“Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become, and the hours of practices and coaches who have pushed you, there is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back. Play for her.” Mia Hamm, retired Forward for the US Women’s National Soccer Team.
‘This motivated me today! And although it’s a different sport and a different time in my life, I could relate every part of this to bodybuilding! There is a reason why I started, and [I look back to the] person who wanted it more than anything. I know these usually come from [you], Dave, but this helped me today, so I thought I would share!’ Savannah, TeamBuffedBods member.
The above was sent to me this morning by one of my team members, Savannah. I’m always the one who sends out the daily texts to help team members lock into their mental discipline and mindset. But this morning, Savannah beat me to it. And this was so good that I decided to make it today’s blog – ‘Play For YOU.’
Many times in sports, athletes have a tendency to lose sight of why they started doing what they do in the first place. They’ll still play the game or participate in the activity but the reasons they now do so change. Maybe it’s to continue to receive the fame, the fortune, the adulation, or admiration of the world. Maybe it’s because they like being the absolute best in the world at what they do. Maybe it’s because they feel like their world would cease to exist if they were no longer in the spotlight. And maybe it’s because they just want to belong – to feel validated and a part of something. Whatever the reason, sooner or later, pretty much every athlete asks that one defining question…”Why am I doing this?”
Michael Jordan walked away from basketball at the height of his NBA career because he’d lost the passion for what he was doing. Playing wasn’t fun for him anymore – he’d lost the love of the game. It wasn’t about being the best in the world anymore. It wasn’t about having greater mountains to conquer in the form of championships. He said, “I don’t love it anymore. It’s become a job.” So he left to pursue his other love – baseball. And over the next almost two years, he played baseball with the zeal and passion of a child, soaking everything in. But one day he visited the Bulls practice facility. That old familiar feeling he had when he first started playing came back. A scrimmage with Scottie Pippen and the rest of the team made him realize that he’d actually missed the game. More importantly, he fell BACK in love with the game of basketball. And we saw the second coming of Michael Jordan in the form of a second 3-peat Championship run. But this time you could see something different in his eyes. Oh, you could still see the competitiveness, the “I hate to lose and I won’t lose” mindset, but you also saw a twinkle, a different kind of shine that wasn’t there earlier in his career. Mike was now playing just for himself. He was playing because he loved the game. You could see the playfulness in his demeanor on the court. A playful tap here, a laugh there…basketball was once again fun. Make no mistake, he was still deadly serious about winning, but WHY he was playing had changed.
I challenge many of you today to take a look within. WHY are you doing this? Are you doing this because you want to be the next world champion? Get that coveted Pro Card? Do you want the admiration and respect of your friends, family, and peers? Be recognized everywhere you go? Are you looking for that modelling contract or supplement contract? How about working through psychological issues such as eating disorders, body image dysmorphia, and others. Perhaps you’ve been ridiculed your whole childhood for being obese or extremely thin. Whatever your reason for doing this, in my opinion, every single one of them is missing the boat if you’re not doing it because you love it.
One question I constantly ask my team members is, “If you were the last person on the face of the earth, would you still do this?” I know I would. After 40+ years in this field, I can’t imagine me NOT lifting, doing cardio, and following a regimented food plan. It’s just what I do. And I love doing it. Now I’m not foolish enough to believe that sometimes the daily grind doesn’t get to me, but I’ve found that after a surgery, like my hip replacements, I couldn’t wait to get back into the gym, and ultimately back onstage. That was exciting to me. I looked forward to it. OH…and here’s something interesting…NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON ON MY FB PAGE KNEW ABOUT WHAT I WAS DOING! Why? Because this was MY journey. I didn’t need their approval, validation, affirmation, likes, or anything else to do this. I just showed up the day of the show, did what I do best, and left. I only posted once – the video of my routine at the night show. After that, back to the grind. Because I was lifting for the 21 year-old boy who just wanted to build a few pounds of muscle and be ‘normal’. And I’m still doing that to this day.
Savannah cancelled her Instagram and Pinterest accounts because they were messing with her head. “I was trying to fit the image of everyone else but myself, Dave. And I was looking to all those FB and Instagram pictures as inspiration and motivation when I realized that I’M my own inspiration. I finally realized that I didn’t need those external validations anymore. And I’m doing so much better because of cancelling all of that madness.”
Savannah’s head is on straight now. She’s got the right mental attitude, discipline, focus, drive, and determination. And each day she’s doing what needs to be done. Each day is another day for her to be perfect. And as she said this afternoon when she came in to work out, “Dave, I’ve been perfect today.” That’s all I EVER ask of my team. Be Perfect Today.
Doc
As always, if you liked what you read or think this blog may be of benefit to others, please share via the social media icons. And don’t forget to subscribe via email notification to all future blogs.
