From time to time I will start writing a blog and then abandon it. I just run out of gas. However, every once in a while I will come back and finish it. This is one of those times.

Initially, I had written this blog a month or so ago after the NBA Finals and the constant talk of Lebron James but could not figure out how to link it back to exercise or CrossFit, but yesterday Rich Froning, who is the Michael Jordan of CrossFit, posted this on Instagram.

Those that do not follow the CrossFit Games as closely as I do may not understand why he posted this. Rich and his team took second place last year. Rich has won every CrossFit competition he has competed in since 2011, and last year was his first time in six years to not finish on top. Rich took responsibility for this and vowed to come back with his team stronger than ever. He did not BLAME his teammates. Instead, he decided to figure out how to make himself and his team better.

This year they finished in first place.

The original write up was about Lebron James and his teammates. The constant talk over Lebron is that he carries his team to the NBA Finals every year, but when he loses in the finals, which he does more often than he wins, it is the team’s fault, and to me, that is unfair to his teammates and coaches.

Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

I am sure there is a professional facebook sports analyst that will hit me with Lebron’s playoff stats and say, “He cannot do anything else!”  To me, Lebron is one of the most successful players of all time. Nine Finals appearances (eight in a row) and three championships all while racking up multiple postseason all-time stats, makes him one of the greatest players ever, if not the greatest.

Lebron makes it to the finals every year because he knows how to use the TOOLS that he is given. He takes a max contract, and the team is built around him. With these TOOLS he is able to HELP his team win. He is not the only reason they make it to the finals, AND his teammates and coaches are not the only reason why they lose in the finals.

Lebron puts in the work every offseason just like Rich Froning. They make their teams better, and they do everything they can to HELP their team win. In the end, they win as a team, and they lose as a team. They do not blame anyone but look to themselves to make their team better, and it is a big reason why they are successful as individuals on and off the court.

Exercise is about taking responsibility for what you have in front of you. This could be someone who is a mother of three squeezing in workouts before work, a competitive CrossFit athlete who trains every year for regionals or your younger brother who is an All-American basketball player. Everyone is given a set of tools to use to be successful. How you use those tools is up to you.

Sure there are people out there who have a God given talent that no matter how hard you work you won’t be on their level, but everyone can show up, give effort, commit and help others. If you do those things, you will make a change in your life and others in a positive way.

Do not blame the people around you, do not blame your job, do not blame your program, do not blame your kids or family, do not blame work. These are all excuses, and those that blame someone else for their failures most likely will not be successful in the long run.

Having a great supporting cast around you makes things easier, just ask Steph Curry, but just because you do not have the best player in the world on your team does not mean you cannot be successful. Work hard, apply yourself, commit to something and help others.

 

Richard Andrews

CF-L2