The Journey Is Not The Destination

Tola Ogunlewe (0:05)

Welcome back to Putoo Friday on Athlete Maestro, guys. This is episode 1518, and I'm your host, Tola Ogunlewe. Ray Allen said, I felt empty. It had to do with always having believed that when you win a championship, you are transported to some new, exalted place. What I realized was that you are the same person you were.

Welcome, everyone, back to another Friday episode of Athlete Maestro, the sports education podcast that helps young athletes like you break your mental and physical limitations in sports, as well as come up with a strategy and a plan to achieve your sports goals. We do that through three episodes every single week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Monday, we look at a successful athlete. If someone has done it before you, someone who can act as a guide to you on this journey. Wednesdays, we either do an interview, or we talk about something topical, something you're struggling with, or we provide solutions for you live on the show. Fridays, just like this, are strictly motivational. I either share a quote with you related to sports, or share excerpts from past episodes of the show, or answer your questions live on the show. On today's episode, guys, Ray Allen said, I felt empty. He had to do it, always having believed that when you win a championship, you are transported to some new, exalted place. What I realized was that you are the same person you were before. So first and foremost, who is Ray Allen? Ray Allen is an NBA legend, one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history. And of course, when he says, I felt empty, you might also be wondering, what exactly are you talking about? I felt empty from where? But he was talking about this in relation to winning his first championship in the NBA. And the error or what he was realizing or cataloging is a similar error that a lot of young athletes make, right?

You do not get involved in the process. And when I say involved in the process, is that you do not acknowledge your little wins. You do not acknowledge your little milestones. You do not acknowledge little progresses that you are making in your sport.

Because what you are telling yourself is that, let me not celebrate now. Let me not place serious emphasis on this now. I will do it when I achieve this goal, when I win this thing, when I get to the Olympics, when I score this number of points or this number of goals or things like that, right? So, more or less, you are jettisoning everything that has to do with the process, with this feeling of there's something ultimate at the end of this journey. And what Ray Harlan is saying here is that, when you finally won that championship, right? You realize that there's nothing different. And this was one of the athletes that I worked with, right? In the past, this was exactly what happened to her as well. She had been grinding, grinding, wanting and waiting to get to the World Championships and wanting to win a medal at the World Championships. Eventually, she was able to do it. And she said, Tola, I felt nothing. I stood on the podium and I felt nothing. I told her, I said, that is a classic case of an athlete who sacrifices everything, doesn't enjoy the process, the athlete they're becoming, because they feel that there's something that they would feel when they ultimately get to the destination they have been chasing. And of course, that is not what happened. So this is the classic tale. When they tell you, the journey is, right? The journey is the thing itself, right? It is not the destination. It is not where you are going. It is in that little progress you are making. It is that improvement that you notice. It's in that little milestone that you cross, enjoying every single stage leading up to that goal, enjoying the athlete that you are becoming in that process, right? The athlete that doesn't skip training days, the athlete that is determined, right? The athlete that is so focused that you are even like, wow, I'm so proud of myself, enjoying all of those things, even until you get to the destination. Because when you get to that destination, when you stand on that podium, when you hold that trophy, when you wear that ring, you're gonna realize that you are the same person. There is nothing different. There's no euphoric feeling that you are going to feel or anything that is going to change drastically because you have now won that thing. The journey is not the destination. The journey is the journey that you are currently going through. Athlete Maestro, guys, episode 1518, so 1,518. Head over to the website, check out the free and paid resources that we have for you there. All of it is geared to helping you break your mental and physical limitations in sports, as well as come up with a strategy and a plan to achieve your sports goals. If you haven't subscribed to the podcast, you haven't left us a rating and review. What are you waiting for? What's your rating and review does? That helps other athletes find the podcast, know that it's a worthwhile resource they can use to chase their goals in sports. Athlete maestro.com/subscribe.