How Do You Want to be Remembered as an Athlete?
Many athletes don’t think about their legacy during their athletic careers. They often believe legacy is reserved for the best of the best, such as Tiger Woods, Aaron Judge, Lebron James, or Serena Williams.
However, all athletes leave some impact on their teammates, coaches, and fans. Think about some of your past or current teammates. You can probably sum up your opinion of them in 1-2 sentences.
For example, “She was lazy and never trained hard,” “When the pressure was on in a competition, he would play timidly,” or “He never really hustled during games.”
These lasting impressions are imprinted on the minds of you and your team. Likewise, many athletes you played with or competed against left a positive impact or impression.
For example, “She worked her tail off and was mentally tough, especially during the challenging times,” “During tournaments, when the game was on the line, he was clutch and raised his game to the next level.”
Or “No matter preseason or playoffs, she had a strong will to win and never gave up.”
You live your legacy by how you train, compete, handle adversity, interact with your teammates, and manage pressure.
In sum, you live your legacy by your attitude, words, and actions. Your athletic legacy starts with a simple question: How do you want to be remembered as an athlete?
When you clarify the legacy you want to leave behind, you become more determined to work through challenges, motivated to achieve your potential, and purposeful in your daily training regimen.
Following up on his 2024 French Open victory, 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic for the second straight year in the Wimbledon final.
Alcaraz beat Djokovic in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4), to win his fourth major title of his young career. Carlos Alcaraz has now won all four of his major finals. Alcaraz focuses on his legacy instead of rankings, accolades, or statistics.
ALCARAZ: “Obviously, it’s a really great start to my career, but I have to keep going; I have to keep building my path. At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys. That’s my main goal. That’s my dream right now. It doesn’t matter if I already won four Grand Slams at the age of 21… I will try to keep winning and end my career with a lot of them.”
Focusing on the big picture, your athletic legacy, helps you stay motivated when performance slumps or things don’t go according to plan. Remember, the legacy you live will be the legacy you leave.
What are three way that you want to define your legacy. Here are some examples: “supportive teammate,” “mentally tough,” “never quit,” “dedicated,” “clutch player,” “peak performer,” etc.
After identifying some characteristics, write 1-2 sentences describing how you want to be remembered by completing the following sentence, “My athletic legacy will be….”
Post your legacy statement in a visible area to remind yourself of your purpose.
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