Everyone Wants First Place

This last weekend I had the privilege of competing at a CrossFit team competition.

48 four person teams in our division. My team took second place. Second place gets a bad rap sometimes. If you were that close to first then why not win? Everyone likes to win. Wants to win. Some people need to win. Everyone wants to be recognized, to be acknowledged, to be known, to feel significant or “good enough”. I think that’s what drives winners and second place alike.

But how you place on the podium is such a small part of the whole story. It can’t tell you the hard work, dedication and discipline that’s been put in. It can’t describe the teamwork, relationship dynamics and friendships developed along the way. It doesn’t show the failures and victories, plateaus and breakthroughs.

If it’s only about winning and losing and there’s just one gold medal. Then isn’t it a waste for everyone else?

But what if it’s about who you are becoming in the process. And embracing, even learning to love the process itself. Maybe weaknesses are just opportunities to become strengths, a challenge to be 1% better, a chance to let others come alongside you to encourage and inspire. And are strengths really meant for you alone? Or to carry others when they need it.

And what about facing fears. The fear of failing, of giving it your all and still falling short, of letting people you care about down, or being embarrassed or inadequate. Few things terrify me more than a CrossFit competition. And yet I keep signing up. Maybe because you can either run from your fears, be paralyzed and become indifferent, or face them head on. I’ve never been an athlete. Always picked first for school projects but not so much for kick ball teams. It doesn’t come naturally. Always with a struggle and baby step after baby step, hour after hour in the gym.

Maybe it’s scary because so many things are out of your control, like how your built, what tests will be presented, injury, judging errors, what people will think of you, how you’ll measure up. Attitude and Effort. Seems like something annoying your parents would say. But it’s true. Those are things you can control. You can strive to see everything as a learning opportunity. You may not be the most talented but you can strive to be the hardest worker in the room. You can strive to help others succeed, to be a light in their life. There’s enough hard stuff in life, a little cheerleading goes a long ways.

I’ve experienced firsthand what it’s like when someone believes in you more than you believe in yourself. What it feels like when someone farther along than you takes the time to teach or motivate or encourage.   And the freedom in failing but still being accepted. It’s not hard for me to believe people will like me if I do everything right, but it blows my mind to try and understand grace even in imperfections and failures.

My takeaway is not only a renewed fire to train harder and to be more disciplined than before, but to be proud of second place, or last place, or first place if I’ve been dedicated to the process. If I’m becoming a person of more godliness, integrity, faithfulness, consistency, keeping a sense of humor, building up and supporting others, and rising to the challenge that each day presents. Then can you really lose?