I'm in your head...!

The Grey: CHOOSE

This weekend, Travis Holley and I caught up on some cinema and went to watch "The Grey". The movie was a bit different than I had expected, but it was legit nonetheless. It definitely got us to thinking about the parallels the movie draws with internal and external conflict in life and CrossFit (yes... what else are we going to compare it to...?) and the ability to choose your fate. 

The movie is deeper and more introspective than the action-packed trailer would have you believe. It deals with themes of life and death, internal and external conflict, social hierarchy, fear, love, brotherhood and choice. 

I took two major lessons from the movie (there are many more, but these two stood out to me):

1) The Alpha Wolf does not live without fear. 

Quite the opposite. The Alpha Wolf manages fear and funnels it into creativity, energy, survival, leadership and success. The Alpha Wolf does not always have solutions, but is always working towards solutions. Along with that, the Alpha always displays a PMA (positive mental attitude) - never quit - never surrender - never say die.

2) In the end, we choose how we will live and how we will die. 

You cannot always control the things that happen to you in your life, but you ALWAYS get to  choose how you will deal with those things. You choose your emotions, reactions and your next plan of action. 

When faced with adversity: Will you do whatever it takes to fight and win, or will you simply give up? 

The movie ends with a small poem:

Once more into the fray
Into the last good fight I'll ever know
Live and die on this day
Live and die on this day.

Fittest Games 2012 in the books!

2 weeks has passed since the 5th Fittest Games finished, awards were handed out and #theyard was left as it was found: an empty warehouse full of potential. 

It has taken me at least this much time to process everything that went down and evaluate the impact that this year's games had as well as what it means for the future of our sport. 

When you spend months of your life planning something that you know will only last one day - you know that you only have one shot to get it right. The mental and emotional stress is very high knowing that the entire success or failure of the event is in your hands -- that you were an architect designing the plans that will either leave people in awe or leave them staring at the rubble that was your disaster...

Fortunately, we have an absolutely INCREDIBLE group of people in Austin, TX - and I am incredibly blessed to work where I do with the people that I work with. This blog is an attempt to thank those people who helped and participated in the 2012 Fittest Games. Without you, it would not have been possible.

-The CF Community: We had athletes, spectators, judges and volunteers from all over the U.S. - as far away as Alaska. Thank you for putting your faith in CrossFit Central to deliver on a hell of a competition.

-Volunteers and Judges: You guys and gals held our standards all day long, worked hard and upheld the integrity of the Fittest Games.

-Sponsors: Thank you for your time, presence, prizes and partnership.

-Tony Gonzalez: YOU ARE THE MAN! Quite simply, this event would not have gone down if not for you. Your crew turned #theyard from a pile of construction rubble into a stage fit for the best competitors  CrossFit has to offer. 

-Travis Holley, Jeremy Thiel, Big Mike, Zach Thiel: You boys ran a tight ship all day -- thank you for your help, proofreading and fact-checking. I would gladly go to war with you all any day.

-Susan Bender, Diego Centeno, Johnathan Haynes: The people behind the scenes and the reason we were able to host so many people. Without sponsors, media and registration/check-in, we wouldn't have made it past the first couple of minutes.

 -DJ Monica: Spinning dirty jamz all day and keeping the crowd on their feet!

-Kris Kepler (aka DJ Outlaw): Thanks homie! You came through in the clutch and produced 6 hours of music for #theyard that kept the athletes on their toes and the crowd stomping thiers.

-CrossFit Central: For providing me with an outlet for my imagination, creativity and work.

-Ingrid Kantola: You are the best Event Director I know. No one can do what you do and I would not want to work with anyone else. Thank you for your love and support. You da bomb!