The Quarterfinals have officially closed, and our hometown hero Caelin Weaver finished 2,742 in North America out of more than 4,500 participants in this second phase. In truth, the number on the leaderboard isn’t important, the gift of knowing that he gave his best, performed to the best of his ability RIGHT NOW, and his hyperfocus toward his goal is worth noting.

His resilience, focus, and effort toward these workouts exhibits all the traits an incredibly successful CrossFit athlete must have. His outlook and awareness are traits that are hard to teach, which brings me to this week’s Mondays with Maddie.

Although the “Sport of CrossFit” might not be your primary focus or even your driver, but are you exhibiting the same skills to be at the top of your craft? Resilience, especially emotional resilience, is a valuable byproduct of what we do day in and day out at the gym. We learn the skills to roll with the punches, or simply, adapt to stressors without lasting difficulties. We do hard things so that we can also do hard things outside of the gym. How are you applying that skill to your daily life? Had you ever even drawn that connection?

Humble but confident is one of the most noticeable traits about Caelin’s overall performance. How many of us talk down to ourselves prior to an important event? We doubt our efforts, question our preparation and wish we would have done more. What can you do today that will set you up for success in your craft? How can you plant a seed now that blossoms into a tree in ten years, knowing that you’re building something for the future? Being steadfast in your preparation leaves no room for doubt.

Although it might seem like we aren’t screaming front the rooftops about Caelin’s qualification or participation in this event, it is intentional: We are just as proud of all of you for a) completing your first open b) showing up everyday c) working hard d) etc etc., because that’s where YOU ARE AT. I only use Caelin as an example to highlight specific traits that you can visualize for your craft. Our forward-facing brand is a welcoming, all-accepting outlook on fitness and we don’t want to overemphasize the competition side as it’s a very small portion of what we do in the grand scheme of “Harpoon.”

Next up, Alyssa will be tackling the next stage in the Master’s Qualifier May 8-11. Yes, your trusty coach finished in the top 10% of her age bracket, despite being the oldest in her age category! We will post more times and opportunities for those of you who want to try out a few of the workouts and cheer her on! We will find out details May 8.