Demand the Best for Yourself

“How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?”
 – Epictetus
Hopefully you’ve noticed a lot of physical improvements happening to the gym, notably the new front desk and new coats of paint in the bathrooms.  Many thanks to all of our coaches and others who have contributed to these great new looks, and I hope you all appreciate these facelifts – we keep maintaining and improving the gym space so that you can enjoy your experience with us every time and make this the best hour of your day!
One more improvement you’ll see coming soon is the above quote painted prominently on the wall.  It’s a quote that really speaks to us and provides motivation to always look toward self-improvement and upholding high standards.  I’ll dig into this more in a bit, but first a quick note on Epictetus.
Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher in ancient Greece, born in the year 55 A.D. as a slave to a wealthy landowner who at one point purposefully broke Epictetus’ leg.  He studied Stoicism and eventually gained his freedom and moved to northern Greece to establish a philosophical school.  Epictetus, and all Stoics, believed in living simply with few possessions, practicing non-attachment to material things but instead focusing on knowing and constantly improving themselves.  I feel a personal connection to that philosophy, and find a lot of value in being quiet and examining my mental and emotional state.  Am I living according to my values?  What are my values in the first place?
I find that other philosophies or mental practices that have consistently stuck with me are also rooted in that focus on self-reflection.  A good example is Mark Divine’s Unbeatable Mind methodology that has us define first who we are in terms of purpose and principles, and then establishes practices to regularly check-in and ensure we are spending our precious energy in alignment with those, and creating and then knocking out goals that move us toward our overall purpose.
I know many of you already do, but if you don’t I encourage you to explore Stoicism a bit by subscribing to the Daily Stoic‘s daily email.  It comes across in the morning, and they generally offer a quote or story and then their reflections on the lessons to take from it.  It’s a great way to start the day, reflecting on ancient wisdom and seeing how you can apply it in your life.
So why put this quote up on the wall?  After all, you guys are doing CrossFit, you’ve already chosen to focus on self-improvement in a big way!
The reason is that we all need that reminder to keep on upholding our personal standards, to perform at our best.  Maybe that means going for one more rep in that workout when you’re already dead-tired and it would be acceptable for most people to just stop there.  Or it could be that you uphold your personal standard by getting full-depth in your squats every time, even though you see others not doing the same.  Another tenet of Stoicism is that what other people are doing doesn’t matter – what matters is your reaction.
To me, this quote is also an invitation to grow up.  “How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself” reads to me like, “How long are you going to wait before you realize that it’s all up to you, there’s no one else that is going to do this for you, or is going to chastise you for making bad decisions.”
It’s all up to me!  My daily performance, and thus my long-term performance in life, is just a series of decisions.  If I keep allowing myself to take the easier path that I know isn’t right, at the end of my life I will realize I was just an ordinary person that didn’t really move the needle on my life’s purpose, which is, by the way, to master myself physically, mentally, and emotionally, so that I can teach and inspire others to do the same.
It’s time to seriously get started, and I hope you’ll join me in demanding the best for yourself as well.