With each new year comes renewed commitment.  We reflect on the past year and examine the areas in which we could have done better.  We all have visions of transforming ourselves in some area and use the new year to mark the beginning or great things. The problem is that not long after we embark on this journey, we run into distractions that take us off the path of real change and eventually find the challenge too daunting. As a result we inevitably abandon our efforts altogether.  My advice is to set small attainable goals that require minimal effort but are conducive to steady improvement.  The first step is to simply commit to “showing up every day”. That means that no matter how minimal of an effort, you will do something on a daily basis to improve your physical health.  It may mean a set of push ups the moment you roll out of bed. It may mean getting off your chair at work at lunch time to knock out a set of sit ups.  My experience has shown me that a daily dose of physical movement works best.  Taking weekends off or an every other day routine does not work. I concede there will be days when getting a meaningful workout is impossible, but after a few months of your “show up every day” mindset, those missed days will be more scarce.  Before you know it, your change in the way you approach fitness will result in long lasting changes in  your physique, and you’ll be ready to approach each day like it’s a game day.

If there is one thing I have learned from my years in athletics is that “it is never over until it’s over”.  I have witnessed competitors mentally withdraw because they have pre-determined the outcome of the match. Conversely I have seen teams come back from seemingly insurmountable margins to win a game because they refused to concede to defeat.  Long after our competitive years are behind us, we can still benefit from this athletic lesson.  As we age we have the tendency to say, “my best years are behind me so why even compete”. That attitude will accelerate the mental and physical aging process and deprive us of enjoying life.  Simply “staying in the game” keeps open the door of opportunity for success that you could only have imagined.

It was never on my coach’s practice schedule, nor do i recall it appearing on any list of team or individual goals, but If I had to select the most important lesson I learned from competitive athletics it would be hard to argue against this; the ability to face my fears head-on.  Athletes are placed in competitive situations day in and day out. They are consistently being asked to give more of themselves than they thought possible and as a result the fear of failure is ever present. Coupled with the challenge of not meeting your own personal goals, there is always an adversary out there that causes you some concern. Whether it be an entire team or that one particular athlete who “has your number” athletes are thrown into situations and given no choice but to compete.  Over time the practice of repeatedly taking on frightening situations had a powerful impact on my personal development.  I learned that win or lose character had been built.  Today as I encounter real life situations that give me reason to pause, I am more likely to go directly at them rather than run in the other direction. I like to think that growing up in the world of competitive athletics gave me a comfort level with confrontation and made it more likely for me to face life’s challenges head-on.

We all know a person who was born with immeasurable talent but lacked a crucial ingredient necessary to propel them to success. We say to ourselves “if only I had been blessed with that ability; oh the places I would have gone”.  The hallways of high schools and colleges are filled with gifted athletes who for some reason either chose to not compete or failed to make their teams.  I believe that one of those missing intangible traits is humility. It takes a humble person to accept constructive criticism and be open to change. A humble person is a better team player and willing to use their skills for the good of the group. When someone is born with natural ability, hustle and a strong work ethic aren’t necessary for them to remain competitive. Hustle isn’t pretty or flashy and many who are blessed with talent can simply show up and be effective. But in order to rise to the top of any field, they will need to combine their talent with an unselfish commitment to the success of their team. As adults we can see this concept play out in the work place and in personal relationships.  Keeping in mind the importance of humility will enable us to accept advice from bosses, loved ones and friends.  This is another example of how lessons learned from competitive athletics can help us acquire important tools that prepare us for the rest of our lives.

The great heavy weight fighter Muhammad Ali is quoted as saying ”I hated every minute of training, but I said ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and spend the rest of your life as a champion.’” That quote sums up how I approach my workouts today.  In spite of the joy that comes from pushing myself in my quest to achieve my goals, I have to admit that training often times feels more like misery than pleasure. I have to remind myself that the pain and inconvenience that comes from today’s workout is a down payment on tomorrow’s reward. I don’t want to look back some day and wonder how different my life would be had I just “suffered” a little bit each day; Paid a price that others weren’t willing to pay. When we competed in organized athletics our workout schedule was laid out for us. The intensity level and frequency of our workouts were determined and supervised by someone else. Today we don’t have that luxury. We have to utilize our athletic minds and be disciplined enough to schedule and follow through on daily commitments.  I know that this isn’t always easy to accomplish, but I keep my sights focused on the older version of myself that will someday be grateful that I treated each day like a game day.

We all reach a point in our training life when an ache or a pain forces us to consider giving up on our workout schedule.  When faced with an injury, especially as we reach middle age,  maintaining a daily workout routine seems unrealistic and downright daunting.   When I have reached that point, I simply focus on accomplishing today’s task and worry about tomorrow’s workout tomorrow. The road ahead seems far less ominous when all you have to worry about is your next workout.  Don’t look further ahead than that.  If pain is present (which more often than not will be the case) just make modifications that will enable you complete a training session with as little discomfort as possible. Eventually your injury will heal and the road back to full strength will be quicker because you never completely stopped training.  Let’s face it, injuries are inevitable and working out with some form of pain is going to be more common as the years go by. It’s the mental toughness that you developed during your days of competitive athletics that will get you through these challenging times; because you are part of an elite group who “can’t hang it up” and refuses to throw in the towel.

When I was immersed in HS and Collegiate basketball, I focused on the next game and how my training was preparing me for those events.  Now 25 years later, I realize that I was also laying the foundation for my life’s a source of peace and spirituality.  The challenges of every day life can be overwhelming and anxiety has a way of sneaking up on you. I spent many years searching for ways to manage the buildup of worry and have come to the conclusion that for me the answer is physical activity.  There is something about a great workout that enables me to reconnect with the version of me who lives within my soul…The person that no matter what the calendar says; remains ageless, vibrant and driven. And once complete, I feel reconnected to a higher power and grateful for the blessing of having grown up an athlete.

Attaining our desired level of proficiency in any endeavor is much like a commercial airliner attempting to reach it’s cruising speed on a long flight.  It requires an enormous amount of thrust and energy to get started but once it reaches it’s optimal speed, there is minimal effort required to sustain it.  When we first began playing our sport, we all had to struggle before becoming any good at it.  Reaching the point where we considered ourselves skilled required a great deal of effort at first. It is this effort that often deters some from even setting out to learn a sport or activity and what drives others away once they’ve begun.  My advice to you is to: 1) At the outset establish goals that are attainable;  2) Rely on someone who can share your success and and be there to pick you up when the challenge seems too great;  and 3) Keep in mind that beyond the initial turbulence that comes from the start of anything worth while awaits your “cruising speed” and life-long fulfillment.

I’m not sure about you, but I tend to agree with the person who quipped ”Life isn’t for Sissies”.  The day-to-day challenges presented to us from work, relationships, children and finances can take their toll and weigh us down with an anxiety level many are unable to handle.  A prolonged period of stress can snowball and if left untreated can manifest itself in a slew of ways including  drug and alcohol abuse, over eating, high blood pressure and many mood disorders including depression.  I don’t have to tell you the effect that any one of these will have on you, your job, your relationships and your family.  There is no magic wand that will make all of the contributing factors to stress go away, but I firmly believe that anyone who was raised in the world of competitive athletics possesses the tools necessary to better cope with these challenges.  From the early days of your sports life, you learned to function amid chaos.  You became comfortable with pushing your body, challenging your mind, managing your emotions, and keeping your cool in pressure situations.  Certainly the higher the level you competed in, the higher the stakes therefore the greater the pressure you experienced.  Regardless of the level you competed in athletes are taught to think positively; train to win, but don’t let defeat derail you from your goals: Let setbacks be a learning experience and allow them to better prepare us for the next hurdle; and to never ever give up.  No matter where you think you may be in your life relative to your expectations, one thing’s for certain…If you grew up in competitive athletics you will always be in the game and capable of handling anything life can dish out.

I like to think of the human body as the vehicle we were given at birth that was custom made and designed specifically for the purpose of transporting each of us through life.  It is up to us to decide how we want to maintain it and what level of performance to demand from it.  Let’s face it, some of us were given a Ferrari and others a Ford Pinto.  It has always been my opinion that no matter which vehicle you inherited, we are all obligated to provide it with a maintenance routine designed to optimize it’s performance and ensure that we can rely on it for a lifetime.  Once we begin thinking of our body in those terms, we become in tune with it’s aches and pains.  When I was younger aches and pains were just a bi-product of an active life in athletics, but today they require more scrutiny.  As aging athletes determined to remain fit throughout life we  must be able to make the distinction between injury and general muscle soreness.  We have to know when to back off a workout and when to give everything we have.  There are days when you wake up and you know that more harm than good will result from getting into the gym.  Conversely you must recognize when your body is asking for more from you and pushing yourself through the pain is just what’s needed.  Developing the ability to decipher your body’s signals and then respecting those messages is just another way to maximize the joy that comes from having grown up in a life of competitive athletics.