the reason that most people regard elite athletes as mentally ill is because most people have never found that one thing that they are willing to give up everything for

athletes are not crazy. they simply found their purpose

health, time, money, friends all mean nothing to the man who will put it all on the line for that which God called him to and to the outside world this seems crazy. many of these people's lives were saved by their sport, I know mine sure was and I'm don't even compete in anything

I would even go further and say most people are built with the fortitude necessary to make *real* sacrifice. they're too frail, too scared, and this manifests in them holding on to every aspect of their existence that they can. they would be hollow without their trinkets.

those guys at Westside barbell? they aren't fucked in the head. powerlifting kept them out of crime or suicide or whatever it may be. moving physical burdens enabled them to carry psychological ones and that is something one cannot understand until they've experienced it.

or the person that runs every single day at the same time no matter the weather. normies say that they're crazy, that no same person would run in the snow. but if you've ever talked to anyone that dedicated, they don't practice their sport for no reason.

I'm sick of hearing this shit and I hear it more often than you'd think. People saying you have no reason to bench 400 lbs. people saying there is no reason to run a 6 min mile or cycle up a mountain at 27 mph.

to those people I'll say this: you're right, YOU have no reason to do those things but THEY absolutely do. for them they have every reason to push their body to the absolute limit. that's what separates savage from average. that's what separates greatness from the crowd.