I had to write about Crossfit at least one time. Not because I want to talk about the latest WOD, how much I back squat, how many pull-ups I can do, or how fast I row a 5K, (all of which are more embarrassing than impressive). But because I used to be so afraid of Crossfit.

In fact, I was deathly afraid of Crossfit. I thought Crossfit was for “other” people. Not people like me. Super humans. Not every day, average people. I had convinced myself that I would never be a good enough athlete to do Crossfit. I was afraid of walking in my first day and making such a fool of myself that all the coaches would shake their head when I left and hope I never returned.

But someone finally convinced me to try it. And I did. And it wasn’t what I thought. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely made a fool of myself. ( I still do actually). I couldn’t lift half the weights the other girls were lifting, and still can’t.

But none of that matters. What matters is that I had allowed the fear of imperfection to prevent me from even trying. Being a crossfitter is not about being the best. It’s about being the best for me. And there’s a difference. When I walk into the gym, I am choosing to conquer my fear. When I don’t walk into the gym, I have made the choice to allow my fear of imperfection to conquer me.

I don’t want to live my life like that. So I crossfit. Because when I do, I am saying that I have the final say, not fear. Not failing. I have the final say.

Crossfit has taught me so much about self-esteem. About trying. Putting it all on the line and seeing what happens. And that has spilled over into other areas of my life as well. I’m not as afraid to try new things as I was before. I’ve been willing to take risks with new challenges. Because why not? Fear? I no longer want that to be the reason I don’t try things.

So, I Crossfit. Maybe you should too. You never know what might happen.