Honesty is NOT DEAD!

As I have stated before, I worked in Globo gyms of various sorts for over 20 years. In all that time I NEVER witnessed the amazing examples of honesty that flourish in our Crossfit Box.  I am blown away every time I see the everyday, nonchalant atmosphere of trust that abounds every time I go to work out.

T-shirts,sneakers, sweatshirts can be tried on at our convenience. Paleo kits, fish oil, and other various edible items can be bought by putting money in a box or by writing an "I Owe You" on a sheet of paper. This is just astounding to me. In the gym I managed, we could never have left items out or used an honor system to account for the purchases. I have no doubt that all of the products would have been gone but there definitely would have been one item left behind: a blank sheet of paper. It is a sad fact, but true.

I think the stellar atmosphere at Crossfit is an affirmation of a couple of things. First, the people who run CFNE are an exceptional bunch of individuals who foster the aura of honesty and the act of being honorable. Basically, I don't think the members want to let them down. Secondly, I think the fact that many of the WODS are named for fallen soldiers,  that many Crossfit members are servicemen or women, and that members of our local fire and police departments sweat with us, we aspire to a higher moral code. We are perhaps a more patriotic, and therefore a more honorable, bunch. 

 

Finally, I think that Crossfit teaches us to be honest with ourselves, and to dig deeper than many of us ever have before. To truthfully try to do the BEST of our ability. It is instilled in us at every class to be truthful with ourselves and to do the WOD at 100% effort. No fooling ourselves into just getting by. We need to talk to ourselves honestly, to do the best we can and leave nothing behind.  How many times have you walked into a globo gym and seen people lying on the floor just trying to breathe after a workout? I bet never. Not once in 20 years did I ever see it. The Crossfit "way" seems to weed out those who don't "get" it; they just don't seem to stick around.

 

My 11- and 13-year-old sons do Crossfit too. I am glad that it is helping them become more physically fit, but I am even more appreciative of the life lessons they are learning -- to always try your best, always encourage others around you, and to be honest with yourself and to others. Crossfit is helping to make them better men.

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