent with what we say that we believe. The habits that we live with and the actions that we do every day create the future that we’re going to experience.

Mother Teresa: “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” And I know that’s my secret sauce, in small steps, in being consistent with my values to build my fortitude mentally, emotionally, and physically. In the past few years, I have built my values and habits (still work in progress), to make it a part of my being and thus the acronym, ICARE.

I – Integrity:

The quality of being honest. It is said one of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised. I have found being honest with myself own self as one of the biggest challenges. Life does not give many short-cuts, if I had to burn my visceral?fat, I had to be honest about tracking myself in workouts, diet, and other habits.?

Michelle Obama “We learned about honesty and integrity - that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.”

C – Challenge, Commitment & Communication:

Mark Twain “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.” I am not a morning person & the biggest frog for me to eat was waking up early during the weekdays at 4.30 am to attend a 6 am workout session. I worked towards the focus on commitment and being disciplined?to follow it through.

Using the ideology of ‘Seek first to understand than to be understood’ I connected & availed myself of the amazing coaches, mentors, and advanced participants, being present during the training sessions in understanding the proper techniques, and postures required, thus opening up a new world in?being fit and healthy.?????

A – Acceptance & Accountability:

There is no further truth than, ‘The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.’ Being in allowance, being in wonderment, being in curiosity, creates magic.

I had accepted back (again another narrative, slowly breaking that mold), that I may not have the strength, poise, dexterity, or flair to do many workouts or routines, but I have allowed myself to do fewer steps, proper techniques, and postures and making it count, being accountable.???????

R – Respect, Resiliency & Responsibility:

Clint Eastwood “Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that's real power.” The power to bounce back (resiliency) came in the form of respecting my mind, body, and spirit, creating a solid base.

I'm not perfect; I make mistakes. All I can do is try my best to learn from my mistakes, take responsibility for them, and do a better job tomorrow. It was my acceptance of responsibility that allowed me to push further.

E – Empathy and drive towards Excellence:

Drive towards excellence. Colin Powell “If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception; it is a prevailing attitude.” One of my coaching principles: Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. Ability and motivation are good, what makes the action better is the disciplined (marathon) mindset to follow through.????

Whilst doing my training, also what was important was the empathy towards the community working out along with me. Universal truth ‘do unto others, what you expect others to do unto you When you're surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible. And when you approach with a sense of humility, that’s what makes us real. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.” - Rick Warren

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And the story now: Though the waistline has reduced, the battle of bulge still continues,?but what I have gained is tremendous flexibility, agility, muscle & stamina, and yes, I am a stronger runner. The focus was not to be the winner of this challenge but to be more accountable, & to me, that was the winning card. Being a winner of #F45challenge has surely fired up an impetus to continue the journey as it's said;?It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner when you're number one. What you have to have is faith and discipline when you're not a winner.??

The above write-up is though reflective of CrossFit / HIIT workouts or being physically active (that helps a lot), but parallels life and its challenges, and what you can do to be a winner and rise above. It's never ever too late, to do different

If anyone would like to have a conversation about ‘How-To’ create an Accountability (Marathon) Mindset, DM for a ? hour coaching session.????

For readers wanting to know a little more about CrossFit:?https://greatist.com/fitness/crossfit-benefits

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