Sunday Story...The Arena

I have been competing in things since I was about 6 years old. I guess at this point I am just going to have to admit that it may be in my blood. There is something about getting out there and putting your training and practice on the line in front of God and everybody.

As I get older I am finding less people who want to compete. I suspect there are several reasons for this but I think it boils down to just 3:
#1 Fear of Failure
#2 Lack of Drive
#3 Inability to trust the training
The fact of the matter is this: these 3 reasons may be permeating your life in more places than the competition field. Let’s look at these 3 in reverse.

#3 Inability to trust the training
You are doing whatever you are doing. If you are running, or cycling or lifting you are training. Training to get better, more efficient, faster, and stronger. You need to measure your results. You need to track your progress. You need to know whether or not what you are doing is working and giving you the results you are looking for. Part of those measurements are based on what other people like you are doing. You might not want to measure yourself against the Olympic champion (too disappointing) but you really should measure yourself against your peers. Trust your training.

#2 Lack of Drive
As we age it seems to be harder to “get up” for those 100%, all out efforts that were so easy in our younger days. It is so much easier to just coast through and let contest day pass by. It is so much easier to watch other people lay it all out and wish you were there, or realize after that fact that you easily could have beaten those contestants. But you didn’t, you didn’t enter, and you didn’t suit up for the game. Your drive is in park. The true spoils belong to the one in the arena, beaten but not defeated, bloodied but not broken.

#1 Fear of Failure
This is the big one for all of us. It is the reason we don’t start new things. It is the reason we don’t ask the girl to the dance, try to set a new personal record, or start a new business. We are frozen in place because it is easier to do nothing than risk your definition of failure and success. Failure is a matter of perception. If you get out on the field of play you are going to learn something about yourself at the very least. There are lots of lessons to gather from the field of competition that are not going to come to you in the practice area.

It takes something to grab your ego and put it on the line.
Getting out and competing tells you where you stand.
The only failure is in not trying, not making the attempt.

Find an arena to compete in and you will be surprised at the increase in focus your daily practice has. By the way all of the above applies to performing…singing, acting, dancing…anything you may have to do in public and risk the slings and arrows of the non-participant.

We all like to win (including me) but the real joy is in the preparation, the getting ready, the focus, and the path to the contest. The contest is the icing on the cake.
See you on the podium!

Namaste

John Mariotti

www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com