Do you or your family have a pet? A dog, cat, bird, fish?
Well, we have chickens.
A few years ago, I built a chicken coop and then each of us in my family picked out a chicken. They were a few weeks old, tiny little chicks; and now we are going into our 3rd year with them. Even though they are outside all the time, they are our family pets. My girls love the chickens!
Last week, we experienced a traumatic event; one of our chickens — Ollie — died! When we shared the news with our girls they each handled the traumatic news in different ways.
If you have ever lost a family pet, it is difficult on many different levels. Not only was experiencing the loss difficult, but also emotionally navigating the whole situation with my daughters made it that much more heart-wrenching for me!
Throughout that day there was difficult moments, stories and crying. While going through all of this, it got me thinking about traumatic events, change, death, and transitions.
These are all emotional moments in our lives and we each navigate and grieve these moments in different ways.
Some moments are short and quick and you move on. Others can linger on for years, and then there is the space in-between these two extremes.
Recently, I was speaking to a large group of university athletes about transition and graduation, a difficult moment in the college athlete’s life. Specifically how I was working with elite athletes and helping them navigate transitions as an essential part of success on and off the field.
Some day, as an athlete your sport career will come to an end; but how will you navigate that transition? I have heard it said that athletes die twice; first when they stop competing in their sport and the second when they physically die. With the former being the worse of the two.
Whether it is a traumatic event, death in the family, trade, off-season transition or the transition to life after sport; these are moments in our lives that we grieve in one way or another.
So as an elite athlete, how will you successfully transition to life after sport?
The first step is that you have to prepare for it!
Just like in sport, you prepare for those quick moments of transition to maximize opportunity for success. And the same is true when you transition away from competing professionally. You want to maximize your opportunity in that moment.
By preparing now for whenever that time will come, will give you a foundation to build on in the midst of that traumatic event. Because it will be difficult to navigate when that day comes. And the reality is that each athletes handles that traumatic event differently, just like each of my 3 daughters handled the death of Ollie differently.
Here are 3 Keys to building a strong foundation and prepare for the transition to life after sport.
- Be Intentional — as the Chinese proverb goes, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best is now.” Don’t push off till tomorrow what you can start today, be intentional to prepare.
- Don’t Cut Corners — Even the idea of cutting corners in your sport would not cross your mind. You put everything out on the table and go hard. That is one of the reasons you have been successful in your sport. So don’t start now, don’t settle for average or wait till you stop playing. Put your best foot forward as you prepare.
- Finish Well — Whether you are in your rookie season, a seasoned vet in the prime of your career, or looking at the end of your time as a pro athlete; finish well! You will make adjustments or changes here and there, but be intentional to finish what you have started. How you leave one ‘arena’ directly influences and impacts the next ‘arena’ you step into. So finish well each step of the way!
“In a time of rapid change, standing still is the most dangerous course of action. If you don’t learn how to make good transitions, you either get run over of left behind.” — Brian Tracy
Now is the time to prepare for that moment of transition. The transition to life after sport could be years away, come at you at a moment’s notice or even completely blind-side you.
The death of Ollie completely blind-sided our family. One day we were playing with her and the next day she was dead; it was awful and I wasn’t fully prepared for that moment to help my girls navigate through it; like I said above, it was a hard day!
So, I encourage you athlete, don’t get “run over” or “left behind,” in that moment of transition to life after sport. When you are in the midst of the grieving the loss of your sport, it will be difficult! However, being prepared for that moment will help you successfully navigate the transition to life after sport, so start building your foundation today!