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It’s Your Wake Up Call | Turning Tiny Steps Into Big Wins

January 3, 2025

January 3, 2025

Coaching

Visit Scaled Nation Training for more information on the Working with Larger Bodies Seminar! 

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Athena 

Perez 

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I'm Athena, "Bean," a dedicated advocate for training larger-bodied athletes. Since my first CrossFit story in 2018, I've become a CFL2, owner of Scaled Nation Training, and creator of "Working with Larger Bodies" seminar. I've also written "Lifting the Wait," with sequel "Waitless" coming soon.

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meet athena

Welcome to my digital den! Raw stories, real talk, and CrossFit banter—all about building consistency, healing, and an unshakable mindset for lasting transformation.

hey, friends!

new years goals

The email that sparked a thought:

Two weeks ago, I got an email from one of you that said, “I want to be someone who wakes up and goes to the gym every day at 5:00 a.m.” So, I asked, “Do you wake up early now?” They said no. “Do you go to the gym every day?” Another no. Right away, I could see this wasn’t just one goal—it was at least two (and probably more) separate challenges we’d need to untangle.  Tiny steps. Baby steps, my friends!

Meanwhile…

If you’re like me, your inbox was probably flooded with “new year, new me” vibes. One of the emails I got was titled “Five Intentions to Make in 2025.” Inspirational, right?

Don’t get me wrong—I’m all about goal setting. I love the process. But let’s be honest: January 1st doesn’t sprinkle magic dust to prepare us for change. Resolutions? Amazing. Life-changing, even. But setting goals and actually doing them? That’s a whole different ballgame. For so many people, the idea of starting is so overwhelming they freeze. And if that’s you, I totally get it. I really do. 

Like the 5:00 a.m. gym goal, it’s never just one thing. First, we need to wake up at 5:00 a.m. consistently. To do that, we need a solid bedtime. Bam—now we’ve got a third goal in the mix. You see how it works? Unless we break it down into all the smaller parts and tackle them piece by piece, it’s never going to stick. Those threads need to be unraveled one at a time. 

the knowledge gap vs. the doing gap

I kept thinking about that email all week, and it reminded me of an incident from about nine months ago. It was a cold March evening, and I was standing in the middle of a garage gym with my then-coach. We were having one of those philosophical chats about fitness, nutrition, and life when he said something that stopped me in my tracks:

“There’s a knowledge gap,” he said, summing up his belief that if people just got more education about food choices, we wouldn’t have an obesity problem. “People just need more education.”

I remember chuckling a bit when he said it. Not because I thought he was funny but because I knew better than to disagree with him (just smile and nod, Athena).  I kept my thoughts to myself, but here’s what I wanted to say: We don’t have a fu**** knowledge gap. Sure, maybe some people could use more education, but for most of us? What we have is a “doing gap” or an “action gap.”

Knowing what to do and doing it are two completely different things. And that gap? That’s where people get stuck or they quit. In that little dark crevasse. But sure, yes. I suppose while they are stuck down there in that little crevasse, we could lecture them about celery. It will solve definitely the problem *Athena sighs*. 

Over the course of the week, as we unraveled the layers, we realized there were probably 5–6 different goals wrapped up in this one. For most people, that’s just too much to tackle at once. Trying to do everything usually means doing nothing—so we had to prioritize and start small. 

let’s try something else

When he repeated, “I’m going to start going to the gym every day, no matter what time it is,” his voice wavered, sounding like he was about to hyperventilate. That was my cue. 

I smiled. “Going from zero days a week to every day is amazing—but are you confident you can stick with that?”
“…No.”

“Do you want to start with working out every day, or should we try something a little more manageable?”

He let out a sigh of relief. “Yes, something more manageable”. 

I chuckled. That’s what I want—honesty. Whatever the answer is, we’ll figure out a path forward, no matter how small the steps need to be.

the first step: just wake up – it’s a tiny step

Here’s what happened: his only assignment was just to focus on waking up when the alarm BLEEPED at 5:00 a.m. No pressure to work out or tackle anything big. The goal was simple: turn off the alarm (no snooze button!) and physically get out of bed.

When I told him this, his whole face changed. He looked peaceful, almost relieved. “That’s all I have to do?” he asked.

“That’s it, man. Do you think you can do that consistently?”

“I’ll try,” he said.

Good enough for me. And so, it began.

At 7:00 a.m. the next day, I got a text: “I did it.” Without missing a beat, I FaceTimed him, walked straight out to the box, grabbed the rope on the bottom of the bell, and rang the hell out of it. “You just hit your first PR!”

His face instantly turned red—probably from embarrassment—but the smile said it all: he was proud. And feeling proud? That’s where momentum and confidence start to build.

“Think you can do it again tomorrow?” I asked.

“I can try!” he exclaimed, excitement written all over him.

At 7:00 a.m. on day two, we repeated the whole process. Same reaction, same response—pride, excitement, and the spark of confidence growing stronger. 

On the last day of the first week, as I rang the bell, he broke into what can only be described as a shuffle—or maybe a dance. Honestly, it was hard to tell. But what wasn’t hard to see was the pure pride and excitement radiating off him, absolutely contagious in the best way.

In just one week, that one tiny step created momentum, boosted confidence, and brought back a smile that had been missing for far too long. 

That first tiny step didn’t need to be glamorous; it just needed to feel doable. 

lesson learned

The takeaway here is simple but powerful: whether you’re coaching someone through their journey or starting your own, the key is to break it down into steps that feel manageable, not overwhelming. Progress doesn’t come from perfect plans; it comes from imperfect, consistent action—one alarm, one wake-up, one win at a time. As coaches, your role isn’t to demand huge leaps but to guide and celebrate those small victories that build confidence and momentum. And if you’re on this path yourself, know this: every step, no matter how small, matters. Transformation isn’t about doing everything at once—it’s about starting and then starting again tomorrow. And the next day. Keep moving forward, and trust that the change will come.

Every hero’s journey begins with a single step, and sometimes, the most heroic thing you can do is simply to take the smallest imaginable step forward.

Love,

athena bean

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  1. Paula says:

    Your personal stories make these lessons so relatable.

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this is me | Be Courageous, Be Myself.

True Colors Part Deux | Drawing Those Parallels

Currently Trending

search the post index

meet athena

Welcome to my digital den! Raw stories, real talk, and CrossFit banter—all about building consistency, healing, and an unshakable mindset for lasting transformation.

hey, friends!

Since 2011, I've been on a mission to rewire my own self-limiting beliefs and patterns that were holding me back because I believe an unshakable mindset can be our #1 life hack.

In these parts I not only share my own journey but also lend a hand to others to create a life filled with genuine resilience, purpose, and grit. I'm a big fan of a good cup of joe, chalk, and teaching folks like you how to 'lift the wait'. Let’s get weird. 

Welcome, Friends!

so glad you're here

i'm athena Perez

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