ath.lete

Being an athlete isn’t a title... it’s how we’re wired. It makes up a big piece of who we are.

It’s the reason our days are structured the way they are, the reason we think the way we do and the reason for our most treasured relationships.

I always say that being an athlete isn’t just something we do... it’s a lifestyle.
A way of life. It impacts every detail of it.

It’s not a hat you put on one day, or for a couple hours a day while you train, and then take off. It’s a hat you wear everyday, all day. Because being an athlete isn’t about skill. It’s not about goals and points. Being an athlete is about the commitment to show up and play. [Whatever the hell that may mean today.]

There was a moment in my life where I almost forgot what it meant to be an athlete. It came in the few years following retirement. Those really vulnerable years when the game is gone and you can’t quite pinpoint who you are without it.

So I had to re-learn.
I had to re-learn that I’m not an athlete because I suit up and show up for the game.
I had to re-learn that I’m not an athlete because someone said I could wear the jersey and be on the team...
I’m an athlete because I act, think, live... like an athlete.
Because I’m committed to the lifestyle.

Just a few years off the field at the time and I had almost forgot how many damn hours I spent on it.
I almost forgot how many repetitions I took.
How many days I spent training.
How many things I said “no” to... so I could say “YES” to myself.
How many times I failed and had to try again.
How many runs I went on...
Journal entries I wrote...
Affirmations I made...
Teammates I leaned on.

I almost forgot.
I almost forgot about the entire process.

It wasn’t the name on the front of my jersey, the playing time, or the stats that made me an athlete-- It was who I felt I was when I laid my head on my pillow at the end of each and every day.

When no one was around and no one was looking. When it was just me and God...
Could I say I was proud?

It was my answer to that question that made me an athlete.
Did I honor my blessings today?
Did I commit whole-heartedly and give everything I had?
Did I communicate honestly and true to myself?
Did I take responsibility for what I could control?
Did I stand for something bigger?
And most importantly..... did I take anyone with me?

The quiet “yes” I said to myself, when no one was around and no one was looking...
That’s what made me an athlete.

That's what it meant to play the game.
So I needed to remember that. And we need to remember that.

It’s not about what you’re doing or where you’re going-- it’s about who you’re being.

And the day you can say with confidence- when no one is around and no one is looking- that you’re proud of who you were today... that’s the day you make the team.

ath.lete
adjective
1. a person who whole-heartedly commits to playing the game