This past weekend at the CrossFit Regionals was one of the bests competitive experiences of my life. I was super proud of myself but not for the reasons one might think. While it was an honor to compete with some of CrossFit’s greatest athletes, I was proud of the fact that I had adjusted so quickly to a situation that in the past would have left me in a powerless position. You see, just five months ago I was still fighting a foot injury and not able to run track, so I decided to jump into the competitive side of CrossFit. Realizing that this past season may have been my last full season racing AND an Olympic year, this abrupt CHANGE was a very big deal! Especially seeing last season showed lots of promise of running fast this year. All the hard work, all the power, speed, strength and technique that I’ve gained. I’m a completely different athlete than what I was just 5 years ago when I started my CrossFit journey. All the dreaming of being a dominant middle distance athlete were not to be played out this year. Someone had other plans for me!
And this is the part of the story where two paths diverged in a wood. Every individual has to adapt. CHANGE. Some can hit the ground running and others will wallow in the muck of what might have been or what should have happened. I am guilty of the latter. For too long I had played my own victim, held in the emotional sway of how fast I ran or what place I got or what injury I had. For a life long athlete who has experienced lots of success in his/her sport, it is way too easy to define yourself through that sport. In fact, many accomplished athletes do just that. Their ego, confidence and ultimately happiness is held in the sway of how they perform.
And that’s why I write this post with happiness in my heart. All because I made a CHOICE. I made a choice to look at my situation from a different perspective. That perspective was full of blessings, friends, family and an awesome community of people who supported and loved me no matter how fast I ran or which I place I got. It put me in a POSITION OF POWER as I chose to turn a loss into a WIN.
To WIN means getting up 10x when you get knocked down nine. To WIN means to play the game of life all out. To find success in failure. In that regards, to never let YOUR HEART give up.
The bottom line is life is all about change. Life is all about how quickly you can ADAPT and not just survive but THRIVE. It’s never easy and at first it may not seem like fun. It takes WORK. Keeping a positive mental attitude takes WORK too. It’s too easy to become so mentally wrapped up that we miss opportunities that could also otherwise lead us to SUCCESS. To me, success is finding the WINs out of any situation. To accept them as part of the journey, part of the fiber that makes the person who you will become. Stronger, better, smarter than yesterday. The individual who can find success in this manner is truly UNBEATABLE.
Adapt, thrive and be unbeatable.
NEVER LET IT REST,
Brendon
