Why I Sign Up for the Next One While Still Running the Current One

Many of us don't like to compete. The primary reason is fear — fear of failure, fear of being exposed, fear of the potential loss of preparation and money.

I would argue the opposite. Competition breeds success. It shows us where we need work. It provides purpose, direction, motivation, and yes, monetary investment.

Let's be honest about the money. We want to get our money's worth. Our minds always seek the path of least resistance and the easy way out. That's exactly why I sign up for my next competition while I'm actively running the current one. Once an event ends, we backslide. We coast on training. We rest. To avoid that, I make sure I already have something on the calendar that forces me out of bed, to the gym, to the track, or wherever the next event takes me. I don't want to waste the money. I don't want to show up unprepared. And I want to achieve the goals I set, then set harder ones.

Fear of failure. Feeling like a fraud. Ego. These are the real reasons most people don't sign their name on the dotted line.

The dotted line is the registration form. It's also a monetary investment. And it is the hardest part of any competition. Not the start. Not the finish. The dreadful registration.

I believe 99% of every competition is in the preparation. The last 1% is the event itself.

When the starting pistol goes off and the race begins, I envision that sound as the champagne cork of celebration. All the hard work and effort to get to this moment — and now it's time to celebrate.

I'm reminded of Theodore Roosevelt's speech "Citizen in a Republic," delivered at the Sorbonne on April 23, 1910. A small portion of that speech has been famously titled "The Man in the Arena."

The bottom line of Roosevelt's argument is this: it is not the critic who counts. It is not self-doubt. It is not the naysayers, the negative comments, or the armchair quarterbacks on the sidelines.

Credit belongs to you, the competitor — the one who showed up and dared strive for victory.

Because even if we lose — and trust me, I lose often — my place will never be among the mediocre class of people sitting on the sidelines.

When I show up to a competition, I strive for victory. I never plan on taking second place. But second place can be a huge honor. Finding yourself there, knowing you gave your all during preparation and execution, forces anyone who might defeat you to rise to a level they never expected they would. That elevates your event. Your sport. It elevates your business goals, even.

Not all competition is advertised and made public. You can set your own personal goals and compete against your past self.

In closing — competition makes us a better version of ourselves and forces us to overcome its greatest obstacle: Fear.

— Patch

The Pocket Coach Series and SOFAST Groundwork are tools for the preparation. The cert tiers — L1 opens this quarter — are the registration. If you've been on the fence, the fence is the problem.