Why do I wake up everyday?
Why do I play basketball?
Why am I here?
Why do I make sacrifices?
All of these why’s are just a few that fit under the overall, giant umbrella of WHY (our purpose).
When I was playing in Greece I lost touch of my why. It was my first time really away from home and completely on my own. The feelings of loneliness, confusion and lostness are magnified by about 20,000 when it’s in a foreign country for the first time and you don’t really know the culture and definitely don’t know the language. As things got harder, my why slipped away from the front of my mind. I found myself kind of stuck in my frustrations and what was difficult; going through the motions, not looking forward to practice or workouts. And it showed…my basketball performance, confidence, and overall mentality suffered. All because I forgot, OR never properly defined my WHY.
It seems so simple, but is often times overlooked. I know that I wake up every morning, read motivational books, eat healthy, do a basketball workouts, lift, go to practice, stretch and go to sleep. But why? I know I love basketball but again WHY? It has to be something deeper than that…
Let me take you back to high school. I tore my ACL in one of the first games of my senior season at Seattle Christian. I had just signed my National Letter of Intent to play at Oregon and at this time this was the worst possible thing that could’ve happened to me. I thought my life was over. Luckily Oregon still honored my scholarship and assured me that they had complete confidence that I could be back to normal if not better when I step foot on campus. The average recovery time for an ACL reconstruction is 6-9 months, maybe up to a year depending on circumstances. Immediately I told that doctor, myself and my family/friends that I would be back in 6 months….I was, and maybe still am very stubborn. In my head, I was thinking, if I work my ass off and do everything I’m supposed to (maybe sneak in a little extra here and there) I’ll be back sooner than your average athlete.
All bodies are different. They are shaped, formed, react and heal differently than the rest. In retrospect, I should’ve just listened to my body, scaled back when needed and sped up when needed; continuing to delicately teeter totter, straddling the fine line of over-working and under-working based on how my body was feeling. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for me…. I came back way too fast which lead to a slew of other small injuries and hip and hamstring issues that would soon turn into a much larger one.
Fast forward, I ended up shredding my ACL for a second time, on the same leg. I was devastated. I cried. I felt sorry for myself. I thought my life was over….again. I thought my career was over. When I first found out, I had a conversation with the team doctor and I’ll never forget what he told me…. He said something along the lines of, “You should think about if you want to continue doing this. Think about your future, if it happens again you’ll probably get arthritis and most likely need a knee replacement sooner rather than later.”
So, I got to thinking real fast. What do I want to do with this? What is my ultimate goal with basketball? Do I want to continue playing? Is it worth sacrificing my body for potentially getting hurt again?! I was forced to find my WHY and see if basketball was even in the bigger picture of my purpose.
At this point, basketball had given me an abundance of opportunity. I got my college education paid for (ended up getting my Master’s paid for too), got to travel across the world for free, and got to play against some of the best players in the universe. This game had given me so much, i think much more than I could have given myself; the least I could do would be to fight for it. I could never repay it for everything it’s given me. But, what I could do is not give up. I knew what it felt like to have the game taken away from me. With the possibility of not playing in question, it created a whole new perspective.
From then, I decided that every time I stepped on the court I would not take anything for granted. No play, no possession, no practice, shoot around, warm up, nothing. I decided that I would do whatever was in my control to be the best I can. Preparation wise, I am always over prepared, NEVER under. WHY? Because my body is willing and able and I could never take that for granted.
Fast-forward to today….
Why do I wake up everyday?
Why do I play basketball?
Why am I here?
Why do I push myself?
Why do I make sacrifices?
WHAT IS MY WHY?
My purpose is to work to be the best I can be, while opening doors and gaining experiences through basketball. In turn, I will share those experiences to encourage and inspire others to possess the same opportunities and chase their dreams; no matter the obstacles encountered on the way.
That is my why. What’s yours?
