In my last post I talked about the importance of surrounding yourself with people who make you a better person, or “awesome people”. Awesome people can be found anywhere. They could taking out your trash. They could be packing your bags. They could be waiting your tables. Teaching your children. Cutting your hair. They can be absolute strangers who you have never met before. You may only know them for a day, or a few hours, or even a few seconds. It might be that random runner that you pass who sneaks in a quick “keep going” or head nod. It might be that person that tells you that everything is going to be alright when you are feeling down. Or, it might be a crowd of people you don’t know, cheering you on when you are giving it your all. These are awesome people. People which help or at least try to help you to become the strongest version of yourself whether it be in the realms of mind, body, or spirit.
“SURROUND ME, AWESOME THINGS!”
I witnessed many awesome people yesterday, and I myself participated in being an awesome person. I decided to watch a powerlifting meet as I myself shall be competing in one in a couple weeks. Lifters of all shapes and sizes were there. All ages. All ethnicities. All genders, all two of them. Each lifter, there to test their strength after spending weeks, months, years and even decades, of disciplined training, nutrition and recovery. Each lifter, doing what they love to do. And each lifter, having a supportive cheer squad to back them up during a long grinding lift and to applaud the effort whether it was a good lift or not.
This is the type of environment that I was talking about. The type of environment in which to surround yourself in. It did not matter if you were a male or female lifting 40kgs or 260kgs. There was a 45 year old woman who pulled 170kg off the ground and a 16 year old boy with 100kgs on his back. But none of that mattered. Each and every lift the crowd and fellow competitors were behind you, egging you on. Yelling and screaming for you to push, pull and drive with all your might when your legs are shaking and your face resembles a tomato. It did not matter if you were male or female, Russian or Asian, young or old. Each competitor there was there to give their best and everyone was there to see them get their best. There was no bad sportsmanship, no cheering for a missed lift, but rather applause for the effort of the lift. When a lifter was hitting that 10 second grinder rep where your mind comes to the crossroads of whether to stop or commit to the lift, people would be out of their chairs yelling “UP UP UP”, “GO GO GO” and they would take you to the end. And the cheering and applause when that lifter finishes the lift, just amazing. Even more amazing was the boyfriend who was literally jumping out of his shoes, clenching his fist and punching it to the sky when his girlfriend pressed a new personal record over her head.
I was waiting for this to happen.
I imagine it to be a similar feeling that hardcore sports fans have when they are cheering for their favourite team. The only difference here is you are cheering for everyone, as everyone wants to see you get that weight up. They want to help and see you hit that new personal record. They want to help and see you doing your best and being your strongest.
The whole meet is a big support base. From the spotters preventing you from being crushed when you fail to lift a weight, to the referees telling you where you went wrong in your lift. From the coaches helping you mentally prepare, to the other lifters giving you advice to help you on your next lift. The whole meet is one place where many awesome people congregate and help you kick ass. The powerlifiting community is one of the most supportive communities I’ve ever seen. No one is there to bring you down, only raise you up. I’m excited to become a part of it when I complete my first ever meet. I know I’ll have my training partner, my gym friends, and the crowd behind me, cheering me on and yelling at me to keep going when the lift gets tough. And I’ll be there to do the same.
At the end of the day, we all want to be the strongest and best versions of ourselves. I feel the best way to do that is by associating yourself with awesome people and getting amongst it, and not sitting on the sideline. I myself have been sitting on the sideline for too long. The time for thinking and wishing has past. The time for doing, that’s the time right now. I feel this experience is going to be a step in the right direction. I cannot wait.
– Sash
Sash Mindflow 