The CrossFit Games are upon us. In fact, they started two days sooner than any of us expected, athletes included. A couple days ago an entire extra day of competition was announced to the surprise of everyone (Here is the announcement for those of you living under a rock). As athletes we know that we should be training for the ‘Unknown & Unknowable’ but how many of you would have been comfortable taking on this challenge? How many of you would have been prepared to run a triathlon (of all things!)?
The Unknown
The unknown is defined as something that is not known(duh) or not familiar. When most people are faced with an unfamiliar situation, especially when the stakes are high, a sneaking little emotion bubbles up: fear. This fear causes all kinds of crazy and sometimes debilitating questions to pop up: Am I prepared to run a triathlon? I’m not a good swimmer, will I finish? How will this affect me on Friday? Sunday? I didn’t prepare for this… What we are really talking about here is being mentally prepared to take on anything that is thrown at us. Sure with good programming, a little bit of discipline, and a decent diet the average athlete will be able to physically handle this change of events but the breakdown for most of us is going to occur between the ears. How well can these athletes handle this huge obstacle throw into their way? How well could you?
Maybe this change of events is right up your alley as an athlete but how would you handle one of your best coaches walking out of your gym tonight, taking 30 clients with him, and opening his own box right down the road? Are you prepared for that? Is this likely to happen? Maybe, maybe not, the point is Dave Castro isn’t the only one out there throwing curve balls at people. The business world can catch you off guard just as fast, but the stakes are MUCH higher. Especially if you depend on the revenue of your affiliate to put food on the table. Functional fitness has taught us to prepare for the unknown in our physical lives but we, as business owners, need to prepare for the unknown in all aspects of life if we want to succeed. So take a few minutes, think about a few of those worst case scenarios, what do you absolutely not want to come out of that ‘business crisis hopper’? Then create a plan for each of those situations, clear away some of that Fog of War, and take a little bit of unknown out of your business.
The Unknowable
So you’ve made a plan for some of those worst case scenarios but you and I both know that the chances of any of that stuff happening (especially now that you’re prepared for it) is slim. That’s okay, what you just did was fortify the mind, just a little bit, to handle the real scary stuff, the unknowable. This is where the real magic happens. The more you prepare for the unknown the easier it becomes to deal with the unknowable when it rears its ugly head. Taking just a little bit of fear out of an already scary situation will do wonders for you ability to handle those tough situations. This is where functional fitness shines, by exposing you to constantly varied, stressful, unknown and unknowable situations, over and over again. Before you know it those pre-Fran butterflies may just go away! So don’t hide those business related fears in the closet. Shine some light on them, come up with your ’emergency action plan’ and rehearse exactly how you would cope with each situation. Coach stealing members, new box opening next door, natural disaster? You’ll be prepared for anything.
What is your biggest fear? Tell us in the comments below (unless you’re scared…)