Identifying as an athlete

Identifying as an Athlete

I’m just going to come right out and say this : 

You are an athlete.

YOU! Are an athlete.

And you get to train, sleep and eat like an athlete.

Confused? Annoyed? Hear me out.

Here are pictures of athletes:

Here are other pictures of athletes:

Take a quick moment … close your eyes and go over the images you just saw.

What are your reactions to the first group? (The runners, the kettlebell lifters, the skiers.) 

To the second group? (The moms, office workers and grandma’s.)

Around here, we define athletes as humans who participate in a sport. Makes sense, right?

But here’s the really important thing: We consider LIFE a sport.

Life requires visual skill, the ability to manage gravity with some level of competency, communication and reaction/response skills. It requires strength, resilience, and breath work.

Life requires skill, dedication, mindset work and recovery to actively engage with purpose and hope, whatever your individual demands. Sound familiar?

Still don’t feel like an athlete? Consider this:

• Athletes have skill. Whether you’re parenting or swinging a kettlebell, it’s a constant stream of checking in with your current state, making small adjustments, and committing to another rep. Skill is developed over time, by mistakes and fixing them. (And I KNOW you’re doing that somewhere in your life!)

• Athletes have dedication. Running a race, running a company or running a household all take a level of dedication that far exceeds “just showing up.” It is a choice - when it’s hard - to do another squat, say another kind word or focus a bit extra on what you’re doing.

• Athletes do mindset work. Picking up kettlebells or being compassionate over and over gets HARD. Like…. Really hard… after a certain amount of work. And it takes a cultivated mindset to understand how to keep going when it’s not comfortable. This can be meditation, choosing to change your first thought or regular journaling. 

• Athletes honor their recovery time. Really good runners who don’t want to get injured and moms who want to keep showing up with love know that recovery practices are non- negotiable. This means: times or days off, stress management practices, having FUN on a regular basis, and taking in supplements and foods that help your body heal.

What does all this mean for you?

1. You get to train like an athlete. This doesn’t mean HIT IT HARD! It simply means: Move with purpose on a consistent basis. Work on your mindset regularly. Be dedicated. 
2. You get to eat like an athlete. Don’t go buy a new protein powder (unless you’re out and you need some.) Choose foods that create sustainable energy in your body, that aren’t going to get in your way and that you know will create life.
3. You get to recover like an athlete. Not Netflix the minute you get home. This means: healthy sleep practices, warm epsom salt baths and sensory work, and setting aside quiet time that actually recharges you. (Also maybe some Netflix.)

If you want to pick up kettlebells or go for a run because it makes you FEEL like an athlete from the inside out : DO IT! (Don’t know how? Check this out! )

But never forget that YOU showing up for life in a purposeful way, working long hours with purpose, showing your kids deep love when you want to quit that day, and taking time to recover from all that has already made you deeply strong.