The Benefits of Finishing Second
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If you have been around the CrossFit world a short period of time, chances are you will know the name Ben Bergeron. Ben is one of the elite coaches in the sport, and is the best I have found that merges the science of training the body with the wisdom of improving the mind.
With that being said, Ben is a humble man and knows when his coaching is off point and it showed this year at the games.
The section of the show that caught my interest starts at the 16 minute mark. Ben talks about an athlete named Mat Fraser who had finished 2nd two years in a row at the CrossFit Games. Mat became so engrossed and inspired to not finish 2nd again, that he left no stone unturned in his pursuit of winning.
”People can be motivated by a couple different things. People can be motivated by opportunity, abundance, beauty, and love, or they can be motivated by something a little more negative.”
Not the Fittest on Earth
Ben’s main protégé is Katrin Davidsdottir who was the reigning Fittest Woman on Earth for two years running – she lost that title this year and finished 5th.
Losing can be painful, especially when you were at the top of your sport for a few years. Placing second can be beneficial as well. There is an integrity to success that we all respect. We know when we have not given our best to the product we present to people, and we feel bad if we win anyway.
Ben makes no excuses for why Katrin finished 5th this year and lost her title. He admits that he didn’t push her as hard, and wanted her to be as healthy and injury free as possible for competition.
That sacrifice for safety left hard work on the table, and the results were not satisfactory. There is no substitute for hard work. The 1% extra you give can be the difference between winning or losing in whatever you choose to do in life.
The lesson I learned in this episode is that you truly either win or learn in life. When your vision is clear and the path is before you, each step is on that path is towards winning. It doesn’t matter how wobbly the step is as long as you are still stepping. We only lose when we give up.
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Video Source: Bergeron Show
The winner get it all however better to be 2nd than 3rd isnt it? the second best in school is also a good thing however many wish to be number one -that is human nature
We all want to win, haha.
I agree, haha
Awesome crossfit is so entertaining
(and fun)
That it is! Do you Crossfit?
Nope i do weight lifting though
Nice. I do more weightlifting and mix in some Crossfit. My brother is a Crossfit trainer so he shows me a few tricks, haha.
Aesthetically I've always preferred silver - maybe something to do with that playground rhyme "First the worst, second the best, third the one with the hairy chest." :P
Haha, never heard that amusing rhyme before. I have always preferred silver as well, t
Very interessing concept thank you so much i enjoued reading this post
You're welcome. Good to hear you found value in it.
We are increasingly conditioned to believe that winning is everything and 'second is nowhere'. But runners-up are often the real winners,
Interesting way of putting it. Well said.
the best motivation - AMDG - which I wrote in the margin of my notebook all through school ( Ad maiorem Dei gloriam - ask @mustardseed)
For the greater glory of God, indeed. :)
I'll bet you knew enough Latin to figure that one out :)
Maybe. ;)
Never give up. I like that. My middle initial is T for Tenacious!
Mr T! :)
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i didn't knew about that but it was good to know now after reading it :) thanks for sharing this gem of a post !!
You are most welcome!
This post has received a 3.44 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @lydon.sipe.
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