Love of the Game

Do you love it? Do you love practicing? Do you love playing? Do you love dribbling the ball while you are watching TV?

Having grit and a growth mindset are very important, but passion and love has to come first. Being successful in sports is hard. You have to push yourself beyond your limits, and you have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone. It takes grit to do that, but it also takes love and passion. It is hard to go through hard things if you don’t love what you do.

Fall in love with the game. Fall in love with practicing. Fall in love with working on your game on your own. When you are in the gym, at the court, on the field by yourself, pause and say to yourself, “This is my favorite thing to do.”

Michael Jordan had a ‘Love in the Game’ clause put in his first contract. He loved playing the game so much, he put in his contract that he had the ability anytime, anytime. He said, “It’s about playing with your heart and with passion. You play the game for the love of the game. So every chance you get to play the game, you play with intensity and you play it hard.

Talent is great, but work ethic is even more important. Fall in love with the game, fall in love with practice, fall in love with working hard and seeing yourself grow. When you love something, you are more willing to the hard work that it takes to be great, and more willing to deal with adversity.