What Happens After You Win?
Post-season competition is here! For some, especially my Iowa boys, today marks the first day of the high school state tournament and the weekend of the NAIA regionals. All the training and preparation leading up to this moment will come to fruition for one opportunity at ultimate glory and the right to be called CHAMPION.
It’s an exciting time full of energy, potential, and emotion. The chance at winning and being the best is what you’ve trained for, right? Let’s fast forward to AFTER the tournament. You’ve just won the title, your hand gets raised, you walk onto the podium and accept your gold medal. You walk into the stands and everyone congratulates you. It feels amazing. You go home, and everywhere you go more and more people tell you congratulations and chat about the tournament. You’re a rockstar.
Let’s fast forward again to two weeks later. The buzz from winning hasn’t faded, but the energy from those around you has. Everyone has gone back to their jobs, returned to their routines, and continued on with their lives. Now it’s just you and your gold medal. All the fulfillment you thought you thought you were going to have when you won? It isn’t there. The unfortunate reality is you are still the same person living the same life, but now you have an extra piece of metal to look at. Yes, you will always have that title of champion, but it hasn’t fulfilled you anymore than from before you won. People cared about your accomplishment until it was time for them to go back to their daily lives. And you will have to also.
If some part of you is thinking that winning this title will bring you the fulfillment you want, I’m sorry but you’re going to be disappointed. Why then? Why are you here, and why put in all the work to get here? Because winning isn’t the part that fulfills you…it’s who you had to BECOME to get here, what you had to overcome to fight your way here, the sacrifices you made to stand here right now. Win or lose, you are fulfilled because of the journey you took to get to this point. The medal is just a representation of the work you put in and the person you’ve become in the process. You are a champion because of the values you learned along the way. Not by the hardware or a spot on the podium but by the person you became to be here today.
As you enter into this tournament, remember why you are really here. It’s not about fulfillment or a definition, it’s about having fun and making memories. The work is done, you are a champion for that and that alone. Be present for every second of these moments and live to the fullest. As always, have fun, score points, and live for the fight!
