RX'd Between The Ears

Over the last couple of months I've dialed in my focus and passion for training, competition. This is coming from a bit of a set back from injury, hectic life of starting a business, etc. For the first time in life I found myself not consistently training. Yes, I deal with inference of life just as much as the next guy. Granted, throughout most of my life, I've been involved in elite athletics and fitness. So, to not be involved at that level, I found myself lost without it.
Now, after regaining balance in my life, and getting consistent again, I've had to battle the mental aspect of it more than ever. First off, feeling weak, inadequate, and insecure. As I've regained strength, and conditioning I've felt my confidence raise again. So, I set the goal. To compete in the 2012 CrossFit Games.
Then comes the dreaded plateau. Which can be the most mentally draining, and defeating of all road blocks. You're training hard, sticking to that diet, spending hard earned money on supplements, doing everything within your knowledge base. Ugh, What the f*@! Is going on!?
A mentor of mine asks me to look back to my highest points in my personal and professional fitness and really analyze what's different now compared to then. Well, I'm older, ya, but I don't feel old. I have to be cautious with certain movements due to past injuries. So, it must be mental. I think back to my mind set that I've had when I was at the top of my game in comparison to where I'm at now.
I set out to become a student of the mental aspects of CrossFit. Through personal observation,and experience with CrossFit I've found something incredible: the world’s Elite CrossFitters have subconsciously figured out how to harness and utilize their moments of insanity for purpose of "break through."
What I call the moment of insanity in competition. Where an athlete is at the height of physical output throughout an event, race, game, fight etc. and the athlete's mind has a flashing red emergency light going off; QUIT, QUIT, QUIT, QUIT! The body is capable of so much more than what that mental governor allows. So, the athlete has a choice to either ignore and push through, or accept and fall back. Fight or flight mentality.
This strength in mentality leads to in their ability to overcome obstacles and accomplish greatness. Not only inside the gym, but out of it as well. Most importantly, with honor and integrity. The ripple effect from this mental strength are what I call the three D's; dedication, determination, and discipline! The strength in spirit is a direct result from their mental and physical accomplishments in WODs.
So, I wrap my mind around this thought, and theorize that as long as I continue to remind myself of this throughout my WODs when I'm suffering, I'll achieve so much more than I have been. Along with that, I use constant reminders of my goal to compete in the 2012 CrossFit Games!
-Rob Pyfer