I’ve never played organized team sports a day in my life (because all those childhood games of kickball in the parking lot of our Ensley apartment complex don’t count). Nonetheless, I am obsessed with the Olympics. Gymnastics, swimming, soccer — I love it all! I’m even excited about fencing this year thanks to Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first Muslim woman who observes hijab to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team.
So if you see me within the next few weeks and I look exhausted it’s not because my busy schedule of being a writer, teacher, and entrepreneur has caught up with me. It’s because I’ve been staying up all night watching the Olympic games.
Even though I am not a serious athlete I admire them and I relate to them because of their discipline and drive.
We writers and athletes have a lot in common. We both, if we want to be excellent at what we do, must practice. We must practice even when we don’t feel like. We must practice even when life sucks.