Reap the Harvest
Written by: Coach Vic
Open season is a upon us. The Open is more than a test of five workouts and coming together to encourage each other through it. Not that those parts are not vital, but they’re definitely not the only parts we should focus on. Maybe this year, you might view the Open as more of as showcase for the hard work you’ve put in over the last year.
There were plenty of days where you didn’t want to go to the gym, practice a weakness, or stick to your nutrition. It’s times like those when the test comes back around to make it all worth it. For example, there’s not a farmer who has diligently prepped and plowed his field through the course of a year that is not excited for the harvest to come. Why should we treat the Open any different? That thought birthed a new idea:
Reap the Harvest
At first glance, the phrase immediately makes us think of a reward for hard work. Too often, we’re focused on the finished product and not the process it takes to produce something special. There are many facets that go into harvesting, such as simply “What do you want grow?”, “What is most suitable to grow in this field?”, and most importantly, “What’s the every day process that goes into plowing/maintaining this field?”
This process is no different than the one we use in our gym life, “What is our goal?”, “What variables can we can control in life to accomplish the goal?”, and lastly, “Are we willing to put on our blinders and put in the work day-in and day-out?”
What Are We Harvesting?
Significant to any journey is to know where the destination is, and to understand what it takes to get there.
Each one of us has our own individual field that has to be plowed. What goes into producing oranges isn’t the same as what goes into producing apples. One of the biggest pitfalls of reaching goals is comparison. Comparison is nothing more than a distraction. It shifts our thinking from “How great can I be?” to “How good is someone else doing?” This accomplishes nothing. Also, what are the internal and external factors that can be controlled to be most effective during the process? The number one thing that we can control is mindset. Starting with a mindset centered around positivity makes any goal easier to obtain. We will never be in control of how much it rains, or what inconveniences life brings, but what we can control is how we react and our perspectives on how we view challenges.
It’s our choice to decide if something is good or bad. The power to even see it as a decision lays in the mindset we approach it with. There’s a reason flowers don’t grow in the shade. The more our mindset is centered in positivity, the better our chance for growth.
So even before the plowing process starts, find a find a field, decide what the goals are, and grab the blinders.
Plowing the Field
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to an older gentleman about what it’s like to plow a field over the course of a season, you might come across him describing days of working in an unbearable heat and holding on to the plow lines while his hands blister.
Even after descriptions like this, there’s still a bit of a sparkle in his eye about the process. Is this because he fell in love with putting his body through long periods of hard work? I don’t believe so. I believe that he feel in love with the process of having a goal and, no matter the conditions, getting the job done. This is the same joy that we are all searching for in our fitness journey. We all set goals and no matter what it took to get there, we put our heads down and worked, because we knew at a later date, there was a harvest to reap.
There’s not a lot of glamour that goes into setting of the field or the plowing process, but without these tedious activities, there is no harvest. Harvest season comes regardless of how well you prepared for it.
So, now it’s time to Reap the Harvest. Welcome to the Open Season.
