CrossFit athletes track their performance metrics to the utmost detail, so when it comes to goal setting, it is easy to say that I want a certain benchmark WOD to be 2 minutes faster or a lift 20 pounds heavier. And that is how we improve ever day. But that is not where the juice is… Each of us have a few ‘if I could just do THAT’ goals, like muscle-ups, rope climbs, very heavy lifts or maybe handstand pushups. Something that if we could complete this year, it would blow our minds… This is what brings us back to the gym and have us push for that extra rep. And soon enough we will do it and surprise ourselves. Again.
I wanted my team at work to have this exhilaration as we were doing our 2012 planning. Being in global sales, we planned for certain revenue goals, key customers, outline major projects or target emerging markets. It was a great plan, but then I asked each team member to come up with the One Thing that would get them going every day and if accomplished, would blow their minds. They came up with amazing things like transforming poverty lending in Southeast-Asia, redefining the role of corporate boards and our first large project in China. We all left the planning session with so much energy and immediate action that I’m now sure all these goals will happen.
In CrossFit and in Life we have to do the day-job, that baseline WOD, but if we also get to do that One Amazing Thing, the hard work makes it all worth it. And it no longer feels like work. It becomes fun.
