Approaching two years ago our community gained an angel. Benjamin Sawatzky passed away from cancer and the loss to Chad, Carla and the rest of the Sawatzky family was, and continues to be, unimaginable. As our community does when members are in pain or in need, we rallied around them for support. We created a hero WOD for Ben and had a completely packed house to perform his workout, “Benji”. Since that time I have grown closer to Chad and i am fortunate to call him a “friend”. I share this with his permission.
One of the biggest things I respect about Chad (there are many) and the thing I want to touch on in this blog is his attitude. His “I get to...” attitude. See, the gym inevitably stirs up feelings for Chad and the rest of the Sawatzky family every time they walk in. It would have been easy and understandable for him to quit all together. Go somewhere else. He didn’t. His family didn’t. Chad “get’s to be there”.
I was thinking about this blog for the past couple days. It goes a little deeper than the usual and that’s ok. It’s good to open up and share and I hope it inspires a person or two who reads it. I was thinking about the phrase “get to” and how it is used. Ever heard a person talk about an upcoming trip? Let’s say Disneyland. If you asked them about it, they would phrase it something like “We get to go to Disneyland!” and certainly not “we have to go to Disneyland”. How about the last time you told someone you had to go a pay a bill. Let’s say your power bill. Did you say “I get to go pay this bill.” or was it more like “I have to go pay this bill.”? I’m willing to bet the later. What if we applied the “get to” mindset to paying that bill. You get to go pay that bill for the power supplying a place you most likely live. That is far more than a lot of people can say. You get to go to work to earn money to be able to pay that power bill for the house. Quite a drastic mindset change for such a simple thing.
We can apply this “get to” mindset to basically everything that do. Whether it is doing a simple chore around the house, in our personal relationships, or in the gym and our training. I am thankful for a partner that makes an “I get to” attitude very easy. In our day to day, as a member of the relationship, “We get to” do things that make life go more smooth. “I get to take the dogs for a walk because it frees up time for her.” I could approach that situation with “I have to take the dogs for a walk...”. Let me tell you which one makes me happier and which one makes our relationship as strong and happy as it is.
If we apply that “get to” mindset in the gym, you are going to get the same results. Do you want to know how many times I have heard Chad say “we get to be here” as he leans against the wall in the corner with a lacrosse ball dug into his hip? Do you want to know how many times I have heard him complain about something wrote on the whiteboard? The answers are “a lot” and “never” in that order.
The next time something comes up, in the gym or outside of it, I want you to think about Chad and his mind set. Instead of “have to”, I want you to switch out one simple word that changes that phrase and your outlook on life completely around.
I get to.