The outcome from attending the Sandlot Jax Fitness Festival by GoRuck this weekend couldn’t have been predicted even if I tried to guess at the possibilities.

The Great Debate

You know, those moments in time where you look right, then left, and have no clear indication of which is the right direction to choose? Well, deciding whether or not to go to Sandlot Jax was like that - there were equal benefits and pitfalls.

Reasons not to go:

• The drive is ridiculous. Flights weren’t working out and the drive was 2002kms total, that’s about 20 hours of driving. Next year, I’m flying.

• Not going to lie, I got hit with an unexpected and significant tax bill just a few weeks ago. It’s all good, and my fault for miscalculating, but it left me scrambling financially. Not going would help significantly.

• Work was, still is, bananas. If I was putting work first, I wouldn’t have taken this trip. But work can’t always come first. #sorrynotsorry

• It’s a fitness festival and I’m not, well, I’m not visibly fit.

Let’s be real, it’s that last one that hurt the most. While I would love to say that I’m above the fear of judgment of others, that is certainly not the case. I’m comfortable and quite used to hiding behind my laptop.

It was a threefold gut punch - I’m not comfortable dressing my body and still trying to find my style, it’s intimidating for most mere mortals to be amongst athletes, and the speakers/industry leaders attending are folks I look up to with pie eyes. The fear of being judged and dismissed was real.

It doesn’t matter that I’m healthy and grateful, am an avid hiker, respected in our community, have similar values, or that I’m an author. The irrational fear of being judged lingered and grew as the time to decide to go or not go neared.

Reasons to go:

• Opportunity, exposure, community…and connection.

• Because Pablo said so.

Again, that last one. When I mentioned that I was considering not going because of how uncomfortable I felt, my friend and marketing expert Pablo fired back that it was simply “Adversity. Face it.”. This was a large serving of crow, how on earth can I be writing a book on adversity and encouraging people to do hard things if I didn’t do them myself?!

I never thought of how we feel about ourselves and our interaction with others as adversity, or having courage, or being able to do hard things. I don’t know why not.

So that’s that. I decided to go.

I’d be wildly uncomfortable and go anyways.

Wildly Uncomfortable

Spoiler alert, I was uncomfortable and a little awkward at times. The heat didn’t help and my arms now sport a stunning farmers tan. It took until halfway through the festival to have the guts to approach the authors/speakers I look up too. People openly commented that it was odd that I drove down for this event - alone and without knowing anyone here.

A waiter last night at supper stopped dead in his tracks to blurt out “Wow, you eatin’ all by yourself? Really?” I answered that I was. He didn’t budge. So I asked what was wrong with eating alone? “Nothing Ma’am” He replied shaking his head “Just goes to show you what age we are livin’ in”. He shook his head and ‘tsk’d’ as he walked away.

I have no idea what this means.

Wildly Connecting

Never have I been to a festival or event where the community was so incredibly inclusive and inviting. Not once did I last more than few minutes sitting down to eat or watch the fitness events before someone engaged with me. I openly did the same, talking to strangers that somehow weren’t strangers at all.

Even the speakers and organizers, famous in their own right, roamed within the crowd talking with folks and taking selfies.

Everyone was down to earth.

There wasn’t a single moment of judgement to be found.

I laughed so much with strangers that my stomach hurts, cheered on athletes as they gave it their all in the heat, and the speakers were both thought provoking and encouraging.

I left with some incredible connections and future collaborations.

As Pablo said “That's amazing! See? And you were gonna miss on that for some silly thought? No way.”

Everybody needs a Pablo in their life.

If I Didn’t Go…

I would have missed:

• meeting the authors that inspire my writing and healthy living

• connecting with GoRuck staff and hearing about their goals

• being invited to guest on a fave podcast

• getting a signed copy of Freedom by author/journalist Sebastien Junger

• chatting with various businesses about their plans to expand into Canada

• a chance meeting with educators in the hotel for a conference and being given their contact for future keynotes on mitigating the impacts of MCIs.

• realizing that my fear was unfounded

Next time you feel like not going, go anyways. Do it scared. Be uncomfortable.

An interview with Michael Easter, author of The Comfort Crisis, on The Adversity Advantage Podcast. In this episode, “We chat about why people today are scared to get uncomfortable as well as certain stressors that are actually beneficial for us that we have done away with.”

This annual event by GoRuck has it all! Everything from incredible vendors and gear to fitness challenges to speakers that will move you to take action. Will you be attending next year’s event? I will. Let’s go. The best time to buy tickets and book hotels is well in advance, watch their website for when they release the Sandlot Jax 2024 ticket sales.

Check out the GoRuck site for (the most incredible) gear, recommendations on how to get started in rucking, search for local clubs or upcoming events. Tip: Scroll to the bottom of their homepage for a complete menu of information.

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