Gareth
Jonathan Liew, in the Guardian, January 9, 2023 wrote of the freshly retired Welsh football phenomenon Gareth Bale. Here’s part of what he said.
Of course Bale always played to win. But in the 30-yard screamers and lightning bursts of speed, you can spot something else there too: a young man playing for the sake of playing, for the thrill of solving a new problem, playing to feel. What was the point in running unless you were going to do it as jaw-droppingly fast as possible? What was the point in taking a free-kick unless you were going to leather it into the top corner? And what was the point of being a footballer at all if you didn’t try these things?
Exactly.
“What was the point of being a footballer at all if you didn’t try these things?” But we could say that about any great athlete, couldn’t we? More importantly, we need to be able to say that about any professional, that is, anyone who earns their keep by exercising unique giftings.
John Nelligan, Ottawa’s pre-eminent trial lawyer, often said, “I’m just doing what I was born to do.” And that he did, in spades.
It’s just a no-brainer that if you focus on doing what you were born to do, you will not only be “successful” (whatever that may mean), but you will also have the time of your life doing it, which is probably more important.
Life is too short to spend decades being and doing boring. Living flat-out doing what we love to do, “in the zone”– what could be more exhilarating? We only get to go around once, let’s do it right.