Great things happen when you can do the simple things extremely well. On the right is an excerpt from the bible, John 2:1-11. It is the story of Jesus' first miracle, turning water into wine. My goal isn't to convert you into a believer or force you to accept Jesus as your savior. My goal is to point out my favorite line in the story, verse 7. If those servants don't fill the jars with water, then there is no miracle. It wasn't spectacular. It didn't take special talent. Just ordinary people doing ordinary things, with a little bit of faith.
Success in sports and in life often follow this very simple formula. Doing the simple things extremely well is something that is shared by the most successful sports teams and athletes in the world. No one would ever call the San Antonio Spurs a flashy team. They've won multiple championships by doing the simple things well. They defend, shoot, and pass the ball so well, and none of that can happen without the proper positioning and spacing on the floor. All 5 players are exactly where they are supposed to be. It allows them to protect the rim on defense, and on offense it allows them the opportunity to display their skills as passers and shooters. Tim Howard just put an awesome performance at the World Cup with 16 saves against a Belgium team full of superstars. The saves themselves were of course spectacular, but goalkeeper coaches with an eye for it will tell you that his positioning was impeccable. It was the simple movements that put him in a position to make one miraculous save after another. Starting to get the point?
Jesus Changes Water Into Wine
1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” they did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
By doing the simple things extremely well, we put ourselves in a position for something great to happen. You don't need to do the spectacular things to achieve the results you want. You just have to do the simple things extremely well. So well in fact, that they just become automatic. These things start to happen without even thinking about it or adding extra stress. In fitness, its really quite simple.
Step 1 JUST MOVE! Be active, find something fun that you like to do, and keep doing it. You don't have to do some crazy WOD or set the all-time record for rushing yards. Just find something enjoyable, and before you know it, you'll start to develop some good habits
Step 2 Eat/drink better! Now I know this step isn't easy but it is still very simple in the sense that anyone can do it. You don't need to be an Olympic athlete to drink water. You don't need to run a sub 4.4 40 yard dash to know that you probably should eat something that has an expiration date of more than a week. Again, once you start to develop these simple habits, they just start to happen effortlessly. You'll prefer water over soft drinks. You'll crave foods full of nutrients instead of calories.
Step 3 Try something new! I know it can be quite scary for some people, but imagine how the servants felt bringing those jugs of water to the banquet. They knew it was water. They also knew that the people expected wine. Don't you think they were a bit apprehensive about pouring them a glass? You may discover that trying new things or re-discovering old things is actually a lot of fun! You won't even think about the benefits of the activity health wise, you'll be too busy enjoying yourself.