“Feeling fear is human, but conquering it will make you feel empowered, courageous, and proud.”
– Alex Niles
Why do we put ourselves through challenging experiences on purpose? Aren’t there better ways to improve our health, fitness, and mental state than showing up and completing tough workouts? There may be other options that help to accomplish this, but we are able to create an environment in which you can push yourself and see what you’re capable of in a supportive and controlled space.
We all feel that little sense of fear or unease when we look at a workout and think, “I’m not sure I can do that” or “I think I’ll pass on today’s workout.” That was the feeling after looking at some of the workouts from the Quarterfinals test this past weekend. Why would anyone willingly sign up to complete 3 rounds of 50 wall balls and 50 burpee box jump overs? One reason is that even though we know it is going to be tough physically and mentally in the moment, we know on the other side of that experience is another reason we can be confident we can handle what life throws at us.
The quote this week highlights that to experience fear is common and natural to all of us. Life wouldn’t be quite as thrilling or exciting if we didn’t put ourselves in positions of uncertainty. If we want to feel empowered, courageous, and proud, then we have to do things in our lives that create a little fear.
What we end up finding is that the confidence and belief that we can do hard things in the gym, translates to events outside of the gym. By showing up and taking a challenging workout head on, we learn that we can take on hard things in our work and personal life. We realize we have built the skills to work through stress, and can skillfully handle adverse moments.
The next time we see a workout or willfully do something we are not sure about, let’s remember we’re tackling the fear head on, and that will lead us to all the incredible benefits on the other side once we have proven to ourselves we can show up, put the effort in, and have an attitude that focuses on growth and learning.
