Grab Your Attitude at the Door

by Keagan Scronek

I walk into the gym every day at 6am and my mother can testify that a good percentage of the time 7am is complimented with tears, swollen eyes, and a runny nose; and it’s not because we did 200m sprints in the crisp 35 degree fall weather. It’s because every single day I spend at Crossfit I learn something different about my own life and myself. Sometimes it’s truly amazing, I am reassured of my hard work and I am even more in love with the barbell than the day before. But sometimes, it’s just heartbreaking instead.

We would all be liars if we said this sport didn’t destroy us a little bit from time to time; push us around every once in a while and steal our lunch money more often than not as we try to eagerly feed our addictions. We might also be liars if we didn’t say this was one of the most beautiful parts of this sport. In just one hour you can lose yourself, find yourself, love yourself, beat yourself up, impress yourself and disappoint yourself, and that’s not an issue. The worst part about it all is that we constantly tell ourselves it’s just a workout, it’s just a silly sport, it’s not worth these emotions we are feeling and the effort we keep putting in may be just a waste of time. I also find these voices ringing in my head ever so often and it’s become an important part of who I am to ignore them. Overtime having passion for something has been pinned as a bad attitude. When you let it get the best of you, you are weak. Right? Wrong. I refuse to consider myself overdramatic for taking a WOD to the heart. Key word: heart.

We all do this for different reasons. Some want to lift their kids up all day long and some want to set an example and to be a role model to somebody they love. Some drop by a few nights a week to squeeze in a good sweat while others come religiously with dreams as big as the sky. For some this is one of the biggest parts of our lives while for others it doesn’t cross our minds till we pull into the parking lot. It doesn’t really matter which one is you. Here’s why:

You are special and you are worthy. Despite which person you are that I described above, you have a fire pit inside of you that deserves to be lit every time you walk through those double doors. You deserve to lose yourself in a set of wall balls and throw your heart on the floor to keep your sweat company. Aren’t you tired of witnessing that what we view as the best workouts come from lifting heavy weights and being the first person in the room to finish the WOD?

Is it important to feel those things on occasion? Absolutely. Is it the only way to feel accomplished? Absolutely not.

You do not have lift the most to justify having heart. You do not have to be hitting big weights to get frustrated when you fail. You don’t have to be at the top of the game to have the biggest goals and you don’t have to make it there six times a week to be a warrior. YOU are a warrior and the second you decide to accept that is the second you will find a beast inside of you that will help to turn you into the athlete you were born to be. (And yes, that athletes does exist; it was born the first day you walked in.)

All that you have to do is promise yourself this one thing; keep a goal, a dream, a vision inside of you from the second the timer beeps until the moment you are lying on your back staring at the white paint spackled, pipe filled ceiling that we have all become so familiar with. Promise yourself that you will keep that same hot feeling in your chest you get after a PR through every minute of the WOD, even when you do fall to the floor last. Whether you go twice a day or once a week, make a commitment to yourself right now that you are going to let that one hour mean something to you. Get mad when you want to move faster and accept celebration with the smallest achievements. Be frustrated when you no rep so that you are restless for the next and yes, let the WOD get the best of you! Take it to heart! This is serious business and it’s very personal. And eventually, when you’re ready, add those tens to the bar, try your first muscle up, and run a little faster around the building. It will lead you places you never believed were possible. You will get to control, witness, and fall madly in love with your own destiny for that one hour.

It doesn’t mean this isn’t all for fun, because it is! But since when are we not allowed to be bat-shit crazy for the things that make us happy? Since when are we not allowed to feel a little bit anxious about the things that help us to “relax”, and since when is that ball in our stomachs that makes the ten second countdown feel like a million years a bad thing to have? I think it might just be your favorite part of the day.

So this is where you challenge yourself, encourage yourself and inspire yourself to look deeper at the right you have to not only feel emotions in every workout but to cherish the opportunity in being that much more alive every day. Allow your nerves to build up, your heart beat to travel through every inch of your veins and your muscles to eagerly wait for the next moment you get to move, to burn, and to fight for something that you deserve to have. TREAT YOU. You owe it to yourself to feel passion, to feel fiery, to feel in love with who you are and in love with this life for one extra hour of your day. Do yourself a favor and never let go of that pit in your belly, those butterflies in your stomach; they are not to blame. They have gotten you here today and they have amazing plans for you tomorrow.