Growth & Complacency 

A few things I’ve been thinking about over the past few weeks that I’d like to pass along.

We have been at this for 16 months now. We have had 280 men post at least 1x. September was our biggest month to date. We hit a high of 68 men working out on a single day and averaged 49 men across all workouts (58 on Tuesdays). Last year around this time we averaged 16-18 at a single AO. That’s awesome and reflects all the hard work you men have put into not only making yourself better, but the men around you.

We have been growing steadily for 16 months—even through the winter—when most Regions typically see numbers drop off. I looked at the weather this morning and it seems like we are starting to see a shift towards more seasonal temperatures, meaning the mornings are getting colder and will continue to do so. We are heading into the gloom of the gloom.

It’s going to get harder and harder to un-ass the sack and get your six outside to workout. If you will humor me, please let me offer a couple of observations and perhaps some motivation.

• As men we give a lot of time to our careers and families. At the end of the day, the tank is often empty. F3 provides a healthy, productive outlet for all of us to find something inside we thought was gone, or at least buried somewhere. For most of us it ignites a spark and we realize our best days are not behind, but ahead. But it still takes work, doing the more difficult thing—not just when it’s comfortable.
• When it starts getting cold, you are not posting for yourself, really—you are posting for the men around you. We would all rather be snuggled up next to the M or sipping hot coffee. We could just as easily workout in more comfortable conditions. But we don’t, because we know others will be out there, feeling the same way.
• Working out in the elements not only build physical toughness, but mental toughness and resiliency. When your surrounding environment is less than ideal and circumstances are difficult, you can choose the path of least resistance and stay in bed—or—show up knowing that others are doing the same thing. That type of resilience and attitude has life application way beyond an actual workout. As Glory told a passerby recently—we are training for life.  
• Posting when it’s hard is a small victory, but those small victories build. That attitude spills over into work, family. That’s what we need, that’s what our families need, and that’s what our communities need.

We are in a different place this year than we were last year. We have a big group. It would be much easier to fade into the background. The workouts will go on, with or without you. Don’t do it—that’s complacency creeping in, the elixir of mediocrity. You men are not mediocre or you wouldn’t have found your way to F3 in the first place.   

Donatello