When people say, “I’m not competitive,” or “I don’t like to compete,” they are essentially announcing to the world they lack courage.

 Why?

Because competing tells the world, “I care!” Or at the very least, competing tells the world you care enough to put yourself out there. 

And competing at something you’re not good at takes the most courage of all.

For me, long distance running has always required courage. I have been petrified of running more than 200 meters since I was 8 years old.

Your legs are on fire. Your heart is racing. You seem to have lost vision in one eye, and your lungs burn like a bitch. If you’re a CrossFit athlete, you know that feeling—all too well.

Now imagine that feeling if you had Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease without a cure that affects the digestive system and lungs, characterized by constant lung infections and the eventually the loss of lung function.

This is the reality for Michelle Miguez, a masseuse and energy healer from Vancouver who suffers from CF. 

A friend of mine Mandy Gill posted a video of her doing bar muscle-ups and chest-to-bar pull-ups this morning. 

The accompanying post said: “Comparison steals joy. Wake up every morning proud of how far you've come and how hard you've worked.”

If you’re a competitive CrossFit athlete, ask yourself whether you’re truly helping your affiliate and your community? If you are, awesome! Many do. But if you can relate to the situations in this apology letter, it might be time to look at yourself from an affiliate owner’s perspective.