Your Own Pursuit of Happiness

A number of years ago, I worked with a young gymnast who was loaded with talent. As a young man, he was ranked as one of the top twenty gymnasts in the country for his age-group. He had already made the Junior National Team and was on the developmental track that many Olympic gymnasts follow. The downside is that he didn’t really love gymnastics. The activity that was his passion was diving, even though he wasn’t nearly as accomplished a diver as he was a gymnast. After months of trying to help him rediscover the motivation needed for the intense twenty-four hours of training per week, I realized that his heart wasn’t in it. He simply didn’t enjoy gymnastics enough. It wasn’t fun for him, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to summon the commitment necessary to accomplish his Olympic dream. Finally he decided to give up gymnastics. Initially, he felt strange not going to practice every night, and he eventually started to get into his diving again. He loved going to practice—he once told me that even ordinary diving practices were more fun for him than going to the movies. Upon graduation from high school, he was ranked among the country’s top five platform divers, and he had scholarship offers to virtually every collegiate diving program in America. Whatever a person chooses to do, there will be times when the commitment needed for greatness isn’t fun. Working hard is not always enjoyable, but if you love what you do, committing to the hard work will be easier. The reluctant gymnast tried to work through his motivational shortfall for an entire year before he opted to quit gymnastics and focus on diving. As a rule, I believe athletes should not quit any sport prior to the season’s end. Try to make things better by talking with the coach before making a decision to leave any sport. If the season ends and you and the coach haven’t brought forth anything that helps, reevaluate if leaving the sport is in your best interest. Human beings are inspired by goals; we experience happiness from striving to achieve them. Research strongly suggests that pushing to reach a goal provides more happiness than actually reaching the goal. It is all about the journey. We need goals in our lives to be happy. Make sure you get yourself involved in an activity that allows and encourages you to set goals for yourself. Life is a precious gift; do the things that pack it with enjoyment for you.