Community & Competition

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. ~John Wooden

I spend a lot of time dissecting why we compete, what it does for us as a gym and me personally.  But today i had another one of those epiphanies, while i was silently hiding and crying in the back of the studio.  The competitions give the gym a purpose, and a common ground to build on.  Over and above the normal i need to get in shape, want to be healthy thing.  And obviously those are big ones.  But the comps are something altogether different.  And here is why....

Most of us dont know exactly what we are capable of.  We have preconceived ideas of our own limitations.  Whether we put those on ourselves, or we have absorbed them from outside sources, we all have a little voice inside that DOUBTS what we can do.  Especially as you get older.  Or have some kind of chronic pain.  Or struggle with weight.  Whatever the issue is, somewhere along the line you have heard that those are reasons why you CANT do something.  Or maybe shouldnt.  I dont know, maybe you really shouldnt - but how do you KNOW unless you try?

There are many wonderful things that will never be done if you do not do them. ~Charles D. Gill

When i started SiB, clearly i wanted to work out and couldnt find the right fit for what i was trying to do.  But ultimately, what i was really trying to do was find my people.  I had my people for years at Gold's and floundered fitness-wise for a long time after it closed.  And without really meaning to, but happily and coincidentally, people who like to work out like i do found my gym and brought that community with them.  Why is that such a big deal?  its a gym.  And maybe that is what it started out as.  But now it is so much more than that.

It's really pretty funny because most of us dont have a lot in common OUT of the gym.  Very few of us knew each other or were friends before joining SiB.  Its just kind of organically grown from the kids training, to the parents, to friends of friends.  But even my kids that train arent close outside of the gym.  What we ALL have in common now IS the GYM.  and strangely enough, that's enough to create this crazy awesome community that i totally rely on and love.

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~Jane Howard

Why does any of this matter?  Because when you put a bunch of people together who have the same passion for something, magic happens.  I didnt quite get that before.  Today it really hit home.  Because every single person in the studio today worked their tails off and wanted to win (of course), but spent the majority of their time screaming at the top of their lungs cheering for someone else.  We ALL won today.  Because every single person laid it all out there, and did more than they thought they could.  I had more people tell me today that they were "so happy" for or "so proud" of
themselves.  And then "so impressed" with any number of other people.  Smiles abounded, even after the requisite i think i might throw up aftermath.  It was just flat out awesome.

Because EVERYONE wanted the same thing.  Not just THEIR success. but success for the entire community.  And even if i still am trying to win,  i want YOU to also do your very best to beat me.  THAT is how we all get better.  and find out what we are capable of.  I can guarantee you that everyone today feels more empowered by what they accomplished.  and what they helped each other to accomplish.  i couldnt love that more.  And that is why competing is important.  We learn how to push, find our limits & encourage our friends to also find theirs.  It is not about ticking a box, but about EXPANDING the limits of the box you find yourself in.  Or pushing beyond it and making a whole new one.

The deed is everything, the glory naught. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

As i continue to struggle with my losing my dad, this all hits home even more.  This was the first big thing ive done at the gym since he has been gone.  and of course that takes something away from it for me.  Its hard to not have my biggest cheerleader here anymore, for purely selfish reasons. And it just makes everything just a bit dimmer.  But what i realized today, was that those moments pass a little quicker when im surrounded by these people.  and all of their positive energy.  when 24 people are all standing together encouraging one person to keep going.  We dont let each other quit.   and now more than ever, i can appreciate how much that means.  As a community, we help each other through ALL the stuff.  maybe the gym is just the vehicle that we are using to support each other.  but these people ARE my support.  and I am theirs.  we>me, and all that.

In union there is strength. ~Aesop

I want to thank my SiB peeps, old and new for being a part of the family.  We bicker and argue like family.  And more often than not, im the mean sister.  But we have broad shoulders and we can help carry a heck of a load. You all make my life better.  And you make me better.  In the gym and hopefully out of it too.

#SiBtribe