14 HIM made the decision to start their weeks off right and get 1% better during Murph Monday.

PAX: @Thin Mint @Snooki @Soul Glo @2Buck @Commodore @J FreshWeen@Cousin Eddie @Pancreas @Blackout @Tiny Dancer @Three’s Company @Cross-Stitch @Peewee @Veronica (QIC)

I encouraged the PAX to stretch before the workout and be ready to start at 530am sharp. I wanted everyone to have as much time as possible to finish and/or improve their efforts from last week.

Before we started, I asked each HIM to think about what the word “comfort zone” means to them.

The thang

Traditional Murph1 mile run
100 pull-ups
200 merkins
300 squats
1 mile run

Announcements5k finale tomorrow at #ao-uprising
Another run on Wednesday evening at #ao-primetime
Billy Madison’s VQ at #ao-the-trapp
CSAUP in two weeks
Check Slack for others

Prayer requests

@Soul Glo brother having knee issues/COVID in his family
@Ginsu and @Fertile Myrtle’s daughter recovering from COVID
@Cousin Eddie niece’s son recovering from kidney dialysis
@Chowdah’s M and her lupus
@Baby Gap’s M and his safe return home
@Offsides family as they pick up the pieces after the funeral
@2Buck and @Veronica interviews this week
@Tiny Dancer’s daughter and speedy recovery from stomach issues last night

Moleskin

Before today’s workout, I asked the PAX to think about what the word “comfort zone” means to then – then asked a few of them to shout out their thoughts (in one word or a quick sentence) during COT.

According to an article I was reading the other day, comfort zone is defined as “a behavioral space where your activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes stress and risk — the operative words here being stress and risk. In our comfort zone, there is a sense of familiarity, security and certainty. When we step outside of our comfort zone, we’re taking a risk, and opening ourselves up to the possibility of stress and anxiety; we’re not quite sure what will happen and how we’ll react.”

So what areas of your life does this ring true for you? Where do you struggle to put in the extra effort because you’re scared to fail? Is it during our F3 workouts? At work? In your relationships? Faith?

For me, leading this group was completely out of my comfort zone. To be fully transparent, I’m terrified of public speaking, so this was a big deal for me. I’m also more of an introvert by nature, so moving to TN and making the decision to work out with a bunch of random dudes at 530am was a big risk … but it’s turned out to be one of the biggest blessings of my life.

After just a couple of months, I’ve already experienced tremendous  growth in all three Fs of F3:

Fitness – My strength and endurance have definitely improved, and that has helped me get better with each workout.
Fellowship – God has blessed me with each one of the men in this group, and I know we’ll all be brothers for life.
Faith – I’ve found myself being more drawn to the word, wanting to go to church more often, and being the spiritual leader that I’m called to be at home.

As men of F3, it’s our responsibility to be High Impact Men (HIM). A lot of men are perfectly content with the status quo. Without much risk or effort, they cruise through life by being lazy, eating like crap, drinking too much, ignoring their kids, not honoring their spouse/marriage, and not prioritizing their faith.

If we want to stand out from the crowd and be leaders – in this group, at work, at home, and in our communities – we need to be willing to be uncomfortable (as @Night Light would say, “If you’re comfortable, you’re wrong!”), and put in the extra work that nobody else is willing to do. It’s our responsibility to keep accelerating forward at all times, and promote continuous growth in all areas of our lives.

I wanted to leave the PAX with one final question to consider, and a challenge for this week:

Question: Have you ever accomplished something you were really proud of when you were in autopilot mode? Let that sink in…

Challenge: I encourage each of you to switch up your routines and step outside your comfort zones in some way this week.  No matter what it is (pushing yourself more than usual during a workout, trying a new AO, speaking up during a meeting at work, taking your M on a date, etc.), I promise it’ll be worth the risk, and it’ll likely lead to growth in other areas of your life as well.

Let’s be brave and take some risks together, men. Looking forward to seeing continuous growth in all of us.

Veronica, out!