Each day brings new challenges. They are patient teachers with valuable rewards for those that can master them.

My current teacher is balance — between my work and training. I have a passion for what I do and I dive into it face first and allow it to consume me for long periods of time. For seasons this is productive but it is difficult to maintain. Fatigue and a loss of creativity leads to dissatisfaction and frustration. I have found balance in my CrossFit workouts. Training brings it’s own set of demands and expectations. Movements require focus, intention, skill, determination and host of things that can not be articulated. It is a constantly challenging activities, yet it feels like playtime.

CrossFit asks me for my best and leaves me at my absolute worst — it is an invaluable asset.

Despite the value of varied movement, it is still hard to get up and train after working long hours. Sometimes I am too tired, other times I just don’t feel like it. There are times where I force myself to workout and it pays off. Other times it is a lost cause and more than I can handle, causing me to shut it down for the day. I leave my workouts exhausted, but pending work deadlines have no mercy … at times deadlines become as hit-and-miss as my workouts. I use those times to justify skipping my training, but that leaves me feeling sluggish from sitting at a desk all day … As you can see I’m quite the mess times. However, I came across some thoughts on how to choose between work and working out.

So Which Side Wins — Passion or Play?

I have been a competitor for most of my life so I have a engrained desire to be highly active. CrossFit has recently become my patient teacher. The lessons that I learn in the gym directly apply to my world beyond the gym. Pushing hard through a 20 minute AMRAP helps me lock-in and finish a design at 1 a.m. when I really don’t think I have the energy. There have been so many times that I have walked into a workout a mess and walked out with absolute clarity. I am realizing that each side unconsciously relies upon the other.

[My truth]: I must pour everything into everything, in order to maintain my balance. My workouts are vital because they keep me sharp and alert because I force myself into discomfort and learn to be happy there. My work is equally as vital because it is my creative outlet, keeps the lights on and inches me closer to my goals. The balance of pushing so hard on two ends of the spectrum helps me to advance evenly and survive the demands of both avenues. It is a daily adventure in progress.