Sunday Story…Points

Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, is quoted as saying…”men will die for points.” I am not sure how true that actually is (the whole death thing) but I do know that we will drive ourselves to the edge and beyond for points, time, bragging rights or “glory.” We don’t have to playing for the championship of the world, a 5 million dollar check, or a date with the world’s most eligible to put everything we have on the line.

What is this drive? What is this part of us that wants to excel and be the absolute best we can be? Why will we drive ourselves so hard just to be a little better?

This isn’t about beating the person next to me. This isn’t about the extrinsic reward. This isn’t about bragging rights or “glory.” This isn’t even about anybody or anything but me. It is all about me. But then, isn’t everything in your life all about you?

You may tell yourself that you live for your kids. You may tell yourself that you are doing everything for your career. You may tell yourself that you are all about giving and service above self. But the fact of the matter is that you are doing everything in your life for yourself. Not selfishly, not to the detriment of others, not to be mean or sociopathic, but to further your view of who and what you are. You are the star of your movie.

When we line up at the starting line of the marathon, when we get ready to write the next article, when we are waiting for the 3,2,1, GO we are at our purest point of presence. Everything else, every concern, every other thought fades into the background and your focus narrows to this single point, this singular moment. At that moment you are just you. Not the you of yesterday or last week, not the you of tomorrow or next year…no, this is the moment of just You.

Will you die for points? I don’t know. Honestly, I hope not. I do hope you will put it all the line, though. I hope you will line up at the starting line and give everything you have to give to the task at hand. I hope you will reach down after you think you have given all you have to give and find something else deep down inside that will propel you to the next level. This is what we talk about when we say “dying for points.” It is the metaphorical death of the person who started the task and the rebirth of the person who is left standing at the end of the quest.

It isn’t a quest unless you might lose your life. The search for the Holy Grail cost many men their lives. This may have been an actual search, a real life quest that resulted in death. The Holy Grail is still out there. You get to search for it every time you line up, every time you get ready to compete (against yourself), every time you have an opportunity to reach inside and find a place, a pocket of strength and resolve you didn’t know was inside you. You have can die for points and live a hero in the attempt to get one more point, cut one more second, write the sentence that pulls the tear from my eye, or change the world through your service.

Go ahead, line up, let the world drop away and start the quest. The only thing you have to lose is the person you thought you were…and you will gain more than you can imagine.

Namaste

John Mariotti

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