With the New Year comes resolutions and reflections. We tend to take some time to look inward and re-evaluate our personal goals- reflect on what we’ve accomplished. As transitioning or transitioned athletes, this reflection time can feel a bit foreign or different than you’re used to. When training full time, our years are based off of our sporting season. Most of our personal goals since we can remember were directed toward being a better athlete, toward accomplishing sporting goals. Without sport, this reflection time can feel overwhelming and frankly confusing. This transition time can be an exceedingly difficult time to navigate because who are we without sports? What are our goals with gold in mind?
Our Chief Transition Guide, Jamie Komer, a former Water Polo Olympic Bronze medalist, works with the human behind the athlete. Focusing on the human that makes the athlete exceptional, she guides athletes to look inward and define their ‘Life Map’; defining the lay of the land, finding what their new definition of happiness and success is, discovering what joy means to them, and navigates what health means for human behind the athlete. Because when transitioning out of sport, you can feel a loss of identity, a loss of understanding who you are without sport. Instead of facing this time alone, without a team, our mission is to support athletes through this time, holistically.
As athletes, we understand the power of journaling. There is something special about taking the time to pause, reflect, and write down our thoughts and our goals. Focusing on the ‘Life Map’ that Chief Transition Guide Jaime Komer encourages athletes to define, here is some journaling prompts we tend to work with the athletes to navigate this transition time. Whether you are preparing for this transition, are currently transitioning, or have been transitioned for years, we encourage you to take some time, reflect, and ask yourself these questions.
Create your own Life Map- define the lay of the land.
Redefine what success and happiness means to you, without sport. What does joy mean in this time? What do these things look like?
How do you know you're experiencing it?
What does it look like when you’re experiencing this success, happiness, and joy? What are you feeling? What are the signs that you are successful? Happy? Joyful?
What's your relationship with your sport?
Whether you are currently competing, recently retired, or transitioned for years- what is your relationship with your sport? Be honest. Don’t hold guilt over yourself if your relationship isn’t what you think it ‘should’ be. This transition time is a unique experience for every single athlete. And holds unique timelines, feelings, and thoughts on your sport.
What's your relationship with yourself IN your sport? What's your relationship with yourself OUT of your sport?
As athletes, we can be our biggest critics, the hardest on ourselves. Take some time to reflect, what is your relationship with yourself in your sport? What’s your relationship like with yourself out of sport? Are there any changes you’d like to make?
What are you most proud of this past year, and how can you utilize that moving forward?
Really think about this one. Sometimes it can be easy to name, sometimes it can be hard to name. But what are YOU most proud of? How did that sense of pride feel? Was this accomplishment something you’ve been working toward for a long time? And most importantly, how can you utilize this accomplishment moving forward?
We hope this reflection time empowers you while helping you navigate this what can be confusing time. Our mission at Athlete Career Transition is to champion for athletes while guiding them through this transition period. To take the skills and traits engrained from sports and translating them to empower you in the next stage of your life, while establishing a career in business.
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