Author: Messy Jesse

Comfort zones.

We all have them, and most of us like to stay inside of them. We like going to the restaurant we know, we face the least amount of anxiety taking the same way to work each day, and we enjoy taking a nice leisurely stroll for a victory lap after winning rock paper scissors.

I’m an advocate for pushing back against comfort zones. My experience has shown that the greatest growth comes from pushing passed our boundaries. This morning provided a small taste of that challenge. RPS was just the beginning. After winning, there was no taking it easy on your victory lap. You had to high tail it down and back up the hill before your opponent caught you and made you do 5 burpees. read more

A year ago, after a workout at Echo Park Lake, I went to the climbing gym. I avoided going on my phone because I was afraid to open Facebook. It had been a couple weeks since I had last visited Dr. Sean, and I had been through this process twice before. Unable to preoccupy my mind, I left the gym almost as quickly as I entered. I went and sat in my car and stared at my phone. I heard Sean’s voice in my head asking me “what the fuck are you waiting for?” Sean’s tone was equal parts motivational, fearless, and sassy. He was courageous and wasn’t one to waste time. At workouts, if he passed you, he wouldn’t hesitate to encourage you to get your ass moving. He was blunt without being antagonistic or judgmental. So when I heard his voice, I grabbed my phone. read more

Tribe,

I’d love to simply take today to thank you for being an amazing, loyal, dedicated, hard working crew of badasses! You show up week in and week out, and make this community stronger. Kait and I appreciate you!

Notes:

Friday – Tracker/Map Run to Women’s March Firecracker code NPLAX10GSA Event

LAM Water Station read more

Today’s blog features the insightful words of Dr. Rachel Goldstein.

High fives are pivotal to November Project. We give them out at the start of each workout. We pass them to each other as we complete loops. We line up along race routes and give them to complete strangers. They say to the recipient: I support you and I am glad you are here. Over the years, I have come to notice that these high fives appear to come in several distinct flavors: read more

As we approach the end of the year we have the opportunity to look back and gauge how it has unfolded. I personally believe that self-reflection is an important part of personal growth.  A few years ago, Jonathan wrote this blog.  Every now and then I go back to Jonathan’s blog and remind myself to remember the little victories.  read more

Thanksgiving is a day where we all come together to share a meal, and I’d argue that the best part of the Thanksgiving feast is the leftover food. Sure, it is great to spend time with friends and family. It’s nice to hear people talk about what they’re grateful for rather than complaining about this, that, and the other.  Leftovers though, they are what keep the gratitude present for the next few days. Maybe you wake up the next morning and have some of Aunt Sue’s pecan pie for breakfast, or you make a sandwich assembled with ingredients from a variety of dishes. You pour some of cousin Joey’s spiked eggnog to battle a holiday hangover. Then, without heating them up, you eat a few spoonfuls of those candied yams that your neighbor’s 7 year old made because it’s the closest thing to ice cream you could find.  read more

Grateful. Over the next month you’re going to hear about all the things that people are grateful for. It is one of my favorite times of year, and something that I wish carried over throughout the rest of the year. Today I’m going to share something that I am grateful for, and it is not related to November Project! Nope, today is about where it all began for me. My mom. Specifically, the undying optimist trait that rubbed off on me.  read more