Admit it. You probably don’t give much thought to what’s happening between the ears each time you come into the box. We reference “positivity” on our lounge poster, we’re always helping members avoid “excuses” when things just don’t go their way in a WOD, and we often talk about getting comfortable with the uncomfortable.

What does that mean, you ask? Well, think about how you might feel when you click refresh at 8:01p the night before and you see a workout that just looks too hard. Or how about the butterflies in your stomach when the coach starts the 3-2-1-countdown to the start of the WOD? And of course, there’s the feeling you get when you’re mid-WOD, exhausted, breathing heavy, but know you have another 3 rounds left to go?

… but what do you do? You gut through it. You all do. You do so because you know it’s going to be worth it on the other side. But does it get any easier… well, yes, it does. As with anything we do in the gym, the mental game gets easier with practice.

While we have discussed all of these topics with you in one form or another, but we stumbled across an article which nicely summarizes how to “get comfortable with the uncomfortable” and modified it to be more applicable to your CrossFit… but it is equally applicable to challenges outside the gym.

Now you can start pursuing better on the inside as well as the outside. Enjoy!

1. Just start.

The first step is always the most uncomfortable. One is walking through those doors. Just get your buns to the gym and you’re half-way there. Then, you just have to wait to hear that famous “3-2-1-GO!” and get moving. It’s uncomfortable to start something. If you can’t motivate yourself to dig into the WOD on your own, you always have the coach and the countdown. Just start moving and you’ll find out fast what’s next: 1) you dig in and zone out all those doubts, or 2) you not feeling it that day and you want out. Well, once you get going… DON’T QUIT.

2. Don’t quit.

Hey, you got to the gym, you made it to the countdown and now you’ve started moving. You’re going to start thinking of a way out where you can quit and save face. Don’t do it. Don’t give yourself an out. Just don’t. Don’t give yourself any options. Just move. You don’t have to set a PR. You don’t have to be the first to finish. Just move forward and you’ll be surprised how good you’ll feel when it’s all said and done.

The point when you are just about to give up is the precise moment when the other guy wins. That other guy can be standing next to you, or it can be the metaphorical guy who is really that bad day at work. Or that crappy commute to the gym. Or something someone said to you earlier. At some point you are going to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” You should have an answer. Whatever it is, it make it powerful.

3. Push yourself past your comfort zone.

At some point, you are going to say to yourself, “I’ve never done this before” or “I don’t know what I’m doing.” We’ve all been there. But don’t say it out loud. Don’t make excuses. Don’t be negative. Your mind leads the body, so fake it till you make it. Stand up tall. Tell yourself this WOD has nothing on you. It’s scary, but when it’s over, you are very likely to say, “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.” Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will.

4. Embrace “the suck.”

The situation is bad–deal with it. And don’t just deal with it — open your arms and welcome it as you would an old friend. You know him well.

Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse, The suck shows up. But it’s here to make you tougher. Instead of complaining, celebrate the blessing that is the suck. If you are embracing the suck by yourself, laugh at how ridiculous the situation is. You are building your mental and physical toughness points. If you are embracing the suck with others, you’ve just made new best friends for life… and that’s exactly what makes the CrossFit community so contagious. So motivating. So effective.

5. Be around like-minded people.

Well, that community that these awful WODs create is your support system. Talk with others about your experiences, but talk about them positively. Fee free to vent, but don’t complain. The worse the experience it is to you, the better the story it is to everyone else. Soon, you will be seeking uncomfortable experiences to share with your friends. And guess what… while at Daybreak, we’ll give you a lot of good stories… and you’ll be a great storyteller.

6. Recognize your improvements.

Track your progress. Oh yes… revel in it. You are now a changed person, even after just one WOD. You suffered a bit during that WOD and you grew from it whether you realize it or not. You know it because you see it. You feel it. Build your confidence by going back to what before was uncomfortable and go through the experience again.

You are seeing your progress in real time. By nature, you are going to want to push the envelope to find out your boundaries. You might even find yourself saying, “I wish it would suck more.” Well, maybe not that much more, but it’s our human nature to know what we are able to overcome and CrossFit will expose you to many challenges. Many obstacles… which all translate into many opportunities to kick ass and accomplish things you never thought possible.

7. Rinse. Repeat.

There’s an old Russian saying, povtorenie mat ucheniya, which means “repetition is the mother of learning.” The more you perform the same activity, the more confident you become. Confidence is a tangible thing and it comes from practice and repetition. And Daybreak CrossFit is the perfect place to help you practice and build your mental fortitude.