Are You Feeling Risky?

I hold few things to be absolutely true in this life and one of them is the belief that competitive sports are the single greatest metaphor for life. From dealing with adversity to managing your time and priorities to building mental resilience and managing persistent failures. Everything that playing a sport at a high-level demands from you is consistent with everything a well lived life will require.

What few understand about this metaphor, however, is that the adversity and pressure created by an athletic environment are the very factors that lead to success in that sport. Not only are they sought after but they are ultimately required in order to improve as an athlete.

There is always a feeling of not only improving your ability but also seeking situations that will test your ability. And you guessed it, that means inviting failure into the mix. The big “F” word. Because you see:

“Excellence withers without an adversary.”

Coming from an athletic world where there was never a shortage of adversity, I began to search for it as I had all of a sudden found myself stagnant in my new life after baseball. I was a college graduate and former professional baseball player who now lived with his parents and worked part-time in retail. Luckily I had numerous individuals from the DEUCE community reach out and present me with a challenge… a challenge to coach. 

So around this time last year is when I decided to move down to LA, join DEUCE as an intern and prospective coach, and live on a couch with two insanely generous friends. I left the security of home and my life has improved in ways I cannot even put into words. Now this little story about my journey is simply to illustrate what can happen when you SEEK DISCOMFORT. If you’re feeling stuck or a little too comfortable, I encourage you to get a little risky.

Like my man Aristotle once said: “YOLO”