Chapter VII from Marti Soosaar’s e-book *A New Beginning*
“If you have a body, you’re an athlete”
When does a person become a singer? When a pianist? When an athlete?
There’s probably no objective answer to these questions. Some people think Marco Tasane is a singer; others do not. So what do we do? Hold a public vote? It probably isn’t that important whether we think he’s a singer or not—what matters is his own opinion. Since he himself thinks he’s a singer, he sings—and in doing so, he delights many people. Can we stop him from doing that just because we don’t think he’s a singer?
How can you motivate yourself to go to the gym? For team sports, it’s simple: you tell yourself that you can’t let the others down; and for trail running, you remind yourself how good it feels after completing 10 km and how nice it is to go to the sauna afterward!
Mart Uuehendrik
, basketball coach and referee
Maybe we have a thing or two to learn from him? Why can’t we think of ourselves as athletes? That doesn’t mean we should lose touch with reality and sign up for the next NBA draft, hoping to land a big contract with the Lakers, even though, in reality, the best we can do is make one basket out of five free throws, “baker’s wife” style.
This idea has nothing to do with an actual profession, but rather with a lifestyle. What’s the worst that could happen if you buy yourself the best gear your wallet will allow? Assuming, of course, that your child is still wearing decent clothes for sports. What’s the harm in bringing a sports gel with you on a bike ride every now and then? Maybe someone will say, “Lose the extra weight first, and then start eating gel”? Or that they’ve never taken a gel and have run 40 marathons without it. After all, they don’t have to eat that gel. Let them mind their own business.
When it comes to practice—since I dance, you know—my absence means the group has to dance with an empty spot, or someone from another group has to fill in for me. Which is, of course, good for him, but from the group’s perspective, it’s not fair at all. And the coach is also really happy when everyone—or as many people as possible—is there; that’s motivating, too.
Age Rosenberg
, entrepreneur, mentor, coach
Why is it bad to mix a spoonful of protein powder with water after a tough gym workout? Some “experts” say that extra protein isn’t necessary unless you’re a professional athlete.
They have a point, but they forgot that you are, in fact, an athlete. If that extra gram of protein was what you needed to feel like a fully-fledged athlete, then it served its purpose. A lot of it comes down to whether you think of yourself as a healthy or unhealthy person. Are you the type who can never lose weight? Or the type who will never be able to do the splits?
I ask myself: “If I don’t go to the gym, how will I feel at the end of the day?” Almost always, the answer is, “Lousy!” Extremely bad weather also provides extra motivation—rain, wind, cold, snow—and afterward, the sense of satisfaction is even greater for having done it. A quote from David Goggins: “Don’t let those who have chosen the path of least resistance sway you away from the path of greatest resistance.” And from Jordan Peterson: “Find the heaviest weight you can lift in your life, and carry it.”
Kristjan Luha, CFO of
eAgronom, former Vice President at Nike Global
Years ago, my daughter told me she could never get her serve over the net in volleyball. Before that, she said she couldn’t make a precise two-handed overhead pass. I always had a simple answer for her: “You’re a volleyball player; you go to practice and train, and those things will start to come together.” And that’s exactly how it turned out, of course.
The same will happen to you if you start believing that you’re an athlete. As Bill Bowermann said: “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” If you have a body, you’re an athlete. So believe it.
This was Chapter 7 of Marti Soosaar’s e-book *A New Beginning*. We’ve also published the previous chapters; you can read them on our blog, and you can download the entire e-book HERE.
