One of the most wonderful parts of being an athlete is when your sport becomes not just something you do but something you are. You go from running to being a runner,聽from climbing to being a climber,聽from cycling to being a cyclist. This kind of intimate relationship with a sport (or any pursuit, really) can be an energizing and fulfilling force. But it can also present immense challenges.
That鈥檚 because at some point or another, you鈥檙e bound to get injured and find yourself no longer able to do what you love. Even if you鈥檙e fortunate enough to avoid injury, no one can avoid aging and the unavoidable slowdown that comes with it. These transitions鈥攆rom being on the field to being on the sidelines,聽from constantly improving your performance to a gradual decline鈥攁ffect everyone. And they are as hard as they are inevitable.
The Seattle Times recently shared the story of Rebecca Twigg, an American cyclist who won six world championships and medaled in two Olympics in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, Twigg is聽homeless. 鈥淚 took to the road [cycling] like I was born to do it,鈥 Twigg the Times. 鈥淓xcept for the part about stopping. I鈥檓 not a very good planner.鈥 When the time came for Twigg to move on from cycling, she says, she was confused about what to do and who she was.
Days before his retirement, future NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade ESPN that he鈥檒l enter therapy to help him work through the pain that will accompany stepping away from basketball at the highest level. 聽 鈥淪eriously,鈥澛燱ade said.聽鈥淚 meant it, it is going to be a big change鈥. I need someone to talk to about it. Because it is a big change. Even though I got a long life to live, other great things I can accomplish and do, it鈥檚 not [basketball]. So it鈥檚 going to be different.鈥
No doubt, life transitions are a big and under-addressed issue for professional athletes. But in researching and writing , I learned that these transitions are an issue for amateurs, too. No matter where you fall on the talent spectrum, the things you care deeply about and identify with most tend to be the things that break your heart. Because eventually, you must move on, or at least change your relationship to them. The more you put into something, the harder it is to step away聽or even just experience decline.
Fortunately, 聽that there are a few practices that can mitigate the distress that accompanies aging鈥攁nd if the time comes, transitioning鈥攁s an athlete.
Invest in Your Whole Self
As the poet Walt Whitman said, you 鈥渃ontain multitudes.鈥 Remember that your athletic pursuit may be a huge part of you, but it鈥檚 not all of you. Even if you are at the peak of your athletic career, it鈥檚 wise to develop other parts of your identity.
Gain Perspective
Part of why it can be so hard to move on is because athletes are prone to tunnel vision; your world narrows, and all you can think about is your sport. There鈥檚 no better way to zoom out and regain perspective than an unplugged day hike in nature. This helps reorient you and show you that there鈥檚 more to life than just pushing ahead at a million miles per hour in your chosen sport.
Take Control of Your Story
Though your participation (or talent) for a sport may be impermanent, the experiences that you had and the lessons that you learned are yours forever. Even as your relationship with your sport changes, you can use these hard-won lessons in other areas of your life. Take the attributes that made you love your sport and explore them in different contexts. One chapter may be ending, but another is starting. Write the next chapter how you want to.
Find a Community
Confide in others who have walked a similar path, who 鈥済et it.鈥 They will provide nonjudgmental comfort and support during the low points and help you stay patient when you get frustrated. Also聽consider staying involved in your sport in ways other than competing, such as coaching, mentoring, or volunteering. For all the self-help out there, sometimes the best thing you can do is get beyond yourself. This is one of the many reasons community is so powerful.
It鈥檚 worth calling out that these lessons are applicable broadly. Yes, this is a story about sports, but it鈥檚 also a story about careers, relationships, and parenting. Transitions are never easy. But there are productive ways to work through them.
Brad Stulberg () is a performance coach and writes聽国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 Do It Better column. He is also the author of the new book聽.