It's football season. And every season, at some point, I start to "lose," it. And I'm not sure exactly what it is that I'm "losing," but something happens. Crazy things fly out of my mouth, people close to me get really sick of hearing me talk, and every single thing is under a microscope. My sleep goes down, my energy goes up, the seasons change, back to wearing hoodies, leaves change colors... i cant explain it. Other than football is more of an analogy to life than anything I can think of and it adds another element to my day and another outlet for me to... I really dont even know what I do sometimes.
I was at practice the other day. I dont talk about it on here much but I coach at a high school in the area. We have some very talented young men with more potential than they know. I dont fault them one bit because I think we were all that way at that age. There was always someone who saw more than we did. So anyway, we're conditioning and I could see they were starting to drag it a little. It was a tough drill but they were starting to "coast." I pulled them in and said something along the lines of "We're at the point in the season where we need to find another gear. We know we're fast, we know we hit hard, we catch, we run, we block and we do alot of things right. And odds are we'll have a physical advantage on most nights. So now its time to tap into another advantage... one we dont even know we have yet..." and I pointed to my heart. I paused because I had a mini flash back... I usually do... when that screachy voice jumps in my head... time to breathe and slow down before things really fall apart (if you know me, you know what and who I'm referring to :)) These kids arent dumb and they know they're good. They know they have very real football skills and sometimes those skills are enough to slide by. So I told them "We're going to see a team just as fast... who hits just like we do... who can run and jump like us... and then it wont be about out-hitting, or out-running... it will be about out-hearting." It may have went on... hard to remember when things get going.
(I think when I was a younger coach, I would address the same topic but in a very immature way. Kind of challenging whether or not they had a heart. Its different now. I know its there but sometimes hiding... and I want to help bring it out.)
But it all is about that. The analogy is right there. We see it everyday. We have jobs, we have friends and family and things we care about. And every single thing eventually comes down to who has the heart.
In my job, there are 100 trainers in the area, all with different skills, certifications, experiences and resumes. Some have masters degrees, some have been around for 20 years and some think the'll be successful because of looks or who they know... it will always come down to "heart."
