Do It Anyway.

Hey Friends—

As we round the corner from January to February, I’m hearing from a lot of you the early hints of Spring Fever. Okay, maybe it is just in my own head, but I think it will resonate with many of you. The days are starting to get longer (ever so slowly) but we’ve still got a lot of winter ahead of us. Aside from the inherent beauty of winter and the abundance of mountain snow fun, the gray days and cold temperatures can take a toll on our mental well-being. The holidays are long gone but full-on Spring may still be many weeks away.

This is always a hard time of year for me. (Thanks to my staff and family for making an escape to warmer temps and sunnier days possible last week.) My motivation to work and train always seems harder to muster and my attention and focus hit their low points for the year. I’ve spoken with enough of you and overheard enough conversations to know that I’m not the only one feeling this way.

I don't have this figured out by any stretch of the imagination, but I have found a few things that seem to help. (Spoiler alert: Catacombs is big part of all of them!) I offer them to you as options in hopes that they will help you too.

1.) Do it anyway. Whatever the thing is that you are talking yourself out of. Hanging out with friends, getting up early, going on an adventure, going to the gym (especially going to the gym). Don’t let the inertia of doing nothing win. It rarely makes you feel better and often makes you feel worse.

2.) Go outside. Even if it is cold and gray, there is something about being outside that lifts my spirits and helps me feel a bit more alive. It also helps me appreciate the unique beauty of this time of year. It’s there, I promise. You just have to be open to it.

3.) Commit to a routine or schedule and don’t renegotiate it. SIgn up for workout times and commit to them. Then, shut down the thought process when you start renegotiating it in your head. Just go. Save yourself the mental gymnastics and just go. Use those windows of motivation to plan your week and set yourself up for the times when you are no longer motivated. Then you can just follow the plan without requiring the same running start that you might need otherwise.

4.) If all else fails, come to the gym. You will find people there that are happy to see you. There will be laughter and movement and friends. Sometimes that is all we need. And, no one ever leaves the gym feeling worse than when they walked in. It just doesn’t happen.

That’s what I have for you this week my friends. Sunny days are ahead! Let your coaches know how we can help and we look forward to seeing your smiling faces or stoic grimaces in the gym.