ON OPPORTUNITY
In a couple days I head to Detroit, Michigan for a NFL minicamp tryout with the Detroit Lions. During the three-day tryout, I, alongside many other hopeful prospects, will be suiting up in the iconic Lion blue, showcasing my skills on the field, as well as my personality off it, giving the coaches, scouts, and everyone else from that historic organization a look into who I am as a player and person — all as part of an all-out effort to earn a coveted spot on a NFL roster. It’s a chance of a lifetime; the next step in the dream I am chasing.
As I stop and think about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, my mind is drawn to just that: once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
Doesn’t that phrase just sound enticing? To me it does, but maybe to you it sounds daunting. And that’s okay. At one point it did for me, too.
The truth is, all of us, in one way or another, will face life-changing opportunities and challenges that may only occur once in our lives; some may be sports related, like mine coming up this weekend, but others may pertain to other aspects of life, like career pursuits, hobbies, schooling, or family.
Big and meaningful opportunities, while exciting and exhilarating to some, can be too much to handle for others; too intimidating, too nerve-wracking, or even too downright terrifying. Rare and exclusive chances make many crumble under its pressure. Personally, I have been on both sides of the fence. While at times I have felt unflappable, many other times I have felt overwhelmed.
“Is this really my only shot?”
“I’m scared of failing.”
“What if I blow it?”
“I just want this to be over with.”
But through my own experience and practice, along with the help of some mentors of mine, I have come to learn that questions and thoughts like these, however common or easy to fall into, permanently paralyze our psyches and drastically damage our ability to perform to the peak of our potential.
On top of that, negativity and doubt suck the fun out of whatever it is we’re doing. We no longer cherish our challenges and opportunities because we become too busy overthinking, taking ourselves too seriously, forgetting that life is to be enjoyed — not just endured — and that most of the time we perform our best when we enjoy what we do.
On the flip side, consider this:
When you look back on your life, 20, 30, or 40 years from now, how do you want to say you handled your once-in-a-lifetime opportunities? Stressed out, scared, and intimidated? That you took yourself too seriously?
Or do you want to say you ENJOYED those moments, that you RELISHED the moment, and HAD FUN and SMILED and LAUGHED while you did it? I think we all want to answer in the latter. Whatever they might be, we want to make the most of our once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and we do that by facing them with positivity and enthusiasm. And by so doing, the outcomes all of a sudden mean much less, because we can rest easy, at peace with the knowledge that we gave it our absolute BEST.
So as I face my once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and you face yours, let’s remember: When we look back on our lives, we will judge ourselves more on the manner in which we lived those moments than whether we won or lost.
Personally, I want to be able to say that win or lose, I gave it my all — and had a blast doing it.
MUCH LOVE,