Why are we doing this?

As of yesterday at about 5:30pm I am a CrossFit Certified trainer. What a great weekend! I learned so much I could probably write about it forever. But instead I will just mention the single most important thing I became aware of that seems relevant for a general audience. WHY. Why do people feel compelled to work so hard to do well in sports and in fitness, CrossFit in particular. Many people who do it know why intrinsically and become inseparable from their pursuit but to fully understand and explain the reasons is something else.

Superficially, the obvious benefits are looking better, feeling better, and the ‘high’ you get from your achievements. But for me and a lot of athletes and for almost every CrossFitter I have met so far, the relentless pursuit of excellence in sports and fitness is really the pursuit of excellence in life. We seek a higher quality of life, a sense of inner peace, and a complete awareness and acceptance of who we are as a human beings. The lessons we learn when we face challenges, successes, and failures in sports and fitness carry over directly to life.

How to consistently push the limits of what we are capable of.
How to face what seems impossible with confidence.
How to exhibit grace under pressure.
How to handle both successes and failures.
How to be a class act.
How to be disciplined when faced with temptations.
How to keep going when we want desperately to quit.
How to have hope when hope seems lost.
How to inspire others.
And how to achieve greatness.

I have had a lot of people ask why in the world I would do something so difficult as CrossFit on purpose. But when you really understand the benefits you get from setting extremely difficult goals for yourself mentally and physically on a daily basis and working ridiculously hard to achieve them a better question becomes ‘Why doesn’t everybody?’