Beyond Victory: Finding Strength in the Fight, Not Just the Podium

“If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” – Abraham Maslow

Thought of the Day

This weekend’s Judo tournament was a tale of two competitions. It is challenging to be "on" for two days at the best of times, and with sixteen hours of waiting over the two days, it became even more difficult. On one day, it felt like, with a few tweaks, I could easily be at the top of the podium. On the other day, it felt like I should learn how to spell "Judo" before practicing it. In life, we are often our own worst critics—this may be the case here—but it is important to reflect and grow from both wins and losses.

One big win is that I came out completely healthy. Watching the much younger competitors drop like flies in front of me was a little nerve-wracking. There were taped-up shoulders, bloody faces, and ice packs everywhere. In fact, my division on Sunday, which should have totaled eleven competitors, was whittled down to seven, with one no-show. It is always good when you come out ready to train and fix any mistakes or refine your game to be more effective. Health is definitely wealth.

On Saturday, I felt great, managed to get second place in my division, and had some really good, hard-fought matches. On Sunday, however, even though I took third place, I felt way too flat and did not perform to the best of my ability. The real win is getting on the mats after fifteen years and truly putting myself out there. While we always want to rack up all the wins, if we are willing to learn, losing can be a great teacher and opportunity. Because of our losses, we have the ability to show up stronger and more prepared next time.

Sometimes in life, you will go out and things will not go according to plan. But with both wins and losses, you get the opportunity to improve—or maybe just dust off some rust for next time. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself, even if there’s no guaranteed win. This could be the CrossFit Open or something bigger and more relevant to your life. Don’t be afraid to live just because you might look silly. We only get opportunities when we put ourselves out there.

Tuesday

Warm up

3 rnds

250m Row

Plank (L,M,R)

Then

2rnds

Hip swings

KB Deadlift

Scales

KB Suitcase carries

Tech

SDHP

Weighted step overs

Wod

10 min AMRAP

10 SDHP 65/95#

10 Weighted step overs 20/35# 20/24”

Cool down