Getting ready for life after the game can be very difficult financially, physically, emotionally, but more than anything, mentally. Any athlete who has been playing the game for years is used to being cheered and praised for everything that they have done in the sport that they play. The adrenaline rush you get from playing sports is addicting and nothing in the world can compare to it.
The unfortunate reality is that once the game ends, you will never experience anything like that again. There is absolutely nothing else in life that is equivalent to that feeling that you get in sports when thousands of people are cheering you on and everyone is watching you do what you love to do.
That feeling is unlike anything else that you'll imagine unless you are a musician or performer on stage. Having that for so long and leaving that behind can be damaging mentally if you don't prepare for it the right way. Before you leave sports behind you have to prepare not only for the rest of your life but also for how you handle the transition mentally.
How To Prepare Your Mind To Leave The Game
- First things first. You have to come to grips with the fact that once it's over, and that you won't experience that rush of adrenaline again. That is the reality of the end game and the sooner you accept that the better you will be long term. You have to change your vision of yourself and who you think you are while you are still playing. There is a huge difference between exclusively being an athlete and being a person who happens to be an athlete, among other things. Don't put yourself in a box that limits you from being more than just an athlete. What you do is not who you are.
- Get complete closure in your mind so you can go on in life. Be absolutely sure that you are ready for the next step. If you don't then you will never fully be able to move forward. Once you have that closure in your mind and you are comfortable with eventually moving on in life, you have to then think about what else do you have to offer? What kind of value can you provide to the world? There will come a time when no one will care about what you did in your sport anymore. People will want to know what else are you about and how can you provide value to the world outside of being an athlete.
- Understand that the past will always be the past, but the skills that you have learned in sports that have made you successful can make you successful in anything else you do in life. As I have said before all athletes have traits that are learned in sports which can be used in any avenue of life. You have to know in your mind that even though you might not have any experience doing much of anything else in life, you have intangibles and soft skills that will help you learn, grow and develop in any career or profession. Learn how to communicate your value outside of sports. If you can't take what you know and apply it to other areas of life, then you essentially wasted years of your life.
There Are No Limits.
If you don't take the time to prepare yourself mentally for the transition out of sports then it can make the transition that much harder to deal with. Life is long and there is a lot of time to live once you are done playing sports. One label does not define who you are and to have that kind of mindset can be extremely devaluing and detrimental to your future.
Your mind is powerful, but if you don't think the right things it can be your biggest enemy, especially going through a transition as hard as this one. You have to realize that there are no limits to what you can do with your life.
Get familiar with knowing that your sport will end one day. Get comfortable walking away from the game, closing that chapter of your life and take the time to find out what you're going towards next. Walking away from something and walking towards something else is much different from walking away from something not knowing where you're walking towards next. Finally, understand that everything you learned in sports will help you no matter what you choose to do with your life next. Taking these steps will help you more than you can ever imagine.
Malcolm Lemmons is an athlete turned entrepreneur, author and speaker. Now, he focuses on helping elite level athletes navigate through the various stages of their athletic careers and life after sports. To check out more from Malcolm, visit www.malcolmlemmons.com or connect with him on Twitter & Instagram