Open Talk

Happy New Year Tribe!

I know it’s a little bit late given that it is February, but I want to take a minute and personally thank each and every one of you! I know I say something very similar every New Year, but this year is a little different. Over the past year, as much as this Tribe has meant to me over the last seven years, I am more grateful than ever for the role that each and every single person plays in making Tribe feel like a second home for all of us. As such, speaking on behalf of all the coaches, that is something we will do our best to perpetuate. No matter how big our community grows, rest assured we will continue to make Tribe a place where EVERYONE feels welcome; welcome to make fitness a priority in their lives; welcome to try harder without fear of judgement; welcome to try new things; welcome to strive for excellence; and welcome to be better than they were yesterday.

We promise to do the same for you.

With that said, allow me to speak on subject that I think has become a sensitive one for some. The CrossFit Open is looming near (February 21) and I have heard quite a few grumblings over the last couple weeks: “I’m scared to do the Open.” “I don’t want to hold my team back.” “I’m afraid I’m not going to be good enough.” “I have nothing to prove.” “I just want to do my own thing.” Whatever the reason, I know many of you feel anxious and scared to do the Open, and that is ok.

However, allow me to share my two cents. I believe that nothing ever worth doing comes easy. Furthermore, anything worth doing will always come at a cost and require some sort of sacrifice. As such, it will probably end up making you feel some level of anxiety or fear, but isn’t that the point? In all aspects of your life, if you are striving to become a better version of yourself, doesn’t that always come with a little bit of fear? Fear that you’re not good enough. Fear that you might fail. Fear that you will learn absolutely nothing and it will be a complete waste of time. Well, let me tell you something, you will never know if you don’t try! I know you’ve heard that all before, but it doesn’t make it any less true.

Personally, especially within the last year, I have learned something new about myself each time I took on something big or new that I wouldn’t have learned had I chosen not to do it. That knowledge alone, has been reason enough for me to try. Notice how I didn’t mention anything about whether I found success or failure, because in the end the only thing that matters to me is that I tried and that I did my best. There are no regrets (except about what I could have done better). There are no ‘coulda shoula woulda’s’. There are no ‘what if’s’. There is only satisfaction in knowing that I tried and I learned something about myself that I didn’t know before. And if you happen to succeed, then there is the added joy in the accomplishment of something you didn’t know was possible before! There is the shattering of preconceived self-limitations. There is the possibility that you can accomplish more than you originally thought possible. There is the possibility of being better than you were yesterday.

Just to be clear, I am not trying to convince you all to do the Open. I know you all got “life” to deal with and that can be overwhelming in itself. So the thought of adding something like the Open to that list of life’s obligations may seem like a tall order. But before you decide NOT do it, let me ask you a serious question, and before I pose it, I ask that you please don’t answer it right away. I suggest you let it simmer for a day or two, then you can decide if you are going to join the Open or not. If after all that you still decide that you don’t want to do it, then we will respect your decision, judgement free. But I do encourage you all to really give this question some real thought before you make your decision.

So here it is……What GOALS am I working towards in my life and have I set my MINDSET & MY ENVIRONMENT to help me towards those goals?

My firm belief is that in order become successful in life, you have to believe that you are working towards something concrete. Whatever that may be is totally up to you, but if you aren’t working towards something then you’re probably just spinning your wheels and that might be the reason you aren’t where you thought you’d be in your life, why you don’t have the career you hoped for, why you’re not happy with your life in general. I also believe that how you approach one aspect of your life, says a lot about the way you approach all other aspects of your life. So often do we get stuck in the rat race, and I’ve been guilty of this myself, comparing ourselves to the person next to us that we lose sight of our own goals & aspirations. So, I think that every so often we need to ask ourselves, “What GOALS am I working towards in my life and have I set my MINDSET & MY ENVIRONMENT to help me towards those goals?”

So that is my question to you, and this is the main reason I ask this question specifically. I could have asked you, “What are your reasons for not doing the Open?” or “What will you miss out on if you don’t do the Open?” But I asked you this question specifically because I think that it is very hard to make important decisions if you don’t have goals in life. And it’s very hard to attain those goals if your MINDSET and your ENVIRONMENT don’t support the accomplishment of those goals.

As an example of mindset: it’s very hard to stick to a diet when all you can think about is all the yummy things you can’t eat instead of maybe trying to find other yummy things to eat that fit within the parameters of your diet. Likewise for environment: it is very hard to stick to a diet when you’re the only one in your family doing the diet or you don’t have other people doing the diet with you.

So there you have it.

“What GOALS am I working towards in my life and have I set my MINDSET & MY ENVIRONMENT to help me towards those goals?”

Once you have the answer to that question, I believe you will have a better basis from which to answer this question, “Should I do the CF Open this year?”

Thanks again for taking the time to read my humble post and Tribe Strong.

Coach Warren