(And That’s Really Good News)
If you’ve been feeling stuck—physically, mentally, nutritionally, motivationally—I want to offer you a lens that might change everything:
👉 What if the thing you’re struggling with is just a skill you haven’t fully built yet?
Not a fixed trait.
Not a flaw.
Not a personal defect.
Just a skill. One that can be learned.
Meal prep is a skill.
Asking for help is a skill.
Saying “I’m going to the gym even when I don’t feel like it”? Skill.
Self-regulation. Breath control. Resilience under a heavy barbell. Skill, skill, skill.
And the moment you start treating it that way—like a learnable behavior rather than a permanent limitation—everything starts to shift.
You start to breathe.
You give yourself space.
You stop grading your progress with shame, and start tracking your progress with reps.
The Power of Reframing
Here’s why this is such a game-changer:
When you call something a skill, you give yourself space to:
- Be a beginner.
- Take imperfect reps.
- Mess it up and still be making progress.
You shift from “I’m bad at this” to “I haven’t practiced this enough yet.”
It’s a subtle mindset tweak, but it does something powerful
It gets your ego out of the way, and puts your curiosity in charge.
Skill Is a Mindset
At CrossFit Northland, we coach movement every day. But behind the cues and corrections is a bigger truth: we’re helping people learn how to learn.
The Olympic lifts?
Skill.
Meal prepping on Sundays instead of crashing into Monday like a sleep-deprived raccoon?
Skill.
Asking for help when your motivation dips or your progress stalls
Yep. Also a skill.
The sooner we treat these things like skills—not just traits you have or don’t—the more progress we make. And the less beat-up we feel along the way.
“Becoming is better than being.” – Carol Dweck
That’s the whole point. You’re not here to prove who you are. You’re here to become who you’re capable of being.
If It’s a Skill, It Has a Process
Think about any skill you’ve ever learned:
Tying your shoes.
Learning to drive.
Doing a pull-up.
What did it take?
- Reps. (Probably messy ones.)
- Feedback. (From someone who’d done it before.)
- Patience. (The worst part.)
- Progress over perfection. (You didn’t wait to master it before practicing it.)
Now take that same framework and apply it to literally anything in your health journey:
- Sleep Hygiene: Create a consistent wind-down routine. Set a consistent wake-up time (yes, it matters more than bedtime). Charge your phone across the room. Keep the bedroom cool, dark, and boring.
- Managing Stress: Practice 5 slow breaths before reacting. Schedule 10 minutes a day to not be productive. Move your body before you try to “fix” your mood. Talk to someone instead of spiraling alone.
- Lifting Heavy With Confidence: Nail your setup and walkout—ritual builds stability. Film your lifts to learn, not judge. Train with a coach who knows how to cue, not just count reps. Track your progress so you know you’re leveling up.
- Holding Boundaries: Say “Let me get back to you” instead of auto-yes. Block off time for yourself before you give it away. Practice saying “That doesn’t work for me” without over-explaining. Remind yourself: protecting your time protects your health.
- Cooking Protein That Doesn’t Taste Like Chalkboard: Use a meat thermometer. (Game-changer.) Salt early. Season like you mean it. Try new methods—air fry, broil, sear, slow cook. Batch-cook once, eat well all week.
All skills. And if it’s a skill it’s learnable.
The hard part isn’t doing them perfectly.
The hard part is allowing yourself to do them imperfectly long enough and with the mindset framed to get better.
Quick Test: Are You Looking at This Like a Skill?
Let’s check. When you think about the thing you’re struggling with right now, do any of these thoughts sound familiar?
❌ “I should already be good at this.”
❌ “This just isn’t me.”
❌ “Other people don’t seem to struggle like I do.”
❌ “If I was serious about my goals, this wouldn’t be so hard.”
All of those are mindset traps. None of them help.
All of them assume the thing you’re working on is fixed, innate, or some kind of character test.
Let’s try this instead:
✅ “What’s one small version of this I could practice today?”
✅ “Who do I know that could help me improve here?”
✅ “What would a good rep look like—not a perfect one, just a good one?”
✅ “How would I talk to a friend who was trying to learn this?”
That’s how you start building a skill—not by demanding mastery, but by allowing progress.
Action: Build Your Skill Stack
Here’s your homework this week (yes, homework!):
- Pick one thing that feels hard right now. Doesn’t matter what—food, fitness, sleep, communication, stress, you name it.
- Write it down as a skill. Literally reframe it: “Getting to bed on time is a skill I’m building.” “Meal prep is a skill I’m practicing.” “Sticking to my strength program is a skill I’m learning.”
- Commit to one small rep. Not perfection. Not forever. Just today’s rep. One choice. One action. One moment where you show up as a student of that skill.
- Ask for coaching if you need it. Seriously. That’s what we’re here for.
Final Word
The more things you treat as skills, the more permission you give yourself to get better at life.
Grace expands. Runway grows. Momentum builds.
When we treat skills like skills, we train better. We recover better. We live better.
So what’s the next skill you want to build?
You don’t need to master it today.
You just need to start.
Need help? That’s what we’re here for: book a free intro and we can help you figure out what skills you need to start to develop.
