If you walk into a guitar center, you’ll likely hear the sounds of a young kid fumbling imperfectly through Deep Purple’s “Smoke on The Water” or maybe the newest hit song on the radio.
A learning young mind is something sweet and humbling to experience.
You should also know that the staff at Guitar Center have heard that song 1,383,840 times in the past month and may want to rip their ears off.
I know; I used to work there. Last I checked with the store manager, my national sales record for most performance guarantees on gear still stands.
It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had, but its shine wore off and became just another job. Those kids learning music became another noise to talk over at the register.
The Law of familiarity states this: Everything becomes easier the second time around and old by the third time around.
After we test drive the new car, relationship, or routine, the shine comes off, the butterflies leave, and we’re left with the real deal.
Despite its changing landscape, CrossFit is one “real deal” that gives me butterflies fifteen years later.
I get to watch a 70-year-old do something they’ve never done for the first time, over and over again. I get to watch young athletes grow strong in mind and body and ELECT to sign up for a competition that scares them over and over again.
The difference from the guitar center is progression. I never watched those kids get smoother and nail licks as they got better.
But recently, the retail giant added something amazing. Lessons, and if I’d gone to the lesson rooms, I bet you I would have felt differently about the kids screeching the strings in the storefront.
Skill acquisition over time is the nectar that keeps fitness sweet. We cheer on grandkids on graduation day, high-five that girl who just nailed the “The Hotel California,” and fist bump the guy who thought he was too old to learn the muscle up.
The magic is here. It’s all around if you know what to look for and stick around long enough to see it in others and, eventually, you.
Have Fun,
-J
