Will You Miss Today?
How to Live Without Regret and Why Today Deserves Your Best
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey for the Baltimore Ravens gathered his teammates at the end of practice and shared a motivational message for how to approach their training camp and upcoming season. He echoed the words of his teammate, Roquan Smith: “When I get done with football, I’m not going to miss it. [Be]cause I’m going to put everything in it while I’m playing [so] when I’m done—I’m done. I won’t miss none of it.”
As we move from one season of our lives to another—a new grade level, promotion, relationship, competition—can we honestly say we don't miss what we've done? Are you pouring everything you have into everything you do? If not, you probably fall into one or two categories. Either you're too scared to push all your chips in on today, or the mundaneness of an activity or job has hypnotized you.
Every year, I observe athletes tepidly stick their toes in the proverbial water when they learn a new skill. Instead of trusting their coach, they're too concerned about their appearance or feelings, so they get stiff and attempt the technique half-heartedly. To get them out of this, we repeat that specific skill over and over—not to perfect it, but to break the psyche into realizing that what their bodies are doing is okay.
So many people live halfway, missing opportunities to excel and realize their full capabilities because they're scared of what going all in might mean. By the time the next opportunity arrives, they're probably just getting comfortable where they are. If they decide to transition, they look back and miss the experiences—not because of the relationships they'll miss, but because of the missed opportunities.
Others go all-in initially, but the repetitiveness of doing the same thing daily clouds the shine of that new opportunity. The tick-and-tock of day-in and day-out hypnotizes them into forgetting how grateful they are for the opportunities of greatness. Their efforts morph into half-hearted tasks they tick off to get to the end of practice or work. When their season ends, they also look back and miss the opportunities behind them.
I've fallen into both categories and know I'm not alone. So, how do we get out of these ruts? Is there any hope for a lack of confidence or hypnosis-inducing lackluster? I think there is. It consists of two factors we must consider for every day's opportunity.
First, we must be where our feet are. Look around at where you're at, who you are, and at who and what you have. What if it were all gone tomorrow? How would that affect how you live your life today in this very moment? Would you hold back your love, effort, and intention because of fear of how you look or feel? Or would you dive in, trying to make the most of every opportunity of every day?
Then close your eyes and imagine your life 10, 20, or 50 years from now. How would you want your life's story written about how you lived today? Do you want an author to write, "Today was just another average day for this person," or would you instead write, "They made the most of their opportunities today," or "Today was their breakthrough day?"
Today is a day we can look back on and not miss because we gave everything we had and have nothing left to offer.
Last thing before you go: Tomorrow marks the premiere of a new segment titled Tune-Up Tuesdays! I’m really excited for you to get to know about what drives some of your favorite athletes, musicians, coaches, and everyday people like you and the role music plays in their competitive practices. Read more about it here:
