Being your HAPPIEST doesn’t always mean being THE BEST…
October 19, 2010
Reminder: Yoga will be now be at 7pm on Wednesdays
It took me a very long time to come to terms with this and, in fact, am still trying to recognize it. I am very competitive in nature and have always assumed that being the best will make me happier and thus more successful in whatever field I am studying or training in—or, in this case, CrossFit.
Do you come in and look at people’s times on the board? Do you then consequently compare yourself to them? I’ll be the first to admit that I sometimes do, and to an extent, find it completely natural and motivating— however, it can be equally distressing if you base your athletic satisfaction off of having the best time on that board. Because we all know it’s hard to be the best, and, even when we are, it is never permanent.
So, what does this have to do with CrossFit?
A lot. In fact, you’d be surprised at how much it has to do with CrossFit (in addition to every other facet of our lives).
Plain and simple: you have to be happy and genuinely impressed with your current capabilities in order to progress. That is, you have to be happy with the athlete that you are now, and you cannot focus on where you stand competitively until you have the intrinsic, positive reinforcement necessary to push yourself farther ahead.
Who has moved forward while feeling hate or disappointment in themselves?
No one.
“Happiness is a state of mind, not a state of affairs.” -- Douglas Lennick, “The Simple Genius (You)”
I hope this helped.
"Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got." –Art Buchwald
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5 Responses to Being your HAPPIEST doesn’t always mean being THE BEST…
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Wow Cathie I love the enthusiasm and that you were able to relate to this
YOU keep rockin! -
Rachel D. says:
GREAT POST! Sarah this was my motto since I started with ACF! I joke around, but I truly do what best suits me.
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Lenora says:
Excellent post! It helps us motivate ourselves internally rather than through external input. It is a huge reason to leave our egos outside the door.
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Laura Mirkovic says:
Super words of wisdom sister! You have such a great attitude, I need to see more of you! Sasa and I work with Doug Lennick quite often and reread his books on a regular basis
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Love this post! It has taken 7 weeks of tears, frustration, steps forward and then backwards to learn how to manage my expectations. I’m not sure I’ll ever master that skill, but every day is a new day. Keep rockin’ it Sarah!