Posts Tagged ‘Write More’

Being Creative Is Hard.

Posted: February 27, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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At the beginning of 2018, I challenged myself to write one post per day on this blog. As of today, the 57th day of the year, I’m staying pretty consistent with my goal. While there still aren’t a “ton” of people who read on a regular basis, I still love adding to it each week. (For context, I had 113 views last week when I posted my strategy video for workout 18.1; far below my daily readership when this site was running at full speed a few years ago.) Believe it or not, I spend over 10 hours per week working on it! And while some of what I share isn’t anything to write home about, I will at least work on a post every single day. The thing I struggle with the most some days is deciding what to write about. Since this blog is mostly about fitness, that’s what the majority of my posts will cover. There are days, however, where I want to talk about something completely different. In order to keep my momentum, I’l like to enlist the help of my readers.

If you have ideas on topics you’d like me to cover, I’d absolutely love to hear them! Segments you like or don’t like? Let me know! With your input, my content can be more in line with what you’d like to see.

Creative2

There are also probably two dozen people that have come up to me and told me they keep forgetting to check my blog because I almost never post about it on social media. If you’re one of those people and are interested in following more closely, at the top right corner of the main page you can click a button to be notified when I post something new. Otherwise, I’ll try to be better about including notes on my Instagram page if I think something is particularly interesting. I started this page to foster a community of people who like helping each other, and there is still so much more value I feel we can add together.

Thank you for the love and feedback you give when you tell me what you like about my content. Thank you for giving it to me straight when you disagree with something I post (even if you don’t always say it in the comments section), and engaging in productive dialogue in the process. Thank you to those who have shared my posts or told their friends to check out the site. And thank you for continuing to follow along on my journey of trying to help people become a little bit more fit, and hopefully a little bit more entertained, just by stopping by my silly blog!

Creative1

New Year, Same Me!

Posted: January 2, 2018 in CrossFit, Media, Training
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A good friend of mine, Broderick, has been reminding me for years that there’s one way to get better at something:

Do it. Often. 

This is something I’ve always known. Through high school and college I was a competitive swimmer, and never really had an off-season. Since 2008, I’ve been involved in CrossFit in some capacity. As an athlete, I used train 15+ hours per week, and as a coach I constantly strive to learn more to help my athletes succeed. If I didn’t train regularly, study often, or if my athletes didn’t stick to their program, it showed. Progress would be delayed. Breakthroughs and Personal Bests would happen less frequently. That’s just how things work.

When my other friend Adam Griffin, posted how he struggles with trusting that his writing making an impact, it reminded me that I feel the same way. There will always be an audience out there who can benefit from our personal experiences. If we don’t take the time to share our thoughts, however, they’ll never have the chance to make an impact! Just write. Create. Share. And Repeat.

I don’t aim to be perfect in 2018, but I am striving to suffer less from “Paralysis by Analysis” and to quiet the voice inside my head that tells me it just “might not be good enough.” That same voice that makes me think my words may not resonate with everyone. Good news, I’m not writing for everyone. I write as a form of therapy for myself. I write to try and add value to others. And I write with the hopes that I can help even one individual benefit from the words I put on these pages.

I am not a “New Year, New Me” type of person, because I think we’re all pretty great. I AM, however, someone who CONSTANTLY strives to get better! So this year, instead of New Year, New Me…. let’s say:

New Year, Same You!

If you want to fine-tune some things along the way, more power to you! Let me know if I can help. 🙂

To quote Shia LaBeouf, if there’s something you’ve been wanting to do for a while, but just never had the courage…

Game Time: Consistency

Posted: April 25, 2017 in Training
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Alright.

Enough.

As someone who typically tries to present himself as confident and capable on the outside, I’ve battled with some internal struggles for most of my life. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before….

“I worry that the work I produce isn’t ~good enough~ for others.”

Now, reading those words, I want to slap myself silly and give the same advice I’d give anyone else who has ever come to me with that same concern. And you know what? That exact conversation HAS happened dozens, if not hundreds of times. People who I know often share that same fear that they have with me… and all I can think is to tell them how silly they’re acting. Of COURSE they’re good enough. Of course people care about, and believe in, what they say. Of course they are adding value in whatever topic they’re considering discussing. Yet, I occasionally turn around and question myself with those very same thoughts.

First of all, what does “good enough” even mean?! I started this blog back in 2010. Ha! Read that again. Two thousand and ten. We were just kids, then! No, I’m serious… babies. The number one song on the Billboard charts that year… Tik Tok by Ke$ha. (You’re welcome, Birddog)

In 2010, CrossFit wasn’t even a fad yet, and I had already found myself completely consumed in the belief that fitness could make the world a better place. This blog started as my way to try and help as many people as possible. It allowed me to share things I was learning that I felt could make others either better, faster, stronger, healthier… or at the very least leave them a little bit entertained. Fast forward SEVEN years. This hobby that I found, then became a passion, then a part-time job, and then a full-time job. I found exactly what I had wanted to do with my life. I found a way to utilize a skill set I convinced myself I had to HELP others. And in turn, to be honest, help myself.

I share that to give context to the “good enough” idea I have battled with since before I can remember. I wasn’t the best coach. I didn’t know everything about human anatomy and physiology. I couldn’t provide the perfect nutrition plan for someone. But when I was in my element, none of those thoughts even entered my brain. If I had an athlete in front of me, I’d do everything I could to help them to the best of my ability. If someone emailed me about how to recover from not being able to walk down stairs after heavy squat day, I’d give them the best answer I had. If an athlete wasn’t losing those last 3-6lbs of fat they aimed to shed, I’d give them advice based on what I knew. And when I didn’t know an answer… I’d look it up. I’d learn. And then I’d share again.

It was so easy for me to do when I was dealing with ONE person. But when I’d get home and open up the laptop to write a post, the doubt would start to creep in. I’d tell myself reasons why MY opinion probably didn’t matter. Or why I may have been wrong on this one topic. It was so easy for me to NOT EVEN TRY, knowing that there will always be haters out there. The thought of one negative comment squandered my desire to try and help even one person.

Not anymore.

The good news for me, is that I have never claimed to be perfect. In fact, some of the most impactful interactions I’ve had with clients, friends, and strangers through this blog have stemmed from PRODUCTIVE conversations where contrasting opinions met head-to-head.

That’s my super weird way of saying that I’m going to start writing again. I’m going to share my thoughts and opinions on things that go on in the world of fitness (and other places, too). I’m going to get back to sharing videos and stories and books that make me happy. Or make me think. Or make me cringe. I’ll get back to letting you know if I try and like (or hate) a new product. And I’m doing this because as one of my very good friends has told me for over a decade now: “Your network is your net worth.”

It’s connecting with all of you that has always what filled me with the most joy! THAT is why I started this blog in the first place. To connect with my “network” of friends, whether near or far. Whether I coached them that day, or had never even met them in person. The ability to connect with and learn from a worldwide network is what has always motivated and inspired me!

So, how am I going to get over the “is this good enough” concern I’ve always had? I’m simply going to try and silence that voice of doubt. I’m going to try NOT to always be my own worst critic to the point where it stops me from even trying.
What’s one way that a person can get better at a skill or craft? Do it more often, right? Practice. And while I know that practice doesn’t really necessarily make perfect, I do think that writing more frequently will continue to give me more confidence in how I communicate. It will let me feel that there is at least ONE person out there (thanks for reading, Mom!) who might benefit from the information I can provide or share.

So, as I sit in a crossroads in my own personal life, I invite you all to join me on this journey of self-discovery and vulnerability.
It’s about to get real.

You know what? It already feels good to be back!

-Smashby