Why do we compete?

This was inspired by multiple discussions over the last month or so.  Changing sports for me was not something I took lightly, but much of this discussion was kept in mind while making the decision.

I believe there are multiple reasons why people compete:

1) Validation.

I know a lot of dedicated athletes that have found something missing in their lives, and winning as a competitor brings temporary joy to fill that void.  I must admit I used to fall under this category.  Swimming was a way for me to prove to everyone that I was as awesome as I didn't believe myself to be.  Make sense?  Not really.  The reason I found this to be a terrible reason to compete, was I won a D3 title in two different sports within a span of two months and I was left feeling empty months later.  The happiness that I had been searching for, at least in my college career, was nowhere to be found.

2)  Proof of hard work.

This is a reason to compete that I think applies to much of the CrossFit community, for example.  When you work all year to better yourself, why not prove that by competing?  It's cold hard evidence, something we don't always see in practice, or in the mirror.

3) Fun.

Huh?  I guess people compete solely for fun.  You baffle me.  More power to you.

4) Aesthetics.

This one I will never understand, and I don't mean that in a harsh way, it's just something that was not written into my DNA.  Many people are competitive athletes, or maybe just athletes that compete occasionally, because they like the way it makes them look.  I will admit, aesthetically, I have generally picked sports that have athletes that are pleasing to the eyes.  (Google Nathan Adrian immediately).  But coming from a small town in Arkansas, muscles were never a thing to be proud of as a young female athlete, and that was something I accepted at a young age.  I competed because my body is a tool.  It, for the most part, does what I tell it to do.  And the harder I train, the faster I get.  Now looking back on pictures from high school, I am SO angry at myself for thinking I was an ugly duckling (I was thin and about 20lbs of muscle lighter).  I guess maybe aesthetics is never a reason to compete, and acceptance of your body is much more important.

5) Enjoy the process.

This is super important for an athlete to become successful.  Or just being consistent.  If you don't enjoy the process, you'll never make it to practice the days you don't feel like it.  I never questioned whether I wanted to go to swim practice (except maybe on training trips.....the 6am practices 10 days in a row got old, but I secretly loved it).  Swim practice was fun for me.  It was interesting.  It was fluid dynamics.  It was turning my body into a strong, powerful, well oiled, efficient machine.  And every day was a new challenge.  I enjoyed practices so much I remember crying in front of my coach because I told him I had to skip practice to study for a thermo test.  He was almost laughing because in my four years as an athlete I probably missed two practices.

6) Plain. Old. Drive.

I could probably draw a spectrum of competitiveness and place every athlete I have ever coached on it.  This spectrum spans from "Not a competitive bone in their body" (my mom, sorry mom) to "My life would be an empty black hole of emptiness if I didn't compete"  I probably fall on the very fringe of the black hole side.  Always have.  And as a mid-20-something, it's what makes me happy, win or lose.  I accept that not every competition will result in a win, and I appreciate that if it did, I wouldn't appreciate the wins that much more.  I remember crossing the finish line of the 400m hurdles at NCAAs (after losing to the girl in lane 5 the week before at ECACs) and immediately bursting into tears.  All those years of hard work, staying in on Saturday nights, doing Coach Crawford's dreaded "up backs" on the lacrosse field on hot summer nights when no one else would.  Was I doing it for the win?  Yes and no.  I was doing it because of something inside me driving me to keep going.  I don't know where it came from, and I don't know why I have it, but it's there.  And it's not going away any time soon.

So here's to weightlifting.  May it bring the joy of competition I found in all my other previous competitive endeavors.  I couldn't be more excited about my future in this sport. :)