Competitive Wellness Series - Failure as the Challenge

I recently trekked to Garrettsville, Ohio for a Spartan obstacle race. Participating in the “Beast” version of the event, I had 13+ miles and 30+ obstacles between me and my first ever “Trifecta”, (the completion of the three core races of the Spartan promotion at different distances). Being the reluctant runner that I am, I was thankful for the muddy and thigh-high aquatic excuses to pace myself to solid-ground jogs and precarious-footing power-walks. After a palm-tear early in the race, (most frustratingly because of a mental lapse, not a physical one, though I was able to complete the obstacle during which it occurred), I had something to occupy the sensorial survival input and distract me from the distance still left to be covered.

Now, it needs to be very clear that I am not competitive outside of myself in these events. I run in the Open heats, that is, I am very realistic that if I entered my own age group it would spark a Rube Goldberg-esq chain of mental, emotional, and competitive personal judgments that would penetrate the perimeter of my peaceful, passive, protected Pride. That’s an overstatement, maybe, in that it takes away from the enjoyment of the Open. The whole draw of the Spartan Race for me has been connection to family, to friends, and to fellow racers. To help, to be helped, to recognize those who may need help, and to recognize when that “those” may include me, the value of these experiences are irreplaceable. Don’t get me wrong, those that race Elite and Age Group are incredible athletes and competitors, and I enjoy watching those races as a fan. I just know the Present Moment Me.

Immediately beyond the Sprint (3+ miles), Super (8+), and Beast (12+), lies the Spartan Ultra, a race doubled the Beast. This race hit the starting line well before the Open heat I was in, donning their purple pinnies. There were moments along the course where our courses overlapped, which led to some truly…genuine…interactions. These athletes were pushing themselves to perceived limits, either confirming them or blasting right through. During one particularly muddy trudge, most likely carrying something, I heard a couple Ultra racers talking about challenging themselves.

It followed along the lines of, “I’ve done the other races and wanted to really push myself” and, “I’m competitive and understand this is about finishing, but I can’t stand the thought of failing”. I took liberties to add a whole lot of words and delete a whole lot of grunts and obscenities, but that was the gist of it.

As I walked slightly ahead of them, (not bragging, they’d probably done twice the distance I had to that point), I heard this and began thinking that maybe for her the true challenge was not the race itself, but Failure.

As athletes and competitors, we are programmed to “hate losing more than we like winning”, an oversimplification and complete disregard for the value of failure as an input to greater success. How many times do we see success, or winning, beget complacency and underachievement? How often do we see those, who accept and embrace a setback, overcome even greater odds to become victorious, either in the standings, in the contest, or simply in life? It would be negligent of us to discard the possibility of Failure being the endgame of some endeavors. Maybe the challenge is failing. Kudos to those who are brave enough, and secure enough, to put themselves in a position where this may be the case, considering we are often impressed to believe failure is…well…failure.

I’m not the motivational type, not externally at least. I’m not going to tell you “the Universe only gives you what you can handle” or the like. I’m not saying anything new or unique, I’m not changing the world with Thought. Sometimes the consideration is the first step toward recovery, or achievement, or the final step to the Past…or something more poetic. Just consider that maybe knowing how to fail is an integral part of knowing how to succeed.

Before my race, there had been a few moments of “what ifs” that resulted in me not completing the Beast. On average, who I am said I would not have handled that very well. The “competitively well” of me made solid efforts to justify and weasel some sense into thinking I would have been ok with it, but for the most part even the thought of failure ate away at me. This isn’t always a “practice what you preach” arena…I know I”m still growing. The competitor in me will always punch my insides when I see my finishing time, or ranking, but I’ve extensive experience with losing, so I continue to master it.

Like when I saw that Elite runner, Ryan Woods, finished the Spartan Ultra, (DOUBLE the length and obstacles), two minutes faster than I finished the Beast…

Fail Well, Friends…but not too often.

The Era of Instant Replay and Asterisks

This post is coming on the heels…or hooves…of recent events in this year’s Kentucky Derby, but bubbles up from months of frustration as a sports fan. The technological advances both surrounding and within athletic events are not only a thief of a the joy of sport, but also a sad reflection of the direction society has gone.

I watched the Kentucky Derby at a bar, thus, did not hear any of the commentary involved during the objection and overruling of the results of the race. I’m assuming that it’s not ok for a horse to cut-off other horses…(even though it seems like a completely instinctual move, not simply a product of the frontal cortex…though the blinders…anyway)…so I understand that if that was the penalty, so be it. (See: what used to be a Playoff foul in the NBA vs what’s now a week long investigation into criminal action). A few things concerned me, watching soundlessly as the decision unfolded. First was that War of Will (ironically the horse I had picked to win) was nowhere to be seen or heard from during the review. From a novice perspective, that was the horse that was cut-off, so, shouldn’t they be the ones most upset? Second was the coy look of the Plaintiff…just yuck. Third, after the overruling of the actual results of the contest, the new-”winning” jockey tore handfuls of roses off the rose-blanket (which I believe is the horse’s reward) and tossed them up in the air. Maybe this is a tradition I’m not familiar with, but if it isn't, again, yuck.

Shifting gears, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this year involved so…many…replays. The first two rounds were riddled with stoppages and non-floortime impacts. I understand protecting players, especially from tie-ups…elbows and such…but they began reviewing every time someone lifted their hands above their own shoulders to find out if someone may have been grazed. Then, in the penultimate game of all that competition and joy, it was brought up and replayed…over and over…that there should have been a double-dribble called, which could have directly affected the outcome of the game.

Why do we have human officials? If we are going to now teach them to hesitate, and go against professional instinct, to wait to allow the appropriate amount of time to pass so that we may then second-guess them on national tv “the right way”…then why not just get rid of them? We could have the players themselves call their own fouls and penalties, and use camera replay to either confirm or deny, then penalize them if they were lying. We could have the games played and recorded, and then just broadcast the final, edited, 100% accurate results. We could just play the game with a suggestion of rules, and let the game reveal the true character of the players in the spirit of competition as it unfolds in real-time, subject only to each of our allegiances and opinions.

What we are all being cheated out of is good, old-fashioned excitement; pure, unadulterated joy, pain, anxiety…the columns of sport spectating. Pick your most memorable sports-viewing experience. Now imagine watching a deliberation and lengthy video-review and then EITHER having it overturned, or having someone confirm that your excitement was warranted. How sour is that feeling? Whose right is it to take that away from us? I know something about reserved exhilaration while awaiting results. It isn’t fair.

We live in a society where everyone feels entitled to their side of the story. Children believe they have a say in all matters and adults believe it just takes time, pesterance, and/or money to get their own way. Being upset is close to being associated with someone caring. I’ve cheered for teams, I’ve played on teams, and I’ve coached teams that have lost with human officiating error being a factor, (notice I’m not even saying a major answer). You learn to deal with it. You learn to have perspective on the things you could control. You learn that it isn’t the end of the world, and that not everyone is perfect all the time. Rather valuable life lessons, would you agree? Sports are meant to be a microcosm of Life, and an advantage of learning to all of those who participate. If we allow sports to go the way of society, we are all doomed.

I’m ok being upset. I’m ok losing (only as a natural potential consequence of entering into competition). I’m not ok with replay. I’m not ok with entitlement. I’m not ok with asterisks. I’m ok with excitement, with sitting on the edge of my seat and either being knocked back or propelled upward with emotion. I’m ok with men and women making mistakes in their job, (especially if there is an in-house consequence after). I’m ok with humans. I’m ok with accountability. I’m ok with sport and everything it used to be. I’m ok with competition and everything it used to be. I’m ok with taking things back that direction.

Come with me. Grab a friend.

Own Your I

Competitive Wellness Series - Pride

Pride…hubris…self-esteem…easily something that is present in all of us, easily something to blame or credit. In ANY world of ANYTHING compared, valued, competed, judged, evaluated…in other words ANY situation that involves external feedback on performance, or simply action, Pride has an open invitation. One’s relationship with Pride becomes the determining factor of processing, response, and likely future action.

This post is inspired by the fallout of the UFC 229 McGregor-Nurmagomedov brawl. I am a Conor McGregor fan. (I am also a Chael Sonnen fan, if that paints an accurate picture of the MMA athletes that I support.) I enjoy the pre-fight banter, the gamesmanship, the taunting WHEN it is followed with clean competition and respect regardless of outcome. This is the heart of competition. Khabib made me a fan in that fight. I have followed him loosely prior, but the domination and mastery of his craft was on full display. As fighters, these men are very similar; as men, they could not be further from one another on the spectrum.

As much as I don’t condone the actions of “other participants” in what happened after McGregor tapped, (here forward not receiving any of our attention in this post), I can understand the actions of Nurmagomedov. As a man he is proud, he is loyal, he is intense. Not being cut from the same cloth of theatrics as McGregor was on full display. There was video of mid-fight trash talk where McGregor responded, while clearly losing on the scorecards, that “It’s just business”. Not a message that was going to be received during the culmination of frustration and, finally, opportunity for Nurmagomedov to speak in the language he is most fluent in. He was able to let his actions do the talking, and boy did they. But in the emotional high of physical victory, Khabib’s anger, frustration, and pride spilled out into unprofessional, yet completely human, action. Whereas the consuming toll on the human existence that preparing for that type of competition sometimes manifests in tears, what had been boiling up inside of Khabib for months showed itself in animalistic instinct.

Honestly, the fact that he was able to control himself until after the fight is nothing short of commendable. For someone who is not practiced or seasoned in the “talking game” of sports, and who undoubtedly had moments of sheer frustration throughout the process, he was able to focus everything, every thought, every emotion, into doing his job and defending his belt. But where does the anger come from? Where did his inability to control his actions for mere moments more come from? Herein lies our analysis of Pride.

I am a self-aware “sticks and stones” practitioner. Sure, words have hurt me in the past, they will presently, and I’m sure they will in the future, but the goal is to decrease that pain. A lot of this pain-management comes in the form of introspection - looking at myself to evaluate the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of the effect of the “offense”. (Yes, that offense should be in parenthesis and that will be addressed later). This intellectual analysis immediately takes attention away from the “sting”, protecting the heart with the brain.

Philosophically, there is no shortage of resources on the subject of Pride. Mythology from the beginning of oral history of mankind warns of and celebrates Pride and its different manifestations. There are camps in full support of Pride and there are camps that criticize its every action. There is individual Pride and group Pride. There is Pride stemming from self-love and Pride stemming from self-contempt. This is an individual experience, and a journey, that seems to never end. This is one of those situations that as soon as you think you’ve figured it out, the Universe says, “Here, try this one”.

This is another one of those posts where I am not going to give an answer because, clearly, I don’t have one. But in all endeavors here, I hope to more direct this conversation to raising children and young adults. When is the right time to begin the Pride discussion. Is there a right answer? Is this one of those subjects where the culturally acceptable norm is the leading candidate for what is “Right”?

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Simple, poetic, empowering. Now we live in a society where seemingly EVERY word hurts someone, offends someone, puts someone at a disadvantage or knocks them from equality. Instead of teaching children to build their confidence through an internal locust of control, we give them an opportunity to give someone else influence in their life.

Now, even as I type this, delete and retype, and repeat that process over and over, I am fully aware of the sensitivity of the topic. There are boundaries, there are expectations as a member of society, and there is “too much”. I am not saying that we should teach our children to become hardened into Stoicism and that it is alright for others to verbally and emotionally abuse them. As parents and teachers, it is our job to help them navigate their own lines of tolerance, comfort, and power. I am not victim-blaming. I am encouraging a mind that is open to rising above mean words. This rise comes as a result of positive self-image, confidence, and compassion/sympathy/empathy that is severely lacking in our world.

As we read this as adults, we are discouraged and turned off to the idea. Who wants to sit and be told what we are, why we do things, and what we are thinking? I personally am supremely sensitive to being told what I mean, or am meaning. I still have moments where someone else’s stupidity is offensive to me. I am a looooooong way from Self-actualization. But I also know that other people’s words are often more about them than me, just as my mean words to someone else are just as much about me.

What we should be teaching our children is tolerance, acceptance, and most of the -pathies. We should be reinforcing their defenses of “belief in self”. I’m not a “turn the other cheek” proponent, per say, but when jousting, or attacking, is verbal, I think there is a greater opportunity to invest in the development of one’s Self before immediate counteraction is required.

Idealistic: yes. Practical: maybe. Popular: probably not. However if I can teach a child to brush off “mean words” and/or realize that not everything that they don’t want to hear is necessarily “mean” or “offensive”, and something they need to be protected from, I will do it. There will be times that even the most controlled, registered human beings will reach their breaking points. Conor continued to verbally pepper a very proud Khabib until there was no turning back. Khabib acted how he personally felt necessary. (Even better, his father’s response to that, look that up too). Our children don’t have to deal with the professionalism of their responses right now, so they should be testing out their options, including one where they simply ignore our perception that they should be hurt or offended by them.

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels - Saint Augustine

Suggested searches: Pride, Saint Augustine philosophy, hubris, Terry Cooper Pride, group pride, pride, shame, and group identification salice and sanchez