Sacrifices

It was the middle of the night in February of 2016. I was sleeping on the gym floor that I was volunteering at. I heard the door knob rattle as someone was entering the gym. I quickly got up and opened the door to a surprised friend of the owner. I explained to him that it was 3am and that I was trying to get some sleep before my morning class. Startled, perplexed, and confused, he proceeded to explain that this was his only time available for him to workout. With uncertainty, and a look of sadness, he left. I went back to the floor. Awake, tired, ashamed, and motivated. This was such a powerful interaction because it involved sacrifices. Sacrifices in a comfortable place to sleep, and sacrificing sleep for a 3am workout. Some of the most important lessons I have learned from my life have involved sacrifices. As someone that is in a leadership position, and someone that spends the majority of my day at the gym, I have heard it all. I don’t have time. I don’t have the money. I need to think about it. I’m sick. I’m depressed. I’m overweight. I’m unhappy. I need help.

I’ve had people tell me they don’t have the time but get home from work and watch netflix. I’ve had people tell me they are too busy but their social media profiles are filled with getaways and stories of their alcohol driven weeknights. I’ve had people tell me they don’t have the money but come to their first class in an expensive vehicle with a lululemon outfit. I’ve had people tell me they need to think about it when they have already expressed to me they feel miserable, sick, and are tired of living an unhealthy lifestyle. The majority of people that don’t have the time, and don’t have the money are intrinsically not willing to make health and fitness a priority. The majority are not willing to sacrifice their monthly subscriptions. The majority are not willing to sacrifice wine tasting on the weekends. The majority are not willing to sacrifice better financial decisions with their money. The majority are not willing to sacrifice their time to workout. We can’t accept poor health decisions in the midst of busyness. If you don’t make time for you health, you will, by default make time for your illness and then be forced to make time later. We can’t accept poor financial decisions in the midst of compromising our health and fitness. If you don’t make health and fitness part of your finances, you will, by default make it a priority when you are sick, when you need to pay for medication, and when you need to pay for hospital visits. We can’t expect thinking about a fitness membership when we need help. We can’t expect to get healthier when we are sick. We can’t expect to be laughing when we are depressed. We can’t expect to fit in our desired outfit when we are overweight. We can’t expect to be happy when we are sad. We can’t expect to be helped, when we aren’t willing to sign up for help.

All of these things require sacrifices. They require sacrifices to make time for your health and fitness. They require financial sacrifices to prioritize a fitness membership. They require sacrifices that risk your ability to think about it and make a decision that can change your life. They require sacrifices that test your mental discipline for quality food choices. They require sacrifices that challenge your friendship group and the type of content you consume. They require sacrifices that push you to build the best, healthy version of yourself every day.

We fall, we rise, we attempt, we accomplish, we persevere, we triumph. Fitness is more than just results, it is a journey of sacrifices. I hope one day, you all know what it feels like to be in a truly great Crossfit gym. There is no better thing for your health and fitness. Make sacrifices.