Who Makes You Better?

Antonio Neves writes:

I’m not going to be a national champion.

Those were my thoughts as I completed my first track and field practice as an NCAA Division I student athlete at Western Michigan University.

As much as this realization stung to the core, it was the truth. No matter how hard I practiced, the odds of my becoming a national champion were pretty much non-existent.

This realization didn’t mean that I didn’t want to get better. Quite the contrary. I was determined to see what I was made of. To see how far my DNA could take me.

Unfortunately, during my first two years of competing, I didn’t come close to placing in a major competition. I was hanging on for dear life and hoping not to get cut from the roster.

That was until one day at practice my coach pointed out something of which I was unaware.

“Antonio, we have two All-Americans on our team,” he said. “I’ve never seen you practice with either of them. Are you surrounding yourself with people who make you better?”

As he walked away I kept asking myself, “Antonio, who makes you better?” This question hit me like a ton of bricks.

The harsh reality was that I spent most of my time at practice going through the motions and joking around with the same group of teammates. As much as I loved these guys, if I gave a less than stellar effort, no one questioned me. They didn’t make me better.

Yet, right there in front of me were two All-Americans that could make me better. But I was intimidated. Why? Because I saw the discipline, hard work, and healthy habits that were required to compete at that level. These were two individuals who wouldn’t accept mediocrity. Was I willing to commit to working that hard?” via Who Makes You Better? « Positively Positive.