Recently, I had the honor of being invited to a Special Forces graduation at Fort Bragg, NC.
One of my CrossFit buddies had just completed the rigorous training of the legendary "Q" course.
As I drove through Fort Bragg, and past my old unit, on the way to the graduation I was thrilled to be back there after many years,
and to be in a place where excellence is the rule, not the exception to it.
The camaradery and brotherhood that was shown those two days was utterly fantastic. The sense of duty and dedication was, also.
How unlike the culture we currently find ourselves in that seems mostly to take the path of least resistance and be committed to nothing except to get what they want and have to work the least for.
As I spoke with some of the new Green Berets, after the ceremony, my buddy introduced me as a fellow CrossFit athlete, and there was an instant connection. We laughed about how much "fun" it was to train that hard, and about really low times on "Fran" (a benchmark workout for CrossFitters around the globe).
Soon, it was over and time to head back to Florida. We left Fort Bragg with a sense of immense pride and gratitude. Being stationed there many years ago definitely had impacted my life for the better.
During our trip home, we stopped at the "Mighty 8th" Air Force Museum (near Savannah, GA) and learned more about this amazing bunch of courageous of people. What a great experience after being at Fort Bragg! Once again: duty, bravery, sacrifice, and excellence were unavoidably present.
I return home and see so many people in their daily routines with no sense of purpose which leads to no discipline, no accountability, and no hope. Then I get back to my gym, and the hunger for excellence is there. The athletes are pushing themselves to their very limits, and setting higher and more difficult goals for themselves. They will not stop pushing themselves and encouraging each other to keep going, no matter how tough it gets.
I thrive on that!
If you find yourself surrounded by people who don't give a rip about anything, get away from them fast! No good can come from that type of association. Remember, you can slip into the cesspool of mediocrity or you can be immersed in excellence. You get to choose every day.
No one but you can make that decision.
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