I finished 19,069th in the world! Is that good? Is that bad? What does that really mean?
In reality, it’s all about perspective.
The CrossFit Open is a worldwide event that announces one workout a week for three weeks, with participants submitting scores online showing where they rank against everyone else in the world participating. It’s one way to test your fitness.
This year I finished 19,069th out of about 120,000 males worldwide, or around the 84th percentile.
If I compare this to years past I can feel like it’s a decline. In the early 2010’s I was around the 95th percentile, and the last couple years I was right at the 90th percentile.
And this is where perspective comes in.
First and foremost In reality, people that attend the gym on a regular basis are already doing more than 95% of the population. Just showing up is lightyears ahead of the rest of the world, and this is the real win. Adding to that, signing up and participating in something like the Open already is well ahead of more than 99% of the world.
Another consideration is how my life and focus have changed over the last decade. 10-15 years ago I was in my 20s, and my personal focus was more on pushing my fitness to the limit. Since then, I’ve become a business owner and a father, and those both affect the amount of mental and physical effort I put into my training. I’m aware of this stage of my life, and have prioritized a sustainable business and time with my family over taking 10 seconds off my “Fran” time.
Lastly, just 11 months ago I had the worst injury of my life tearing my Achilles. It has been a long road to recovery and I’m still about 95% of the way there. Up until about a few days before the first WOD was announced I was uncertain if I would sign up or be able to fully participate. Thankfully, the workouts went about as well as they could have, and I even did my first Double Unders in 11 months on 25.2.
Having the awareness of all these considerations really helps put it all into perspective, and goes in line with a recent blog I posted about how Progress Isn’t Always Linear.
The number 19,069 can make me happy or sad, but in reality it’s just data. Gaining the right perspective of staying focused on my health and fitness, recovering from a major injury, and being aware of my current life priorities are a significant win in my book, whether that’s 1st, 19,069th, or 120,000th in the world.