Want to Whine? Stay Home.

I’ve been lusting after a subscription to the CrossFit Journal for a few months. Today I decided to use some of my “fun money” for the week on a subscription, instead of chips & salsa on Saturday morning. (Good move, right?)

The first article in the August issue is by Paul “Apolloswabbie” Eich, a CrossFit Level-2 certified instructor and 19-year Naval officer. His piece addresses the CrossFit Games, the inherent unfairness of sports, and ultimately, the true reason many of us push ourselves with CrossFit workouts.

One of my favorite aspects of CrossFit is the tacit understanding that whining isn’t allowed. This is a beautiful representation of that attitude:

There’s no questioning that in the sport realm, CrossFit is unfair. The unfairness is everywhere, and it is exactly like all of life in that respect, so I suggest—for the sake of intellectual integrity and sanity, and for a bit of common ground on which we can all stand—that we just get over it.

I also really like this definition of a winner — mostly because it aligns so closely with what I believe:

We could then view the winners as those who had the most courage, trained the hardest, and performed the best when the chips were down, which is the essence of what we like to like in athletic performers.

And finally, this is really great way to frame the challenge to be and to do one’s best:

Focus on your own fitness. Find and hold on to your satisfaction in gaining fitness like you’ve never known it. Relish the pleasure of sharing the experience with any others who will pursue it with you. These states of gratitude and satisfaction exceed any outcome that may be measured by a medal. It is our gift to ourselves to be mindful that we have the power to get for ourselves — by our own will, desire, and commitment — the best that can be had.

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