We all hear voices. They can bounce around inside your head sending all manner of thoughts your way. There are good ones that encourage you when you need motivation, that assure you that you’re doing the right thing, that help guide you to the best decisions. And then there are the other voices that always seem to echo your worst feelings and fire them back at you. The voices that cause you to doubt yourself, the ones that say you’re not good enough, not strong enough, not smart enough. Those ones can sometimes drive a wedge into your confidence and force your will to break into pieces.

            I’ve heard both types many times. I try to strain to hear the positive ones and ignore the negative but not always with success. Sometimes it takes a little help from outside to drown out that bad voice so you can hear the good one. Lots of times I’ll settle for no voice at all and just try to slip into a mental state that allows me to simply keep going.

            This past weekend at the Crossfit Regional Games in Vancouver there were an incredible number of truly outstanding athletes competing against each other in hopes of winning one of the top positions. Every one who made it there did so by dedication and sacrifice. To compete at that level means to have put so many things on hold for your training just so you can be there.

            Its easy to applaud exceptional performances but so much more so when you know the athlete. We were fortunate enough to have plenty to cheer for from our gym. Two teams and two individuals made it through, then the eliminations came up. Our teams facing their first competition together stepped up to meet the challenge head on.

And we shouted out the encouragement to Corey and Roe as they did workout after workout with outstanding results.

            Corey moved weights with an explosive power that left us wowed with his strength and athleticism. Our fantastic female coach, Roe showed us all what courage meant when she fought through pain to work her way through to the last elimination round. It broke my heart to watch her hold an injured shoulder but refuse to quit. They both made us proud to know them and be supporters.

            One team was knocked out but the other one kept going. Then our two individuals were stopped just short of the very last workout. Finally on Sunday afternoon we had just one team left to cheer for. They fought their doubts and rose above them with an incredible performance. They took on the very best of Western Canada and made them stop and take notice. As the cheers echoed off the walls our athletes powered through the course of the final workout to finish it in third place. It was an incredible ending for a group of outstanding athletes.

            Corey, Roe, Mandy, Kaitlyn, Lindsey, Dani, Shannon, Phylis, Jian, Rich, Rob, Pete, Adam and Tom, each and every one of them stepped up and pushed aside their concerns for themselves, drowned out the negative voices and showed us what great competitors they were.

            It was inspiring, humbling, powerful and just amazing to see. The pride I felt for their achievements was greater than if I’d done the work myself. I was so proud of each of them and so happy that I was able to cheer them on.