For The Love Of Sport
Voted “hardest worker” by my senior class, I always over-prepared. Be it sport, school, or work; I always pushed the demands of the assignment way too far. At the end of my junior year of high school, the teacher returned each person’s writing for the entire year in one manila envelope…then she dropped three on my desk. This has continued into my training and business, and though the trait has created many successful opportunities for me, I recognize its limitations.
Today, the human race is busier than it has ever been. We drive ourselves to work harder and require the youth population to withstand more demands placed upon them than ever before. Youth sports have begun to feel more like occupations rather than play. Adults can fall into this same trap, seeing a workout as a chore versus an opportunity to experience life.
We must keep play at the center of sport. We must refuse to make it all work. I am certain this is at the core of successful athletes. Yes, they work hard and there are many times they get out of bed to train when they don’t want to, but they still enjoy the game. They don’t allow the fun to get sucked out of it.
Seek play. Whether you are doing a long ride, running a familiar trail, or racing hard this weekend, embrace the play amidst it. Train and race hard but do it because you love it and not because you must. Do it because building a better you is fun.
Over the next two weekends, we have a ton of athletes embarking on an incredible journey at the Ironman World Championships, Ironman Louisville, and North Carolina 70.3. You all are in for a lot of hard work, but amidst this “suffering,” enjoy the moment. You have all put a lot of time and energy into this one day so instead of making it just another day on the job, keep your mind present on joy as this is the path to your best result. Good luck!
