Misfit Podcast
Misfit Athletics provides information and programming to competitive Crossfit athletes of all levels.
Misfit Podcast
Misfit Mind: Finite & Infinite Games - E.2
In this episode of the Misfit Podcast, Drew takes a deeper dive into this week’s Misfit Mind post through the lens of Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse.
Most people don’t fail from lack of effort.
They fail because they need the work to end.
Using examples from training, sport, business, and creative work, this episode explores the difference between playing to win and playing to continue—and why applying finite expectations to infinite pursuits leads to burnout, frustration, and unnecessary quitting.
Rules change.
Bodies change.
Life changes.
If you’re still playing the game, adaptability isn’t optional—it’s the whole point.
This is a short-form, reflective episode meant to challenge how you frame progress, setbacks, and long-term growth—and to remind you that the goal isn’t finishing. It’s staying in it long enough to matter.
See you there, Misfits.
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Good morning, Misfits. You are tuning in to episode two of our experimental short form podcast where I do a deeper dive into the Misfit Mind post that we do weekly on Instagram. This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Gorilla Mind. I have an Echo Bike on the other side of my desk right there that is staring at me. I have a fourth gear Echo Bike Sessions, six-minute repeats coming up, which means I have a scoop of Gorilla Mode Bombsicle in here. I'll remind you guys that I want to say begged them, but strongly suggested that they sponsor the podcast because I believe in their products so much and felt like they weren't really in our market. So if you're looking for a pre-workout that actually has amounts of ingredients that will move the needle, head to gorilla mind.com, use the code word misfit and let me know what you think of it. From the last Misfit Mind podcast, one of the pieces of feedback was to actually read the post instead of telling someone to pause and then go check it out. So let's read the post from this week and then dig into it. Most people don't fail from lack of effort. They fail because they need the work to end. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play. Valuing outcome and status over growth, resilience, and meeting is a short path to a steep drop-off. Reframing the type of game you're playing allows you to remove the blinders and see the big picture. Over the course of your life, career, playing days, everything changes all of the time. That complexity requires adaptability. When the universe hits you with injuries, rule changes, exposed weaknesses, untimely no reps, do you want that to be the end or a new beginning? It's time to accept that you're another sicko like the rest of the people reading this post and are in this thing for the long haul. Realizing that you're playing an infinite game is the kind of ammunition that lets you stroll intently down the path of never-ending work. See you there, Miss Fitz. So this is inspired by this book right here, Finite and Infinite Games by James Cars. It's a quick read. It is a simple concept that is explained in a bunch of different ways. And maybe one of the easiest ways for me to explain it is to draw direct correlation to what you are watching or listening right now. Last week was the first episode that we did of this. Like I said, experimental, short form. I want to know what you guys think of it. We probably got 200-ish downloads on audio and maybe 80 to 100 downloads on video. And while my purpose as a business owner and what I'm doing here is very much an infinite game, the kind of game where the purpose of it is to continue playing. I want to continue to do my dream job. I want to continue to write programming, deliver content to you guys, educate and inspire, uh, foster community, be part of the community. And yet, the rules of the finite game enter the mindset all of the time, right? Like 80 views, 200 downloads. Should I keep doing this? What is the point of doing this? I am applying this end game to something that I need to be thinking about from a more long-term perspective. And I was on a walk the other day, and a podcast that I was listening to referenced this book, and it really made me rethink about the concept from the point of view of the athlete. And, you know, we go back to the beginning of the post here, and I've worked with so many athletes, again, that are not failing or almost stopping and restarting all of the time because they're not willing to try hard. It's because they think that there is an end in sight, or that if the goal this year is to finish in this spot at this level of competition, then that's the end. And in reality, that's not what we are doing here. Any of our examples from the CrossFit games, from our favorite sports, you know, even artists that have, you know, a movie that sells really well or a book or an album, they go make another one. They continue to play this infinite game and they don't have to deal with the fact of feeling like they're starting and stopping all of the time. And if we are going to continue playing this game, if we're going to play when we're young, we're going to play when we're old, we're going to play when we're stressed and sick and tired and all of these different seasons of life, then we need to be adaptable. We need to understand that the end game is essentially to keep playing. That's what we're trying to do in so many endeavors in our life. And once you accept that, that's when that path of this never-ending long-term, you know, growth mindset actually kicks in. So my thought experiment for you guys this week is to think about the concept of finite and infinite games. If you were truly playing a finite game, then once you did the open quarterfinals, semifinals, the CrossFit games this season and the outcome happened, it would be over. That would be the end. But if that's not the case, if you are giving in and understanding and accepting the fact that you're playing an infinite game, then you can start to think about things from that perspective where you can really grow and understand that the journey is the thing. And these little moments, these little finite games that we opt into in the moment are just part of the larger infinite game that we're doing. See you guys next week.