As we finish out last month’s talk on health, I want to talk about something that is sometimes necessary: starting over. I was thinking about finishing September and getting one step closer to the end of this year and the start of a new one and I was reminded that sometimes you have to keep trying things to see where you fit in throughout your life. What worked for you as a younger person may not work for you as an adult at this stage of your life, and what works now may not work for you in a few years.
As I was thinking about this I heard more about the phenom that is Tim Tebow. If you’re not familiar with him, he was a college football star. He won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore and continued his record setting career through the rest of his college years. He spent a few years playing Pro football, having a few very successful (some would say lucky) plays and games, but ultimately retired in 2012. He went on to do some broadcasting, but decided it wasn’t the right fit for him and moved to pro baseball in 2016 to quite a few heckles and jeers, but managed to hit a home run on his first at bat.
What interests me about the transitions he’s done in his life is that he keeps trying. He was a fantastic college football player, but as it sometimes happens he wasn’t built for pro football. Many people after they finish their pro career go to broadcasting or some related sports non-activity, which he tried. But for some just being near something isn’t enough, they have to be truly immersed in it, as seems to be true for Tebow.
I would say the message here is two-fold. First, that you should never give up on your passions. Second, that you may have to keep trying and reinventing to get to your best. Don’t give up because past success isn’t working in the present, instead, pick yourself up and try something else.
Laura Dickey 