"The World Has Bested Better Men Than You" - Joe Pug

As someone who came from a completely sedentary, lazy, 
fast-track-to-an-early-grave lifestyle, Crossfit has changed my life in 
countless ways.  I’m healthier, happier, stronger, faster.  I look forward to 
each and every day, and am finally excited for all the things that life has to 
offer.  Crossfit has given me strength, both physically and mentally.  It’s 
taught me to be confident, it’s taught me to be open, and, most importantly, in 
my mind, it’s taught me to be humble.

  “Leave your ego at the door.”  This phrase can be seen at Crossfit boxes 
around the world.  And it’s one of the most true statements I’ve seen.  Ego can 
be a killer in the Crossfit world, for many reasons.

  Anyone who has been around Crossfit for a while has experienced it.  It 
affects everyone eventually, though it manifests in different ways.  

  We’ve all seen the musclebound meathead who shirt-off’s when he walks 
through the door to establish his dominance, only to be using that shirt halfway 
through the wod to wipe the tears from his eyes when the middle aged soccer mom 
with 4 kids laps him for the 3rd time on the 10 min AMRAP.  And we only see them 
the one time, because they’re too ashamed to come back.  

  Or the person who shows up every day, but can’t handle having one of the 
slowest times, so they skip reps, or rounds, or use terrible/wrong form, or pick 
a weight that’s way too light for them (don’t get this confused with picking a 
weight that is helping them work on form or rehab an injury… COMPLETELY separate 
topic.)  And we all know when that happens, even when they think we don’t.  

  Or the person who only shows up on days where they know they’ll get a fast 
time, because it’s a workout featuring their favorite things.  Or they try to 
go too heavy to keep up appearances, and end up hurting themselves or not 
finishing the workout (or skipping several reps/rounds to try and keep up).  Or 
maybe fake an injury so they can have an excuse to stop.  Or even those who 
won’t scale *up* because they like being #1 on the boards by a long shot.

  You get the picture.  Everyone has seen these people.  Odds are you’ve been 
one of these people.  I know I’ve let my ego show.  The common thread here is 
that for all of these people, their ego is getting in the way of what Crossfit 
is really about.  Getting better, every day.  Getting healthier, stronger.  
Improving your life.  Pushing your boundaries.  Learning who you are and what 
you’re made of.

  When I look at the board and see my time, I’m proud of it.  I don’t care if 
it’s the fastest or the slowest.  I’m proud because I know I showed up, I pushed 
myself through every grueling rep the best I could.  I didn’t take any short 
cuts.  I didn’t skip any reps.  I didn’t half ass any movements.  I busted my 
ass for that time.  Am I MORE proud if it’s the fastest?  Absolutely.  But I 
also know it doesn’t mean a damn thing.

  The time, to me, is a record of my accomplishment.  Something I KNOW I 
couldn’t have done without all the work I’ve put in up to this point.  Was it 
faster than some other times up there?  Possibly.  Was it slower than some other 
times?  Almost definitely.  Does that make me any better or worse than those 
people?  Hell no.  I don’t know the conditions all of those other people worked 
out in.  Maybe a father of 3 came in on little-to-no sleep and struggled 
through.  Or a young woman with a huge job interview that afternoon came in and 
just couldn’t get mentally in to it.  Or some tweaker came in loaded on speed 
and blew away that AMRAP box jump workout shortly before going in to cardiac 
arrest.  Or it was 30 degrees cooler when I worked out.  Or there was some smoke
in the air when the earlier class worked out.

 The point is, Crossfit, in general, is a competition with yourself to be 
better than you were before.  If your pride keeps you from walking through that 
door, it’s over before you even started.  If you’re cutting corners to make 
people think you’re awesome, you definitely won’t get better, physically or 
mentally, and you definitely won‘t ever find out what you‘re made of.  (AND, 
trust me, everyone knows when you’re doing it.  I promise.)  If you’re blowing 
through workouts that are too easy for you so you get that top time, then you aren’t 
pushing your boundaries... Sure, you‘re getting a good workout, but I promise 
there are a lot of people out there that are working harder than you.  If you’re 
constantly comparing your time to everyone else’s, then you’re probably 
overlooking the gains and achievements you’ve made, and how far you‘ve come.  
Unless you’re Rich Froning and a swim wod isn’t involved, there are going to be 
people out there with faster times, more reps, and heavier lifts.  

No one cares about your time on the board, or whether you Rx’d a workout or 
not.  That’s for you to keep track of how you’re doing.  What people do care 
about, though, is whether you showed up, busted your ass, and got it done.  You 
want to have a friendly competition with your friends?  Go for it, as long as 
it’s pushing you.  But don’t let “winning” or “losing” get in the way of what is 
REALLY important.  Is competition the most important thing to you?  Go sign up 
for a competition, there’s one happening almost every weekend.  Don’t let your 
ego get in the way of making yourself better.  And you better damn sure not let 
your ego get in the way of other people making themselves better.

Show up.  Bust your ass.  Push your boundaries.  Get better.

That is all that matters.