The four laws

It's 0558. I stumble from the murky dark and cold air into the Den half-asleep but suppressing yawns (burpee rewards otherwise..). Lights glaring and music blaring, a hive of activity in stark contrast to the sleepy night I left behind at the door. Our morning's exercises are chalked onto the wall, predictably a mix of pushes, pulls, jumps, jogs, squats, sprints and a list of other strenuous things that you really don't feel like doing at silly o'clock in the morning when you'd probably rather still be in the delicious warmth and comfort of your now-distant bed.. But this routine has a comfort of its own.

Music cuts out at 0600 sharp and Gaia takes centre stage. And after a brief chat with your neighbour, it's soon time for the four laws. My favourite part. The principles of the Arena. The backbone of our training. And what has gradually seeped into my subconsciousness after countless early morning sessions.. 

"The first law is positivity. When you come into the Den, we ask that you bring your positive energy and attitude, and be positive with everything you do. If you have any negative looks, comments or vibes, we'll ask you to leave the Den and come back with a better, more positive attitude.

The second law is can and love. Two words that we don’t say are can’t and hate. We say that we can do anything we set our minds to and that we love everything that we do.

The third law is 100%. Commit to everything you do with 100%. Keep your form, don't slack on effort and do everything to the very best of your ability.

Finally, the fourth law is leave a profit. Make a place better for having been there. Whether that's picking up a piece of rubbish, putting weights back at the end of battle or G-ing up a fellow warrior, make sure that you leave a positive sign of having been in a room.

And now, for battle.."

 

I admit, I paid very little attention to these first laws when I first heard them a good 6 months ago. They probably went over my head as my mind was occupied with dreams of fluffy duvets, electric blankets and being sound asleep instead of wide awake at a veryunreasonablehour of the morning..

I also remember the first time I was attempting a wall-to-exit of caterpillar dead legs.. (You don’t even want to know what that is!) I HATED it. There, I said it. I thought to myself this is painful. I’m not enjoying it. I can't even do it. In fact, it’s killing me and HOLD UP - WHY am I actually here anyway?? I only gave the four laws a shot when I looked around at everyone else and realised there was an inevitable feeling of shame and failure that was barring the only exit route.. URGH. Okay. Positive attitude. I want to do this. Can. And I can do it. Cheeeeesey. BUT I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have that conversation with myself in my head and that I actually DID find it easier second time round. I got to the end and had a little imaginary high five with err, me, when I realised I’d been so busy convincing myself that I could do it instead of being all groany and whingey and telling myself that I couldn’t, that I genuinely had enjoyed it. Who knew?! I, for one, was amazed. Next time I heard those four laws, my ears pricked up.

Positivity: We all love having a good moan. A right old rant. A “the whole world is against me” day. Evvverything is negative. And then we take our negativity and put it onto others. “Joe Bloggs: whyyy is it Monday AGAIN? Hate my job. 5 days til the weekend #worksucks #FML” Sound familiar? (You know who you are!) And somewhere in the back of your mind, probably without even realising, you’ve taken on just a wee little bit of someone else’s negative vibe.. Blocking it out, that negative energy in the workplace, online, in backhanded comments, in words spoken directly in the line of fire or perceived in the subtle mood of a room.. It’s not easy. Negativity, it’s powerful and contagious. But ever caught a smile? Or a giggle?! Positivity is infectious too, no? Use it!

Can / love: How much more likely are you to fail if you tell yourself you will? You’re surely setting yourself up to do so before you’ve even begun; you might as well quit on the spot. Self-fulfilling prophecy, in a way. Back yourself. With a strong mindset. And while you’re at it, why waste energy resenting something when you could turn it around into something you like? There will always be a plus, something to be learnt out of every situation. Kiwi ingenuity and style is based upon a ‘can-do’ attitude, creativity and positivity and an enjoyment of and appreciation for some of the simplest things. SO much more fun than can’t and hate! BOOM.

100%: I tend to take a lot on. It’s easy to do with all the opportunities we are presented with. How much satisfaction can you feel when you know you have only given something 50%? Okay. So you can’t do it all. But pick what you can do, commit to it and give it your absolute best shot. 100%.

Leave a profit: This is my favourite law. It’s the easiest one to carry out and it’s the highest impacting one, too. You’ve got to go through that door. So hold it open. You think that dress looks really nice. So say so. You are stepping over that rubbish. Just pick it up. You are walking past a stranger. So smile at them. Why the hell not?! Leaving a profit can be on the smallest scale ever, a subtle gesture that no one may ever even know about, or it can be an open act of kindness that is felt by everyone. Pass something on to someone else. Make a place better for having been there. So good.

Sometimes it’s hard. Blocking out negative energy from others can be draining. Committing to everything 100% can burn that candle real low. Definitely been there.. Hyping yourself up to believe you can do something that you think you really can’t can feel a bit pointless. And smiling when you enter a room just to leave a positive mark on its occupants when really, sometimes, the thing you most want to do is screw your face up and shout “WAHH”.. Yeah, all a bit of an effort. It’s not always easy. Especially not at 0600.. But so worth it! These four laws mean something now. And hey - what's the harm in at least trying?

Monday tomorrow, folks. Chin up, it’s gonna be a good week :)

JP