The Athlete Inside the Mirror

[ellesan]

Thought this was great! Found this on sportswall.com...

"You might be asking yourself, "What could this mirror I am looking into possibly have to do with athletics?" You should be asking yourself this question, because you should never stop asking yourself questions that deal with your work ethic as an athlete. You have never thought about it, but you and this mirror share the closest and most intimate relationship between you and anything else in your life. You will not admit to anyone else that you did not work as hard as you could have today, but the real truth lies deep inside you, and even deeper inside the mirror.

The one great thing about you being the athlete and the mirror is that the mirror will never lie to you and you will never be able to fool the mirror. The truth surfaces each time you look back into your own eyes with each passing glance and reflective stare. You, the athlete: Contemplating whether you can accept or not accept all you did this very day to be the best athlete you can be. Understand, you are the only one who has to look at yourself through this mirror - not only today, but every day. You are the only one who has to look inside before you sleep at night wondering whether your conscience can reconcile with each passing beat of your heart the thought that you may not have given the game all you should have today. And because today is now over, you are the only one who knows what you must do tomorrow.

These concepts reveal the greatest truths that you will ever know about yourself, as you see what you want to see through your own eyes. You see the real you in your purest form. What is left then, are two questions, and only your soul holds the key: Are you honest with your virtues, your weaknesses, and most of all yourself? And can you live, without any regrets, each and every time you look at The Athlete Inside The Mirror?"

 

[ellesan]

Another one: The Inner Voice

"Every athlete has an inner voice of pride. It is the voice only athletes can hear, pushing them to the brink of exhaustion, demanding excellence and condemning failure. Failure, understand, is the driving force behind an athlete. Every athlete has experienced failure, and now trains so they will not experience it again.

This inner voice knows the difference between training and exercising. Many athletes exercise, stopping when they have reached a perceived limit, or when it becomes uncomfortable to continue. But only a select few athletes have the heart and desire to train unconditionally. Only a select few push past their physical and mental limits. Only a select few push past the pain and discomfort.

Only a select few have the courage and the character to understand that training makes them quicker, faster, stronger, but most importantly, allows them to gain a mental edge over future opponents. So when failure laughs in my face as I desperately try and earn the respect of that last repetition, it must realize one thing: Each time I train, I not only hear, but I answer The Inner Voice."

 

[morningstar]

I guess I live this way, Sandra, but I'm trying not to, because I put too much pressure on myself and don't enjoy life very much.

 

[meowracer]

"Every athlete has an inner voice of pride. It is the voice only athletes can hear, pushing them to the brink of exhaustion, demanding excellence and condemning failure. Failure, understand, is the driving force behind an athlete. Every athlete has experienced failure, and now trains so they will not experience it again.

This inner voice knows the difference between training and exercising. Many athletes exercise, stopping when they have reached a perceived limit, or when it becomes uncomfortable to continue. But only a select few athletes have the heart and desire to train unconditionally. Only a select few push past their physical and mental limits. Only a select few push past the pain and discomfort.

Only a select few have the courage and the character to understand that training makes them quicker, faster, stronger, but most importantly, allows them to gain a mental edge over future opponents. So when failure laughs in my face as I desperately try and earn the respect of that last repetition, it must realize one thing: Each time I train, I not only hear, but I answer The Inner Voice."

I love this. It is very descriptive of the way I think. Thanks for sharing.