Dawg-gone
Most of you who know even a little bit about me know I am an Athens born and bred, die-hard Georgia Bulldog. I attended UGA and earned my BBA and MBA in Marketing and Sport Management. And you also know that football is not a matter of life and death to me–it’s far more important than that! So I am more than a little disappointed in my Dawgs’ lackluster performance against Oklahoma State last night. Kudos to the Cowboys, they played hard, adjusted quickly to our rather pitiful attempts at offense, and just outplayed and outcoached us. Sometimes in life, you just get beat. No crying, wailing, and gnashing of teeth at some imagined injustice—you just ran up against somebody better at that particular moment in time.
The same is true in the arena I am attempting to compete in. No matter what I do, if I run up against someone with superior genetics or just worked harder to get better conditioned, then I just get beat. It’s only the opinion of a few individuals on one given night, at that point in time. The results could be totally different on the very next weekend. The only person I am really competing against is myself–to tackle cravings, to defy the ‘pain’ of burning muscles, to gameplan each day to efficiently move one step closer to my goals, and to block negative thoughts that whisper that I can’t do it or say ‘take it easy, no one will know if you don’t finish all your reps on this set.’ In Figure competitions, we don’t actually tackle or block anybody. It’s not a contact sport–we just line up and present the very best package that each of us possibly can.
What is so frustrating and disappointing about yesterday’s loss is not that we lost–it’s HOW we lost. No fire, no passion, ho-hum emotionless play, mental mistakes, obviously inadequate preparation, bad decisions, and a poor coaching performance. You win the game LONG before the game is played. You win it in the careful preparation, attention to details, and practicing so that the perfect execution becomes second nature. And no team or player can win without getting emotionally fired up and playing with a deep burning desire and passion to win. We lost long before the final seconds ticked off the clock. We lost long before we suited up or even got on the plane to go to Oklahoma. We lost when we weren’t excellent in our game plan and execution. And the lack of emotion shown by the coaches is reflected in the players. It starts from the top down, and it’s the coaches who set the tone.
I took a lesson away from the loss last night, in my own personal life. It’s all in the preparation and the passion. My sport is an individual effort, and nobody can get me in shape but me. Nobody can lift the weights, run the sprints, do the cardio, and eat the diet for me. Just like Tiger Woods in golf doesn’t play against anyone else, he plays against the course, and against himself. All he can do is the best he possibly can, and hope that his best is better than the best efforts of the others. If someone else has a spectacular day and shoots the best round of his career, does that diminish Tiger’s efforts? No, but on that particular day, the person with the big round will be the winner.
Yes, I am one of those crazy people who loves to work out, and who misses it if I don’t. I need it and crave it. But don’t think for a minute that I am some superhuman machine who can just go until she drops or is immune to the pain of the ‘burn’. I don’t like pushing through the barrier of perceived pain and burn to get through a set any more than anyone else does. I say ‘perceived’ because the muscle is capable of more, but the brain will automatically go into self-preservation mode and fool you into quitting as soon as it can. Progress is not made on the lions’ share of the reps. Progress is made on those last four or five reps that you don’t think you can possibly do, but you grind it out, sweating, straining and grunting until the final rep is completed. Progress is made when you have pushed past where you think you can go, and set a new standard.
The body will beg for mercy. The muscles will burn like fire. The brain will start sending signals to shut down, back off, and take it easy. The passion is all that will overcome. That burning desire in your heart to achieve your goal is the only thing that will keep you going, and keep you honest. Will anyone know if I didn’t give it my all in a cardio session? Or if I could have lifted more weight and still repped out just as many? No, but I will know. My heart will know. And if I am standing onstage accepting anything other than the winning trophy, and I know in my heart I didn’t give it my all, then I will truly have lost. Not to the winner, but to myself. But if I am accepting the runner-up trophy knowing I gave 110 percent, that I left it all out on the gym floor, and that I prepared to the best of my ability at that time, and brought the best me I could bring to the stage, then I have won. At that moment, I am the best I have ever been, so I am a TRUE winner. But I can learn and improve and come back even better.
I have a whole repertoire of inspirational music that I listen to when I work out. Most of it is from movies like Rocky, Top Gun, Footloose, etc. (OK, my ‘Eighties-Chick’-ness is showing) One of my favorite lines is from “Burning Heart” by Survivor. It says “When the body says stop, the spirit cries “NEVER!” That line brings to mind the image of Rocky training in the snowy woods, doing all those crazy things getting ready to fight Drago and avenge the death of his friend, and I just get so fired up I can’t stand it. And if I am dying and ready to slow down, if something like “Holding Out for A Hero” or “Invincible” comes on the iPod, then suddenly I can do anything. Music is so powerful. Find what stirs your passion. Use it.
My point is, you are a winner if you give it all you’ve got, and you ‘leave it all out on the field’. Whether it’s fitness, or work, or some other goal that means the world to you–only you know in your heart if you gave it your all. Many times we purposely don’t give it our all, so that if we lose we can say “Well, if I had really tried I would have won’. So we subconsciously sabotage ourselves to build in an easy excuse. We’ve all done it. “If I had really studied hard for that test, I would have gotten better than a B.” “If I had been better prepared for the interview, I would definitely have gotten the job.” It takes courage to believe in yourself enough to lay it all on the line and not leave any room for excuses later. If you don’t win, yes, it hurts. But congratulate the person who bested you, because they worked hard enough to beat you at your best. You only ‘lose’ when you have lost a little bit of your self-respect by knowing that you could have done better. You deserve better than that, and those who love you and are supporting you deserve better than that.
In my case, my coaches are incredible role models. They go in it to win it. The game plan is outstanding. The workouts and preparation are intensely focused and detailed. And Shannon practices what she preaches. She still competes, following exactly the same principles that she and Rob set out for us. Rob sets out her diet and training for her, and she works her butt off. Man, she works HARD! The passion and fire are evident in everything they do, and that is contagious. I don’t want to let them down, and that motivates me to work harder than I ever have. I don’t want to let Michael down, because he puts up with a lot from me, and is supportive every step of the way. And I don’t want to let all of you down.
I may not win. I can’t control who else shows up and who their parents were that gave them incredible genes. But I can control what I do, and I can promise you, I will leave it all out on the floor. When I step onstage on November 14th, I will be the absolute best I can possibly be. I will bring the best package to the stage that I can put together in the next 10 weeks.
I appreciate all the kind comments and emails and Facebook messages I receive from all of you. It keeps me going. Instead of saying ‘my knee hurts, I better take today off’ on Friday, I wrapped it in my new brace, sucked it up, and had an excellent workout with no knee pain at all. Without a goal, without burning desire, and without my promise to Team Bombshell, Michael and all of you, I wouldn’t push through it and do it.
Thank you!
Be Defiant!
Christy
P.S. And ‘Go Dawgs’, anyway! I still love my Dawgs! 
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