“This nation will remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave.” -Elmer Davis
This year Greater Culture joined gyms and athletes all around the country in the workout, “Chad” to remember and support Veterans everywhere. Pushing ourselves in workouts that are designed to help remember and challenge us is part of the CrossFit ethos. This style of training in its early days was a way for military, law enforcement, and first responders to stay ready for whatever challenges their line of work posed to them.
These workouts tend to leave us feeling a little more sore, a little more humbled, and at times a little sorry for ourselves in the moment. Take the workout from yesterday, which was 1000 box step ups. Typically you would not see this type of workout programmed in our day-to-day schedule. In the middle of doing step ups for an hour, it can be so easy to want to stop, throw in the towel, and find something better to do with our day.
I think this is one of the best reasons to sprinkle these type of workouts into our lives because not only do have the opportunity to remember and honor someone, we also get the chance to build our own physical and mental resilience. How many times to we purposefully put ourselves in a tough situation for over an hour? If you’re like me, you want to avoid these moments as much as possible. They’re uncomfortable, and the couch sounds much better on a Saturday morning. But that’s not how we are built. We as humans are built to do hard things. It’s not meant for only a select few, all of us can do hard things in our own way.
The sense of accomplishment, the confidence that builds, and the ability to say, “I can do difficult things” are by products of challenging ourselves, overcoming the moment, and then growing from it. It’s one of the reasons it is helpful to go above and beyond our typical workouts to really see where we’re at.
Veterans Day is such a great opportunity to thank and appreciate everyone who voluntarily chose to sacrifice their time, energy, and life for a period to serve the greater good. Through their sacrifice, they developed grit and resilience that we too can build in our own way. This Veterans Day thank those who have served in your life, learn from what they have been able to do, and use it in your own life to tackle the challenges and adversities that come your way.
