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Who is an Athlete?

Thursday, 10 December 2015 00:10

ED. Between 2006 and 2008, Michael Williams was our state's premier male junior triathlete. He won the Junior of the Year each of those years. A wonderful guy, he's a world class doctor now and has a really cool wife and German shepherd (photo below).

By Dr. Michael Williams (premiersportsandspine.com)

What is an athlete? Have you ever found yourself asking such a question? What makes me different? Or do you sometimes find yourself answering such a question about yourself differently? ...

This can be a tough question with varying answers or at least perspectives dependent on whom you’re directing the question. There are power athletes, endurance athletes, amateur athletes, professional, retired athletes, team sport athletes, individual sport athletes etc. So what’s the common denominator for one’s motivation to stay fit? Why do many athletes struggle to remain athletes through time?

Passion. When someone is truly passionate about being an athlete, they are able to detach any personal identities they have connected with being fit. Too many people try to live up to others as well as their own previous potential, and they lose their passion! This is a big issue holding so many back.

There’s an athlete in every body. Every single person! Yes, sometimes you’re in training and sometimes you’re not. But everyone is an athlete. Don’t get caught up in the thought process that to be an athlete you need an imaginary minimum number of training hours, or need to accomplish some arbitrary performance marker. This type of thinking will run anyone into the ground no matter their fitness level. If you’re getting out there, getting it done, and having fun, you’re an athlete!

When you identify yourself as an athlete, you will have a positive impact across other areas of your life. When you don’t think of yourself as an athlete, what is going to fill that void? Unfortunately, some people discover that unpleasant parts of their personalities rise to the surface when they turn away from being an athlete.

Lets do a self audit and potential reprogramming to make sure the fun hasn’t been lost in exercise. Remove the negative self talk that you are using to justify your reality. By rekindling your genuine passion, you can make big change in your life as well as leave an impression on the youth of today about what an athlete really is!